Welcome: It’s pure entertainment, desi style

By MovieTalkies.com, 24 December 2007 2.5 / 5

Anees Bazmee’s Welcome stays true to its genre. There is not much sense and logic in the goings-on in the film and that is how it is intended. The film is spiced with a lot of nonsensical capers, one-liners and silly jokes. But it gives you your money’s worth as it never strays from its intention. The humour is crude and basic at most times, quite in the tradition of a David Dhawan, but it seems to work for the film and Welcome should have a fairly decent outing at the box office. The director may have borrowed liberally from a couple of desi and videshi sources but the tadka is pure Indian. What makes this film endearing is the presence of veteran actors like Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor, who quite steal the show from the others, Akshay Kumar included. The film’s story revolves around three ridiculous mafia dons who make all kinds of attempts to get their sister married into a respectable family. Actually, Sanjana (Katrina Kaif) is the sister of Uday Shetty (Nana Patekar). Uday, Majnu (Anil Kapoor) and Sikander (Feroz Khan), are basically three goons based in Hong Kong. The film details their attempts to find a proper husband for Uday’s sister Sanjana. They do find one simple guy Rajiv (Akshay Kumar), but he has an uncle Dr Ghungroo (Paresh Rawal), who decides against the marriage as Sanjana is the sister of a gangster, and hence not respectable enough for his nephew. Into this chaos enters Mallika Sherawat, who claims to be Rajiv’s wife. By now, the film is at its chaotic best at this juncture. Of course, it all resolves itself at the end.. Welcome is an out-and-out entertainer. It’s strength lies in its very talented cast, specially Nana, Anil, Akshay, Paresh, and Vijay Raaz in a short appearance. This is one film whose promos are not misleading. It delivers on its promise of gags and laughter galore. Much has been written about the on-screen chemistry that exists between Akshay and Katrina, but the chemistry to really watch out for is the one that exists between Anil and Nana. Anil has managed to perfect the tapori role in the years and Nana’s talent needs no introduction. Of course, it rests mainly on his reputation as an intense serious actor, but he just reveals another side of his mercurial nature and proves that he has a flair for comedy as well. The duo sizzle on screen and their sense of timing is worth watching out for. The mood of the film is set right from the beginning as all the characters are introduced. The second half sees the entry of Feroz Khan, Mallika Sherawat and Raaz. The sequences in this half, specially the ones between the Mallika’s character, Nana and Anil are also quite funny. Of course, in a film which relies so heavily on one-liners and jokes, there are quite a few which actually fall flat and do not have the desired effect. Also the director is not able to maintain the brisk pace of the first hour, which just happens to zip past. Bazmee does well in the manner in which he handles his talented cast, though one felt that Paresh Rawal could have had a stronger role or a little more scope. He is a master at these kind of comedies and could have done better in a role with a little more meat to it. Nana, as has already been said, reveals a fantastic sense of comic timing. Anil Kapoor is a perfect foil to Nana and displays his mastery over the tapori type. Our hero, Akshay Kumar, the man of the hour, plays a simple guy, torn between his love and the two warring factions – his uncle and the three goons. He is another old hand at comedy and does his bit very well as usual. However, unlike his previous movies, the scene, one feels, is stolen by the jodi no 1 of Anil and Nana. The very talented Vijay Raaz too has a small role but he makes his presence felt amply in this ensemble cast. It is good to see Feroz Khan take to the screen, but he is not very effective. The two females, Katrina and Mallika, have much smaller roles but they do them full justice. Besides looking look, the ladies show that they can act as well. Katrina is apt for the role of Sanjana. She still has an air of freshness about her which works well. Mallika, as the femme fatale, is in form too. The film’s music by Anand Raj Anand, consists of a mixed bag of goodies. It is not its strongest point, which remains its actors, the ridiculous situations and the one-liners. There is not much that one can complaint about after seeing the film. It delivers what it promises. This is not your subtle, clever comedy type of film. It is very Indian in its confusion, its, at times, off-colour jokes, and its one-liners. The film is an entertainer and does not have pretensions of being anything other than that.

