Accept this invitation only if you are really out of your mind or want to kill some time, literally
Spoofs are such a rare genre in Bollywood that when one is made, we have our hopes high, even if it is a film made around an award show. And when industry insiders promise to pull quick ones on themselves, the prospect becomes quite lucrative. With these thoughts we walk in to watch Welcome To New York. Here’s what we thought…
What’s it about
In a spin off of sorts of Akshay Kumar’s Singh Is Kingg, Teji (Diljit Dosanjh) is the miscreant in a group of five goons, who want to ship him away as his acting obsession becomes a hindrance for their business. Miles away, in Mumbai, Jinal (Sonakshi Sinha) is trying to compete with Amitabh Bachchan when it comes to endorsing Gujarat, Gujaratis and Narendra Modi. But this is not what she does for a living. She aspires to design dresses for the swish set but makes do by designing costumes for ‘cheap models’ before that job, too, is snatched away from her. But Sophie (Lara Dutta) chooses them as the winners of the nationwide talent hunt. However, before you wonder if she is out of her mind, she does this to get back at her boss Gary (Boman Irani), who refuses to acknowledge her hard work and takes the credit for her ideas. So, with luck on their side, Teji and Jinal reach New York along with their bundle of gags on Phagwara, Vadodara and India. Once there, they do the usual middle class Indian things that you would expect of anyone who is starstruck. It is not until Karan Johar enters the scene that things pick up. He is anchoring the award show with Riteish Deshmukh and they are doing their own scripted thing, till an anti-KJo character enters the scene. He looks like Karan, his name is Arjun, and his life is a Bollywood joke that he can’t stand. So he does all in his capacity to ruin the director’s life. Fan, anyone?
What’s hot
Diljit Dosanjh, with his Punjabi swag and simpleton ways, is the best thing about the film. Karan Johar, in a double role, is a delight too. The manner in which he takes digs at himself, makes you warm up to him. Everything – from his obsession with the pout, designer wear and self to his usual high-handed antics – make for a fun watch. Apart from him, MS Dhoni and Baahubali come to the rescue of the film in the form of two well-executed gags. In case you plan on watching the film, these are the only few things that will tickle your funny bone, so I won’t take away the few laughs you will enjoy, by revealing the gags here.
What’s not
The film is unintentionally funny. It makes heroes out of losers. How can you make us root for an actor who hams and a fashion designer who designs disasters, just by calling them underdogs? Then you go ahead and pitch Aditya Roy Kapur and Katrina Kaif as the epitome of acting talent! Fitoor is a year old and we are reeling under the shock that was the film. Welcome To New York falls flat when it comes to eliciting laughter. There are many jokes in the film but nothing funny enough to stop it from being a joke of a film.
What to do
Accept this invitation only if you are really out of your mind or want to kill some time, literally. By the time you walk out of the film you would have lost track of all that is sensible in the world. Consider yourself forewarned.
Rating:1.5 out of 5
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