DVD Review: Welcome 
By Faridoon Shahryar, February 8, 2008 - 12:46 IST
Rajiv (Akshay Kumar) and his unmusical uncle Dr. Ghungroo (Paresh Rawal) are on the lookout for a 'behen, beti or bai' suitable enough for marriage and they happen to ring the doorbell of don Uday Shetty (Nana Patekar) and Majnu Bhai (Anil Kapoor) who are desperately seeking a groom for their sister Sanjana (Katrina Kaif, uff those sexy legs). Of course, the dons 'Welcome' them with unkempt cowboy grins and off goes the rambunctious title track of Anees Bazmee's blockbuster, Welcome. This sequence and the Sajid-Wajid chartbuster that follows is one of the special features of the DVD of this laugh riot that has been released in the Home Video segment by Studio 18 only in the overseas market. The domestic release will be done later by BIG.
A couple of other special features of this DVD happen to be
- Added Promos
- Subtitles in Arabic and English. Considering that the film has been largely shot in Dubai, that's a masterstroke for the Bolly-struck crowd in Gulf will have a friendly reason to watch this film while having a reference point that comes naturally to them.
Now what immediately strikes you is that maybe the DVD of such a special film as this could have been packaged in an even more exciting way. Apart from the title track (which you also happen to see at the end credits of the film), there could have been deleted scenes, making of the film and a few bloopers (Katrina's fluctuating dubbed voice is a blooper in itself anyway).
Technical Details
- 16.9 Anamorphic Widescreen
- 5.1 Dolby Digital
- Duration: 152 minutes
Reasons why you must buy Welcome DVD
The film is one of the biggest hits of Hindi cinema. It doesn't pretend to give you a social message or deviate from its basic aim of time-pass entertainment. If you've watched the film in theatres then you'd surely wish to watch it again in the comfort of your plasma-ensconced living room too. If you happen to live in some remote corner of the globe where Hindi films aren't released, then you must be really hungry for this one. Want to know why? Well…
Anil Kapoor with his superb comic timing fills each frame with an unmatched zestful energy. This is surely his most entertaining performance since Taal. When you watch Nana Patekar swirling to the hip-shaking sensuality of Mallika Sherawat or watching him go in the 'Control Uday' mode, you are bound to crack up. Katrina Kaif in her most glamorous avatar since Boom shows off curvaceous moves and slithering bare long legs which is enough to perfume your eyes with her strawberry flavour.
This may not be Akshay Kumar's best performance of 2007, but this superstar completes the show with his song-n-dance, perfect comic timing and heroics. Mallika, expectedly heats up the proceedings whenever she is on screen. Also notable is her gradual drift towards good performance as an actress. Paresh Rawal sleep walks through a role that only he can do.
When the music of the film was released, several upstart, so-called-critics (who claim to be having the pulse of the music buying public) slammed the ensemble music directors of Welcome for a poor show. But the fact of the matter is that the soundtrack of this film is still topping all the charts. Be it the foot tapping Welcome, Punjabi-enthused Uncha Lamba, song with the middle-east touch Tera Sarafa or the howlarious Insha Allah, you just can't escape their popularity. Anand Raj Anand is in big demand now both as a composer as well as the singer (he has sung Uncha Lamba and Tera Sarafa besides composing them). The slickly choreographed songs are another reason to check out this DVD at your-own-convenience.
What we like
“Welcome is a fun ride all the way”: indiafm.com. The slick DVD cover has the IndiaFM (Now Bollywood Hungama) stamp on it. We had given thumbs Up to the film on the Friday it was released and the people endorsed our opinion vociferously.
Final Verdict
The Welcome DVD is a must buy. For, you just can't afford to lose out on having the most hilarious movie out of your reach for too long. The more times you watch it, the more you enjoy it.
Rating: *** 1/2
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