Cast: John Abraham, Nana Patekar, Anil Kapoor, Shruti Haasan, Paresh Rawal, Ankita Shrivastava, Naseeruddin Shah, Dimple Kapadia, Shiney Ahuja
Director: Anees Bazmee
Rating: 2 /5
Anees Bazmee's latest caper closely follows on the heels of its predecessor, Welcome, in substance, or lack of it, since it hardly exists in his films.
The premise of the story is enough to exhaust you. The now reformed dons Uday Shetty ( Nana Patekar) and Majnu Bhai (Anil Kapoor) are leading a peaceful life in Dubai, paying haftas to local goons ( as Uday says Shareef to hafta dete hi hain) . The duo is swiftly swindled by a fake princess (Ankita Shrivastav) and her mother (Dimple Kapadia).
Then one sunny day, Uday's another step-sister Ranjana (Shruti Hasan) surfaces from nowhere and the former is left with yet another responsibility to get her married. In the meantime Jugnu (Paresh Rawal) discovers that he has a step-son Ajay aka Ajju bhai (John Abraham), a dreaded gangster in Mumbai. Ajju and Ranjana fall for each other and want to get hitched, much to the dismay of Uday and Majnu who want a sharif boy for their sister.
After discovering Ajju is mightier than them, the duo sought help of Wanted Bhai (an awe-inspiring Naseerudin Shah) but soon realise his drug addict son Honey ( Shiney Ahuja) is in love with Anjana. What follows next is usual hustle-bustle and a totally avoidable climax. It's rather difficult to ascertain whose climax was worse, Welcome or Welcome Back's.
The poorly written screenplay ensures too many cringe inducing moments in the film.
Moreover, the film's chaotic music would only assault your eardrums. The film has not only seen the return of Anu Malik, the composer but the singer also, a cautionary note for the music listeners.
The lead pair, John Abraham and Shruti Haasan, were a big turn off. John did not do much in the film other than flexing his muscles. More than his body, he needs to work on his wooden expressions and for Shruti Haasan, it was very hard to make out whether she was delivering dialogues or reading the script.
Shiney Ahuja, who has returned after a long sabbatical, was a total misfit for this gibberish masquerading as a laugh riot. Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor's bromance clicked on fewer occasions this time while Paresh Rawal's Ghungroo act was again over the top. Rajpal Yadav was unnecessarily forced into the film while Dimple Kapadia was totally wasted
But Naseerudin Shah's portrayal of ‘Wanted bhai' is one of the saving graces of the film. His flawless lampooning of the duo (Uday and Majnu) will leave you in splits. The gundon ke Laurel and Hardy, bheendi bazaar ke perfumon scene is one of the few sparks in this film that fizzles out.
A special mention for Kabir Lal's skillful camerawork - he captured the breathtaking locales and man-made structures of Dubai in all its beauty.
Anees Bazmee films are never meant for connoisseurs of cinema, they are mostly entertainers with loud and nonsensical storylines. So, if you are not game for this genre than better leave your brain at home before leaving for theatres or just skip it.
