Five reasons why Welcome Back delivers the laughs
1. That's what we call nonsensical entertainment: The trick of writing humour which revels in its silliness is hard. Ask Sajid Khan, who has been pretty much ostracised by Bollywood for the debacle that was Humshakals. But filmmaker Anees Bazmee and his writers have more or less cracked the code. Welcome Back is neither a slapstick comedy nor is it particularly intelligent. Instead it is a celebration of mankind's harebrained ways. A chunk of the jokes are directed at the frailties of the film's two heroes - Uday Shetty (Nana Patekar) and Majnu Bhai (Anil Kapoor) - who have moved to Dubai but are still struggling to get lucky in love. Amusement is also derived by mocking supporting characters such as Dr Ghungroo (Paresh Rawal), who in the sequel discovers that he has a stepson back in India. The humour is rarely cheap, obnoxiously rude or offensive, and therefore the film is more accessible.
2. It doesn't try too hard to be ingenious: And surprisingly sometimes that works. Welcome Back is pretty straightforward in what it sets out to do: make viewers laugh with the batty ways of its characters. The storyline is the same as the 2007 film. The plot's predictable. The garish sets and blingy costumes don't make it easy on the eyes. The songs are fast-forward worthy. It wants its actors to go over the top. Despite this, for more than half the film's duration you can't help but laugh because writer Raj Shaandaliya's punchlines work. Sometimes Bazmee doesn't even need words such as when he shows Majnu's childlike sketch of the Dubai skyline, which leaves viewers chuckling in their seats. The film drives on the principle that some things are best left unchanged especially if they worked the last time around.
3. Bromance is the word: The buddy comedy is an old genre in Hindi films but its success rate more recently has not been that great. Welcome Back is a good example of how best to make use of two male protagonists. Both Uday and Majnu have equal opportunity to shine in a different setting. They find themselves in one precarious situation after another, which are all too familiar, yet they haven't grown any wiser. Still fools in love, they continue to be jinxed in matters of heart. Simply put, these guys are #MFEO (made for each other).
4. Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor's partnership: Any gag featuring the two works. Their comic timing and enthusiasm for the script ensures that you never give up on the film, especially in the second half, when it begins to tire with incessant bad songs and poorly conceived subplots. Insert Ajju Bhai (John Abraham) and it goes southwards. Welcome Back works best when it shows the mirthful side of what are supposed to be menacing gangsters. That's largely due to Patekar and Kapoor who make the characters amiable with their infectious energy.
5. For its memorable one-liners: Here are a few: When Uday's father (Nana Patekar in an older get-up) tells of his third marriage even as his son struggles to get hitched, Majnu loses his cool and launches an attack with declarations such as, "Logon ki maa-behen hoti hai ... Aapki baap-behen ho gayi hai". Uday on how respectable is Ghungroo's family: "Ghungroo ka parivaar toh itna sanskaari hai ki wahan ki makhhiyaan bhi sir dhak ke udti hai." And when Uday repeats his trademark dialogue, "Bhagwaan ka diya sab hai, daulat hai, shauhrat hai…", Majnu shushes him with "Arre isse aage badho ab."