The dons are back, but not the laughs

Welcome Back
Hindi (U/A)
Cast: Nana Patekar, Anil Kapoor, John Abraham, Shruti Haasan, Naseeruddin Shah
Director: Anees Bazmee
Rating: **

Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar are still unmarried and up to knotty troubles all the time. The erstwhile dons, now running a business empire in Dubai, have to marry off their sister (Shruti Haasan) before they get hitched themselves.

Welcome was a rollicking romp. Heck, the sequel isn’t half the fun. While Nana Patekar and Anil Kapoor are in top form, the rest of the cast don’t even remotely match their goofy energy.

So you have John Abraham stepping into predecessor Akshay Kumar’s shoes, and getting hurt big time. A beefcake of a bhai, John specialises in various bone-breaking techniques. Hurl hundreds of goons at him and all of them go crunch-crunch in seconds.

Paresh Rawal is on a cuss course, while con women Dimple Kapadia and daughter (newcomer Ankita Shrivastava) play a matchmaking game. Dimple, however, gets to do slightly better things towards the end. Like winking at a cheeky Naseeruddin Shah, who plays ‘Wanted Bhai’, the father of all bhais.

Shiney Ahuja makes an appearance as Shah’s drug-addict son who takes a break only to paint unseen beauties he hallucinates about.

Rajpal Yadav offers a PK moment as he comes dressed in nothing but a transistor, belting out some crotch jokes.

Barring some buffoonery by Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar, Welcome Back isn’t quite a show.