Welcome to watch it, but it's nothing special!. Review on Welcome

When a director strikes with a masterpiece like NO ENTRY, the pressure mounts to recreate the same magic. And while not living up to the gigantic expectations is understandable, what is not understandable is failing to come even close to it, especially when equipped with a team of brilliant performers that include today's arguably number one star (Akshay Kumar), one of Bollywood's most genuine performers (Nana Patekar), an in-form veteran (Anil Kapoor), and the king of situation comedy roles (Paresh Rawal). In addition, an added attraction is the one of the most gorgeous actresses of Bollywood today, Katrina Kaif. To please the masses, there is also Mallika Sherawat. So with everything going for it, WELCOME was obviously expected to be a Box Office Success, but what it fails to be is a successful entertainer.

It is not that WELCOME is a complete failure, it is just that it works in parts. And in those parts too, it just about makes the audience sit there and laugh, not offer huge laughs that can be categorized as "hilarious". WELCOME certainly ranks above some of this year's most undeserving and senseless comedy hits such as PARTNER and HEYY BABY, but for me, it fails to beat the Priyadarshan humour of BHOOL BHULAIYYA and especially the movie I feel was the comedy of the year, DHOL.

What DHOL had was four relatively smaller stars who worked with a great script in terms of jokes, and delivered the "hilarious" brand of laughs with excellent chemistry. The likes of PARTNER and HEYY BABY relied solely on the starpower of the actors present in those movies. WELCOME is a blend of these two types...it relies mostly on the starpower of its stars and the acclaimed makers, but at least it has some fun moments to offer. Being optimistic, let's view these positives first.

The movie takes a good start. Paresh Rawal trying to find a clean household to get a bride for his nephew gives the movie a flying, no-nonsense start. In fact the movie gathers pace right after it opens as the Don family enters the picture very quickly and the viewer is introduced to most of the characters right away. But then, the flow of the movie stagnates as childish jokes take over; more on that late though since this section is exclusively for the positives of the movie. Another positive aspect is the locations chosen. That is, the locations abroad are so colourful that the viewer can forgive having to go through some of the most childish jokes out there.

Then, another positive aspect is the placement of the songs throughout the movie; except for the Himesh Reshammiya song picturised on Akshay and Katrina in the beginning, all other songs are placed well within the narrative. The time each character has been given is also to be lauded, as no one feels their favourite actor or actress has been wasted. For instance, the likes of Feroz Khan and Mallika Sherawat enter the scene near the post-interval, and yet get ample scope to impress. Basically, other than having a few funny moments, the movie is technically very sound.

Now, moving to the negatives, it is easier to spot them than it is to spot the positives. Why? Because childish jokes here make their presence felt every now and then. The car sequence where Akshay takes out the steering of the car is only funny till that point; Paresh Rawal popping out of the car with the Pundit followed by dogs chasing them and Akshay jumping on top of a truck to bring a ladder is a complete mishap. Why couldn't Anees Bazmee stick with the believable jokes he used in NO ENTRY. Also, watch the climax where the house with almost the entire starcast is hanging on top of a mountain. It appeals in parts, but after a point it gets pointless, with Feroz Khan getting repetitive and the whole sequence testing the viewer's patience. Akshay climbing on top of the house with a rope and pulling off a ridiculously unbelievable stunt embarasses even the unrealistic stunts of DHOOM 2...sad, but true.

Given, a movie, especially a commercial potboiler, has its cinematic liberties, but going way too unrealistic can only offer laughs to children or childish people, meaning these sequences have a limited audience. The music too is a letdown considering Himesh and Anand Raaj Anand were in charge. To his credit, Anand Raaj Anand gives the best song of the movie (Kiya Kiya) but on the whole the music is quite a let down as well. Now, let's move to the performances part, which everyone awaits eagerly.

The movie belongs to Nana Patekar all the way. Completely at ease in a very different role, Nana silences those who thought he can only do intense roles; with WELCOME, he enters the commercial zone with a magical spark. In fact, if Akshay's magical starpower got the movie the thunderous opening everywhere, it won't be wrong to say that if WELCOME deserves a repeat watch any time, it will be mainly because of Nana's brilliant performance. Akshay is also a complete natural in a role that mixes his geekiness of JAANEMAN with his cunning man roles of HERA PHERI, PHIR HERA PHERI, etc.

Paresh Rawal and Anil Kapoor do justice to their parts, but it is their screen presence, and not the childish jokes handed to them, that makes their characters work. Feroz Khan is okay, and Mallika Sherawat suits the part. Katrina Kaif looks pretty throughout, but really does not have much to do besides that. Vijay Raaz does alright too while the remainder of the supporting cast is adequate. And oh, not to forget, it was an amateurish actor (playing Feroz Khan's son) who actually stole the show in the latter parts of the movie, giving the viewer an impression that despite the presence of a star-studded team, it had to be a reserve player who had to score in the end.

On the whole, WELCOME is worth a watch, but certainly not anything special or unmissable. If you somehow end up missing this one, at least for the time being, don't get over excited...by the time I am writing this, the 58% recommendation on MS speaks for the mediocre product that WELCOME is. But then again, as mentioned before, it certainly ranks above "comedies" such as PARTNER and HEYY BABY that act as an insult to the great genre called COMEDY.