|
|
Monday, February 10, 2025
|
|
BOLLYWOOD YAMLA PAGLA DEEWANA
EDITOR'S PICK
Rating: ***
When was the last time you went to see a movie to watch a
real-life film family have fun? Was it 40 years ago in "Kal Aaj Aur Kal"
when the Kapoor khandaan, grandfather Prithviraj Kapoor, son Raj and grandson
Randhir Kapoor got together to show us how the generation gap can smother a free
flow of ideas and emotions within a family?
In "Yamla Pagla Deewana" (YPD) where the Deol parivar puts its
laughing heads together for a fun fiesta, the problem in the plot is just the
opposite of what we saw in "Kal Aaj Aur Kal". The generation gap has
disappeared. Son Bobby Deol calls his father Dharmendra ‘Dharam` in the formal
moments and ‘Kamina` when Bobby-boy is in a particularly affectionate mode of
thought.
Both father-son go around conning the whole of Varanasi in the first, decidedly
more deft and amusing half of this crazy, zany, irreverent ode to a
dysfunctional family. Sunny Deol`s NRI character comes searching from Vancouver
for a father and brother who are hardly in the mood to be found. Turban in
place.
Cleverly, often wittily, written by Jasvinder Singh Bath, YPD is big broad
burlesque-styled homage to the spirit of on-screen and off-screen camaraderie.
The Deol brothers are in full form and have been cleverly cast to create a
somewhat disembodied study in contrasts. Bobby is deliberately loud and hammy,
almost like Salman Khan in "Dabangg" without the humour in uniform.
Sunny Deol in a more controlled avatar than the other two Deols does his
larger-than-life heroic act with habitual panache. It`s interesting to see how
Sunny balances out the guffaws with the fights. His character and the rest of
the plot repeatedly hark back to the dhishum-dhishum bak-bak razmatazz of the
1970s when cinema was all about unabashed villain bashing on sets that were
supposed to look like sets.
Director Samir Karnik who showed his sensitive side in the underrated
"Heroes", here muffles the mellow moods in a melee of harangue and
one-liners.
Interestingly the lines of morality are delightfully blurred here. Dharmendra
the ultimate super-hero of the 1970s is here an unapologetic con-man. One never
knows when the he-man transforms into the hee-hee man. All that matters is that
Dharmendra seems to be having fun in his sons` company. The mood of mischievous
gaiety is contagious even in the second comparatively less engaging half when
the entire cast moves to rural Punjab where Bobby woos the comely Kulraj
Randhawa and wins over her zanily autocratic father(Anupam Kher, in full
farcical form) and his battalion of goofily macho patriarchs.
For better or worse all films about marriage and courtship in a Punjabi milieu
always reminds us of Imtiaz Ali`s "Jab We Met".
But hey, did Imtiaz`s film have Dharmendra`s first-born creating a ruckus after
drinking whiskey out of a bucket? Nahin na? There are in-house Deol jokes and
references to Dharmendra neo-classics "Sholay", "Dharam-veer",
"Phool Aur Patthar" and "Pratiggya", all adding up to a
rather heartwarming tribute to the Deols.
The spirit of tongue-in-cheek irreverence dominates the proceedings. The film
has a rough-at-the-edges feel to it, perhaps deliberately to accentuate the
rugged humour.
By the time we come to the crazy climax in the godown in the second-half,
someone comments, "This looks like a cheap godown set from a tacky Hindi
movie." And we get the point of this scrambled crazy-as-can-be exercise in
subversive laughter.
Director Samir Karnik loves the Deols. The Deols love one another. And we love
watching a diehard Deol fan of a director bring Bollywood`s family together in a
comedy that keeps us smiling till the last breathless moment of hilarious havoc.
Yes we love this film`s anything-goes mood. There are some delectable cameos.
Watch out for Sucheta Dalaal as a spaced-out Canadian-and-sex-starved spinster
and Amit Mistry as a not-so-cool Punjabi dude. They get the point.
So do we.
Actress Sonakshi Sinha says that she is going to do a special song in "Yamla Pagla Deewana Fir Se".Dharmendra, Sunny Deol and Bobby Deol starrer hit franchise "Yamla Pagla Deewana" is entering into its third film with Sonakshi appearing in a special song titled "Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se". Read More
Dharmendra most charmingly genuine: Anupam KherAnupam Kher has called veteran actor Dharmendra the "most charmingly genuine person" he has ever met.Read More
‘Yamla Pagla Deewana’, apt to the title this one brings together the three Deols – Dharmendra, Sunny & Bobby as never featured before in a genre comprising of comedy, action & romance. The film begins in Canada, travels to Banaras and eventually makes its way to Punjab.
The Father-Son duo of Dharam Singh and Gajodhar Singh (Dharmendra and Bobby Deol) are the biggest con-men in Banaras. Their happy go lucky existence involves drinking and pulling off hilarious cons on unsuspecting people. The only hitch in their perfect albeit notorious life arrives in the form of Paramveer Singh Dhillon (Sunny Deol).
A brawny and honest NRI from Vancover, Paramveer, lands up in Banaras claiming to be Gajodhar’s elder brother separated at childhood. The duo willingly accepts Paramveer into their fold only to exploit his muscle power to serve their con games.
Meanwhile Gajodhar falls in love with Saheba (Kulraj Randhawa), a beautiful Sardarni from Punjab. As their romance reaches its peak, her brothers arrive and forcibly take her away. Paramveer saves the day with a crazy plan to win the girl back for Gajodhar which leads them to the rustic heartlands of Punjab.
What follows is a rollercoaster ride showcasing the Great Indian Joint Family, Eccentric Relatives, Marriage Mayhem, and a classic case of Mistaken Identities!
“Duniyawaalon! Iss kahaani mein Comedy hai! Action hai! Romance hai! Drama hai! Melodrama hai! Emotion hai!… Aur saala bahut saara Confusion hai!!”
Music launch of film Yamla Pagla Deewana 2 Stills 