Subhash K Jha speaks about Welcome 2 Karachi

By Subhash K. Jha -



 

What can we say about a comedy where our two goofy heroes fromSubhash K Jha speaks about Welcome 2 Karachi

 

Gujarat named Kader and Shammi who end up in Pakistan playing two

 

terrorists playing Ittefaq and….ahem, Wattthefaq?


 

Don't look at me. The narrative captures the silly sur and clings to

 

it till the end.


 

At first, you hate all the suffocating stereotyping. Once our two

 

….errrr…heroes reach 'Karachi' (looks like some exotic non-Asian

 

destination) we are subjected to a surfeit of terrorists, bombs and

 

yes, one item bomb named Lauren Gottlieb who plays…don't laugh… a

 

Pakistani Intelligence officer.


 

Honestly, we could do with less of such aggressive and provocative

 

portrayal of Pakistan, if for no other reason, than to avoid them on

 

the other side, making a film where they show every Indian as a rabid

 

fanatical fundamentalist.


 

To that extent Welcome 2 Karachi is based on a dangerously regressive

 

premise: take the two Indian (Hindu) heroes across the border and make

 

them dodge bombs and bullets like two kids who have run accidentally

 

onto a cricket field while Dhoni is showering runs.


 

On the run are two of the most brainless protagonists we've seen in a

 

Hindi film. To his credit, Jackky Bhagnani remains effortlessly in

 

character till the end. When an elderly Pakistani patriarch admonishes

 

Bhagnani for not speaking Urdu, he breaks into a dialogue from

 

Mughal-e-Azam. That this character should even be aware of Dilip Kumar's universe is a miracle.


 

In this way, we soon see how the comic element is turned around. And

 

the stereotypical jokes are eventually on the Indian protagonists who

 

come laden with ludicrous prejudices and end up going through a series

 

of bizarre often funny escapades. I specially liked the way some of

 

the hardcore terrorists display a humane side without even trying.


 

And the build-up towards a somber climax doesn't compromise the two

 

protagonists' sheer asininity.


 

Arshad is as usual the narrative's 'laugh' saver. The problem is that

 

unlike his screen partner Jackky, Arshad doesn't LOOK stupid and keeps

 

slipping out of character with extremely urbane and all-knowing

 

responses to the outrageous palate of plot twists provided to him.

 

Jackky has no such problem. He remains a clueless Gujju to the end.


 

Dhokla, anyone?


 

It's not easy to make a non-stupid film with two stupid characters at

 

its helm. Welcome 2 Karachi pulls off that daring feat without falling

 

flat on its face.



 

For that alone, this film deserves a bit of our attention.


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