TheReviewMonk
Welcome Back backdrop

Welcome Back

4 September 2015Hindi2h 30mPart 2 of the Welcome series
out of 10
Mixedlukewarm or divided
Monk Score · 19 scored reviews · 8 not rated

Kapoor and Patekar shine, but sloppy writing and a chaotic finish drag it down.

Verdict tier Mixed, lukewarm or divided, on a scale of Unfavorable, Mixed, Recommended, Exceptional.

  • Praised: Kapoor and Patekar's comic performances
  • Criticised: Lazy writing and incoherent narrative

Audience

User score 2.0 out of 10 from 6 ratings, Unfavorable
Read 3 audience reviews ↓

Not streaming in India

Critic consensus

What 26 critics are saying

Critical reception for Welcome Back leans negative to mixed, with most reviewers finding it a pale imitation of its predecessor. The near-unanimous bright spot is the comic pairing of Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar, whose performances and timing are repeatedly singled out as the film's primary saving grace. Common criticisms include lazy, logic-free writing, an overlong runtime, a chaotic and incoherent climax, and a visual tackiness that several critics found difficult to overlook. A minority of reviewers concede it delivers on its promise of brainless slapstick for undemanding fans of the genre.

How the 19 scores spread

8 not-rated reviews aren't plotted

Positive / mixed / negative reviews

Positive = 6.5/10 and up · negative = below 5/10

AI-generated summary of 26 critic reviews · may contain errors

Report inaccuracy

From the papers

Critic reviews (27)

Top critics first, then by score · not-rated last · updated

  1. Top critic

    NDTV

    Film review ·

    Naseeruddin Shah gives Wanted Bhai his best shot, but this baddie isn't half as flashy or colourful as Feroz Khan's RDX. Welcome Back is stuck in the past. Why go there?
  2. Top critic

    Rediff

    Film review ·

    If only this were shorter, crisper, a bit smarter, with just a touch more… um, control, Mr Bazmee, control.
  3. Top critic

    Indian Express

    Film review ·

    There really is no reason why the sequel, despite the collective clunkiness of John and Shruti, shouldn't have worked in exactly the same way. But the jagged narrative and heavy-handed manner of delivering dialogue, much more risible and tasteless than the original, ruins it. We've moved on ; the film, and its treatment, hasn't.
  4. Gulf News

    Film review ·

    Simply leave your brains at home – definitely don't try understanding the climax – and go have a few laughs this weekend.
  5. NowRunning

    Film review ·

    What makes Welcome Back different is that director Anees Bazmee promises a senseless comedy, he delivers one. No logic, just irrational laughter.
  6. DNA India

    Film review ·

    If you're in the mood for brain-dead humor, this is it. And if you're avid fans of Uday and Majnu Bhai.
  7. FridayMoviez

    Film review ·

    ...might click with the audience mainly because of the charming dons Majnu Bhai and Uday Bhai as both Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar are the icing on the cake in the film and they indeed devour the cake whole with their wacky one-liners and tickle your funny bone throughout the film. It's a light hearted comic caper which can kill some of your idle and monotonous time. So, if you are a fan of slapstick humour, do book your tickets for this one.
  8. Hindustan Times

    Film review ·

    Welcome Back is funny in parts, but that 'Welcome' fluidity is missing big time. There are moments but they are very limited in number. Welcome Back's pace is its biggest asset and that may make you enjoy this 153-minute long film.
  9. Yahoo

    Film review ·

    ...is not completely insufferable and there is definitely some fun to be had. It helps that John Abraham looks like a million bucks and seems to have enjoyed playing this part. Anees Bazmee also keeps cringe-worthy humour to a bare minimum. If slapstick is your kind of thing, then you will enjoy this one.
  10. KoiMoi

    Film review ·

    Welcome Back is no where close to Welcome so I suggest you don't go watching this film with expectations of the previous one. If your tastes involve logic defying humor filled with crassness, you will love this film.
  11. Bollywood Life

    Film review ·

    In Welcome Back, you have inserted the scenes from the first film to build context to why this film exists in the first place. You shouldn't have done that, 'cos every viewer in the theatre is there because they enjoyed that film. Those scenes only made me pine to watch that film again, go to IMDB and increase its rating. As for this film of yours, sorry sirs, Welcome Back is NOT welcome at all!
  12. Deccan Chronicle

    Film review ·

    Anil and Nana are the only saving grace of the film. Watch only for their comic timing otherwise this no-brainer can be give a 'no welcome' board.
  13. PinkVilla

    Film review ·

    From mumbling bizarre one-liners to gyrating to strange dance steps, Anees resorts to the lowest forms of physical comedy to evoke laughs. The stock antics aren't delightful enough and the story doesn't allow any of its actors to flaunt their vivacious comic streak to the fullest.
  14. The Navhind Times

    Film review ·

    Almost a decade after Welcome, which was no great shakes by any stretch of imagination but nevertheless was good enough for a few silly laughs, we have the sequel in the form of Welcome Back. As the audience, we were surely much better off if they hadn't come back. It is not worth a wada-pav, and a big ensemble cast has just been cobbled together to create some kind of chaos to pass off as a story. This is sheer lazy writing that too at its worst.
  15. Wogma

    Film review ·

    I really don't know what to say. Why anyone thinks any of this is even remotely funny, I don't understand. Even the one-liners are WhatsApp forwards. A couple rare lines bring a smile. Sure, there were a few laughters in the theater. But, if I had to guess it would be more because they were laughing at the film rather than with it.
  16. BookMyShow

    Film review ·

    Welcome Back doesn't disappoint. The film has all the dialogue-baazi, fight sequences, and chaos to keep you entertained. Also, watch this film for some excellent performances by Nana Patekar, Anil Kapoor, and Paresh Rawal.