This One Is a Mixed Bag of Goodies

By MovieTalkies.com, 06 December 2007 3 / 5

'Welcome'is the next Akshay Kumar slated for release at the fag end of the year. The actor has had a fantastic year and is being talked of as being no less than Shah Rukh Khan, where popularity is concerned. In fact, the rise of this actor has gone primarily unnoticed with the media running around SRK and the other Khans while Akshay has silently gone in for the kill. However, unlike his previous hit, Heyy Babyy, which had music by Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, the music of Welcome is not such a welcome sound to the ears. The music of this Firoz Nadiadwala film, directed by Anees Bazmee, has been composed by quite a few composers and hence there is no consistency to the album. There is Himesh Reshammiya, Anand Raj Anand and Sajid-Wajid involved in the business of creating music for the film. Somehow the expected effect is not forthcoming and the music album of Welcome is just slightly above mediocre. However, having said that, the album begins with quite a bang. The title song, 'Welcome'kind of sets the mood for a fun time ahead. This number has been composed by Sajid-Wajid and singers Shaan and Soumya Raoh lend their voices to the number, with composer Wajid chipping in as well. The composers have used trumpets and a lot of orchestration to give the song a grand party feel. The number has an almost visual feel to it and one is sure that 'seeing'the song will just add to this number’s popularity. Anand Raj Anand makes his entry with the next number, 'Hoth Rasiley’, which is sung by Shankar Mahadevan, Shreya Ghoshal and the composer himself. The music in the beginning gives one the impression that we have a Punjabi tadka number on hand. But the number lacks that essential spark. It is, at best, ordinary. Though it has a very good beat, and creates a wonderful atmosphere as well. But it stops short of being a rocking number. However, the singers, all give it their best shot. As it is, this is not so much a singer’s song but owes more to the arrangement for its effect. Himesh Reshammiya makes his appearance in the album with two compositions. The first of these is Insha Allah, sung by Shaan, Krishna, Akruti Kakkar and Reshammiya himself. The number begins in a very deceptive fashion, with slow, romantic notes played by a solo saxophone. But that changes soon enough as Reshammiya comes on singing Insha Allah. The composer-singer outdoes himself in the manner in which he pitches the 'Insha Allah'refrain at suitable intervals in the song, at an amazingly high pitch. If the intention was to raise the pitch of the song, then it falls dismally short of that. The poetry, is of course, not worth writing home about. But where the music of this number is concerned, one feels that Reshammiya has given us better. It has a mediocre beat and may just catch despite being an average song. But there is a chance that the song has been choreographed and shot superbly, which may just give it a major boost. The next song is titled 'Koka Laka Vellari’, whatever that may mean. Its music has been composed by Reshammiya, who has also lent his voice to it. This number provides a respite from the high voltage numbers that went before it. It is more subdued, emotional and more like music to the ears. This is more like the Reshammiya that we know. It has all the hallmarks of a good Reshammiya number, there is a good fusion of both Indian and Western arrangements and the number has been sung with feeling. The tabla bit at the end of each line provides a very good effect. The number is a sad love song, and Reshammiya pays heed to the mood of the number in his arrangement as well. One of the better numbers of the album along with the title song. But Koka Laka Vellari still remains a mystery. Ucha Lamba Kad is the third number sung and composed by Anand Raj Anand. He sings this number all by himself, backed by a capable chorus. This is a very typical number, again with a Punjabi flavour to it. It is a throwback to the fusion Punjabi folk tracks and finds it inspiration in that genre. But the number is not catchy enough and is unlikely to create any kind of storm. In fact if there is any number besides the title song ' Welcome’, which is has staying power, then it is the last song of the album, 'Kiya Kiya.'This number is composed and sung by Anand Raj Anand, along with Shweta Pandit. The singer-composer redeems himself with this number. Kiya Kiya is definitely a winner. The number is catchy, -- its beat, its music, all have a certain zest and it turns out to be the best in this album. The picturisation should add to the song’s popularity. One is not sure whether the idea of having so many music composers has added any real value to this album. There is no real winner in the album, no song which has enduring power. The film may well go on to do better business than the film itself.

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