• Shubhra Gupta
    Shubhra Gupta
    Indian Express

    2

    You wish there was more savagery and skewering all round, but Welcome To New York turns out to be a limp, lame tribute to Bollywood. Why would I bother to see this in a film, when TV shows are full of it?

  • Anupama Chopra
    Anupama Chopra
    Film Companion

    2

    … this incoherent mess of a film plays out more like an extended skit or a school play

  • Rohit Vats
    Rohit Vats
    Hindustan Times

    1

    Welcome To New York is totally lost in New York, and looks nothing more than an extended IIFA trailer. It’s not worth wasting your time, money, patience and intelligence on this mind-numbing promotional video.

  • Rohit Bhatnagar
    Rohit Bhatnagar
    Deccan Chronicle

    2

    The film is a torturous endorsement of IIFA. The only question popping up in your mind is, ‘What is it?’ Is it a film or a fancy documentary on IIFA Awards in New York. Enter the theatre at your own risk or at least carry a punching bag along with you if you are unfortunate to see it.

  • The film fails miserably in its intent if the intent were to spoof Bollywood, as it only does that for the sake of punchlines and does not explore it better.

  • Lasyapriya Sundaram
    Lasyapriya Sundaram
    Times Of India

    5

    The laughs are few and far between and most scenes and dialogues which manage to tickle the funny bone involve Karan and Riteish. The biggest let-down is the script and the various tracks in the narrative don’t always come together as a whole and seem contrived. The visual effects in the film are also tacky, to say the least.

  • On the whole, this movie does not even fall in the trashy category. Even some of the worst films have unintentional humour, this doesn’t even has that to boast of. Please give it a miss and watch Sonu Ke Titu Ki Sweety instead for some genuine comedy.

  • I still cannot decipher the reason behind this over-120 minute apology of a movie. Is there something I failed to glean from the storyline? Are the proceeds and profits (wishful thinking, methinks) going to charity? Did everyone work on this film for free?

  • The 3D part in the film is a waste. The intent behind Welcome to New York leaves many questions – why is the main one. Why 3D, why make this movie, why give Karan Johar a double role, why not use more cameos? Why watch this indulgent snoozefest? That last question is the only one with a clear answer.

  • Manisha Lakhe
    Manisha Lakhe
    NowRunning

    1

    The movie itself is terribly made. It uses footage from the IIFA awards, showing how stars arrive and are seated and are cheering for something that’s happening on stage. It’s so terribly inserted, even lay people in the audience can see clearly that it is not shot for the film. And if IIFA paid money to promote their brand, the audience will prove that content, not footage is king. Am sure Karan Johar’s cell phone has smarter and more interesting video footage than this awful, awful film.

  • Ankita Chaurasia
    Ankita Chaurasia
    Bollywood Life

    3

    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.

  • IANS
    IANS
    Sify

    3

    The 3D effects are unwarranted. As for the special graphic effects, the visual element that stands out is the scene which is designed like a stylized, comic book narrative, giving us a brief insight into Arjun’s (Karan Johar) backstory.
    The film has decent production values and actual IIFA Awards shots are seamlessly meshed into the narrative.

  • Claims to be India’s first ever 3d comedy film. God knows what 3-dimensional motion we saw in the film. We are saving 2 hrs of your life by recommending you not to watch this one. 

  • Lending a thin sliver of respectability to the film are the dignified and smooth turns by Boman Irani as the organizer-in-chief and Lara Dutta as the disgruntled woman. Dutta proves yet again after “Chalo Dilli,” “Singh Is Bliing” and “Azhar” that she has taking it easy in her profession just when she has truly evolved as an actor.