From our readers

Audience reviews (3)

6 ratings · user score 2.0

  1. Tejas NairSept 2015
    2/10

    If Welcome (2007) was like spreading lots of peanut butter on a brown bread slice using a butter spreader, its sequel is like sprinkling white bread crumbs on a bowl of stale peanuts that belongs in a dustbin. The latter does not even make sense. The Shetty brothers (Patekar & Kapoor) have left the underworld and are now in the real estate business. Their sister's in-laws Ghungroo (Rawal) and his wife are leading a peaceful life. But out of nowhere, both the parties find that they have a sister (Hasan) and an illegitimate son (Abraham), respectively, to euphemistically dispose of. As bizarre as it may sound, this sister and this son meet and fall in love and engage in tonsil hockey all in a matter of hours. But since the Shetty brothers have shed their criminal threads, they do not want Ghungroo's wife's illegitimate son to marry their Donald Duck of a sister because he is a local Mumbai don. As you see, the tables have turned and all that we have on the table are stale peanuts. There seems to be a competition among the actors to come up with the worst performance. I was excited to see disgraced actor Shiny Ahuja's name pop up on the beginning credits, but unfortunately he wins the competition, followed by beasty Abraham (god damn Baazigar over here) as the runner up. The remaining take home consolation prizes, with the exception of Patekar, who is the only reason the film does not totally slip into nothingness. Numerous songs stuffed inside the poor screenplay that play in tandem produces the right amount of boredom in its audience who by the end of the 150-minute film are sure to consult their therapists. The film gasps for a story, which looks repetitive if you have enjoyed the prequel, and the small amount of humor that it does have is mindless slapstick that induce nothing more than a titter. As a result, the screenplay tries to entertain itself by allowing its characters to play antakshari in a graveyard with two fake bodies doing rounds around them. If you're still inclined to spend money on the film, all you have to do is visualize and consider this sequence: the illegitimate son hops from one camel's hump to another to another and so on to save an underworld don from a sandstorm that's breezing in. Poor camels. BOTTOM LINE: Anees Bazmee's Welcome Back is sure a mindless comedy with frequent doses of action and songs that may appeal to some, but the real question is, is this a sign of Bollywood's tread into darkness? GRADE: F. Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

  2. 3/10

    Over the years, Bollywood have churned out numerous sequels hoping to cash in on the popularity of its predecessor. Invariably, many of them have hit the bull's eye such as "Dabaang 2" or "Singham Returns"; while others like "Ab Tak Chappan 2" have bit the dust. This weekend we have Anees Bazmee with the sequel of the hilarious blockbuster "Welcome" . Now the question is whether "Welcome Back" be as successful as its prequel after all such movies with a nonsensical story-line depends solely on the cast & screenplay??? Uday Shetty (Nana Patekar) & Majnu bhai (Anil Kapoor) have mended their ways (or so they believed) & led an upright life which they still found hard to be accustomed to as they were now paying hafta to small time crooks. Both of them were still single & harbored hopes of entering into matrimonial bliss after they get floored by Rajkumari Nandhini alias Babita (Ankita Shrivastava). In fact, she was no royalty as she along with her mom, Poonam (Dimple Kapadia) conned people on the pretext of romance & these two dimwits happened to be their latest victims. At around this time, Uday realises that he has a step sister in the form of Ranjhana (Shruti Hassan) & the search for a suitable groom for her takes them to Dr. Ghunghroo's (Paresh Rawal) household again. When they are told that Dr. Ghunghroo had a son Ajju (John Abraham) (step-son actually), they have no qualms in fixing the alliance expecting him to be as cavalier as his father & cousin. But the truth was Ajju barely had a semblance of such virtues as he was an infamous gangster who ruled the roost in Mumbai. In the past decade or so, the kind of movies that Anees Bazmee have created has been pathetic to say the least as none of them barely had a plot though there were a couple of hilarious ones like "Welcome" and "Singh is Kingg". His latest venture "Welcome Back" is no different , but unlike it's prequel this one severely suffers from lack of smart dialogues and witty one liners. Inspite of an able cast at his disposal, the film fails to sustain a smile on our face for more than a scene or two which leaves us perplexed wondering whether the humour sense of the makers was so poor. In the technical department, the grandiosity of Dubai was aptly showcased through Kabir Lal's lenses while the other aspects doesn't deserve much of a mention. Anil Kapoor & Nana Patekar are the life source of this movie and they have done it in style especially the former who was bang on as the stylish, tapori lingo spewing bhai. As for the other veterans, Paresh Rawal doesnt get much riotous lines while Nasserudeen Shah & Dimple Kapadia were over the top. It's kinda known that John can break a shoulder much more easily than shoulder a scene with his comic timing like Akshay. He fails miserably as expected just like his co-star Shruti Hassan & we are left wondering as to why both of them were even casted in the first place. Verdict: "Welcome" was not a great movie by any stretch of imagination but it was rollicking to say the least & when compared to it's sequel, it seems like a classic now. Anywaz the sequel will surely cash in the initial but will struggle in the long run as it wont have the word of mouth in its favour. The humour is so trite that there is an oft repeated dialogue in the movie "Yeh Toh Mazaak Tha" which seemed more like a cue for the audience to laugh rather than serve any other purpose. In short, give it a miss!!! Rating: 1.75/5 Regards...Ben

Credits

Cast & crew

Cast

You may also like

Hindi films like Welcome Back

TMDB

This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.