WELCOME BACK

Produced by Firoz Nadiadwala, the sequel to Welcome.... ‘Welcome Back’ features an ensemble cast that includes Nana Patekar, Anil Kapoor, John Abraham, Shruti Haasan, Paresh Rawal, Naseeruddin Shah, Dimple Kapadia and Shiney Ahuja in the lead roles along with a new actress named Ankita Srivastava.

Did you notice the mistake? Its right there in that first paragraph. Did you ? Now? If you think i am talking about casting....You are hell right! 

If Welcome was like a 'chatpati bhel puri' its sequel Welcome back is more like 'sookhi paapdi' there is crunch but no taste that can make it finger licking. It does not even make sense to be compared.

Uday & Majnu have left underworld and have now got into hotel business to lead life as an 'izzatdaar aadmi'. Suddenly Uday Shetty's father (played as a cameo by Nana himself) comes in the scene to inform about his daughter and Uday's sister(Shruti Hassan) from his third wedding. On the other end Dr. Ghunghroo (Paresh Raval) figures out that his wife was married before she met him and has a son from that marriage too, Ajju Bhai(John Abraham). It may sound absurd but the girl and boy meet and create a comedy of errors which leads to some, 'lipping' and then an equally bizarre song.

 Parallel to this a mother and daughter who are con artists (Dimple kapadiya and Ankita srivastava) honey trap Uday and Majnu and they both fall in love with the girl who portrays as Rajkumari of Najafgarh. What do Shiney Ahuja and Naseeruddin Shah do in the movie is for you to watch. 

JOHN ABRAHAM it seems is suffering from Alzheimer. He forgot all his acting lessons that he learned in all these years. With Welcome Back he is back to where he started.He was  trying to be a rowdy is visible throughout. After watching him in movies like Force and Madras Cafe, i felt as if he has evolved as an actor but in front of the likes of brilliant actors like Nana and Kapoor he fails miserably. I mean if Anees Bazmee wished to hire someone for the role of chichora local gunda with comic timing i think he should have called Ranveer singh or Arjun Kapoor. Shruti Hassan compliments him and doesn't act at all but looks beautiful, bless her genes. 

Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar as Majnu & Uday Bhai are hilarious with their expression and timing from "Bhagwaan ka diya sabb kuch hai" to "Aapki wajah se main kaaydey mein hunn Uday Bhai varna abb takk mere khud ke do teen Al-Qaydey hotey". One needs to give credit to the dialogue writer Raj Shaandilya.Brilliant one liners that makes one laugh and give some solace to the person whose hard earned money has gone in to buy tickets.

Ending is abrupt and absurd, so are songs. Shiney Ahuja and someone with the caliber of Naseeruddin Shah is given the role with a pet line, "Mazaak tha bhai mazaak tha". I feel Feroze Khan shifting in his grave saying, " Kaash hum zinda hotey" , We wish the same!

It is a mindless comedy with a few terrific scenes and dialogues. If it was not for Anil and Nana this film was a big NA NA...