I'm kidding. Well, sort of. The new comedy starring Anil Kapoor, Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, and Feroz Khan wasn't as bad as I thought it would be.
But it was pretty darn close.
I may not be qualified to criticize here, and I don't mean to poke fun of Hindi comedy--Something I clearly know next to nothing about. But I am beginning to think I'm simply just not wired for Bollywood comedy. After Partner, Heyy Baby, and now Welcome, I'm guessing there's something lost in the translation (which is very possible) or I just don't get it. Or perhaps it's the choices I'm making. I'd be willing to take suggestions, but for now I guess I can only judge what I've seen.
I figured I should start watching some Akshay Kumar films, since his movies all seem to do really well at the box office. I wanted to see what all the fuss was about, why people flocked to see almost anything he starred in. Unfortunately, Welcome didn't give me any answers. Although his character was likable enough, I still have yet to find one of his performances where I can go, "Oh, yeah, that's why he's doing so well!" But I don't hate him or anything...he's funny, attractive, and sweet in any role I've seen him in, including this one. Akshay's Rajiv was probably the highlight of Welcome, if you can call it that. I'm just waiting to have my own "moment" with him.
As a movie, Welcome was chaotic, as most "silly" comedies are. I wasn't impressed, but my expectations were low to begin with. It had it's funny moments (the scene where the steering wheel comes off in Akshay's hands had me cracking up), but most of the time it was, in my opinion, second rate entertainment. Welcome was almost like a bad Hollywood comedy from the 80's - with a more scatterbrained plot.
The girls were okay. Malika Sherawat seemed comfortable, and Katrina Kaif was cute paired with Akshay. I'm beginning to worry about Katrina, though...She's a lovely girl, but does she try to look and sound fake when she laughs/talks/cries? I'm no acting professional, but the poor girl makes some of the stiffest faces in Bollywood!
The music of Welcome wasn't bad, and it was nice to get a break from the "story" to watch Akshay and Katrina look like they were having some fun. Having said that, I thought some of the choreography looked borderline ape-ish, and Katrina's beach outfits made me want to jump on the ol' treadmill. Unfortunately, none of the tunes from Welcome's soundtrack stuck with me.
I also have a small proviso to this review I need to share with you. Say what you will, but I missed the last 30 minutes or so of this movie. I had to leave, and haven't felt compelled to pop it back in the DVD player since. Perhaps, for those of you who've seen the film, that makes me a poor judge of the movie.
Or perhaps Welcome just wasn't interesting enough.
Text © Copyright 2008 Nida Nazir
