Yamla Pagla Deewana - Mast Hai!!

Movie - Yamla Pagla Deewana (Hindi)

Director - Samir Karnik

Producers - Nitin Manmohan, Samir Karnik

Cast - Dharmendra, Sunny Deol, Bobby Deol, Kulraj Randhawa, Nafisa Ali, Anupam Kher, Punit Issar, Mukul Dev, Sucheta Khanna & Emma Brown
Music - Laxmikant - Pyarelal, RDB, Anu Malik, Nouman Javaid, Sandesh Shandilya, Rahul Seth, Sanjoy Choudhury
Cinematography - Kabir Lal, Binod Pradhan
Editing - Mukesh Thakur
Background Score - Sanjoy Chaudhury
Action - Anal Arasu
Art - Jeetendra Karwa
Writer - Jasvinder Bath
Release Date - 14th January 2011

The movie begins with a narration by Ajay Devgn about how Indians love movies which have estranged families reuniting in the climax and takes the example of the umpteen hit movies with this formula in the 70s and 80s. Its been a long long time since such a movie has hit our screens, and YPD taps into that genre which inevitably leaves Indian audiences happy each time it is told on screen. And the director Samir Karnik had a winner in his hands when he managed to get the real life father and sons Dharmendra, Sunny & Bobby Deol to play the leads in this comedy. Bollywood loves this family, especially Dharmendra and Sunny Deol and that was why even a terrible movie like Apne managed to become a success. But unlike Apne, YPD is a very entertaining film that celebrates and spoofs the careers of its 3 leading men, with a certain tongue-in-cheek attitude. The trailer was loved by everyone and the movie is also turning into a hit thereby proved that if they get the right movie, the Deols still have it in them to strike box office gold. 

Paramveer Singh Tillon (Sunny Deol) is married to a Canadian national Mary (Emma Brown) and is settled there with his wife, 2 kids and mother (Nafisa Ali). His mother had been separated from his father Dharam Singh (Dharmendra) for a long 30 years because his father couldnt leave his profession as a con-man and he left the family taking her second son Gajodhar (Bobby Deol) along with him. Paramveer learns that his father and brother are now Benaras and sets out to India to bring them back to his mother. In India, Paramveer meets his brother and father, who is not ready to accept the truth. So he joins their gang and their activities and when his brother Gajodhar falls in love with a Punjabi girl Sahiba (Kulraj Randhawa), he decides to help him win his girl's hand against the oppostion of her army of brothers led by Joginder Singh (Anupam Kher). The fun and confusions that happen eventually forms the rest of the movie. 

Now, with that kind of a plot at hand, the director has had a lot of fun with his characters and the movie gets much more interesting when it shifts to Punjab in the second half a la DDLJ. But the movie works majorly because of the chemistry between the real life father and sons and their own brand of humour. The confusions and the bunch of interesting characters give rise to more fun in the second half, leading to a slapstick climax which again spoofs and celebrates the Deols. There are great Sunny Deol fights, lovely Dharmendra moments, 2 great songs and lots of fun. On the flipside, Bobby Deol's romantic portions dont work and there are another 2-3 unwanted songs which could've been done away with. The first half could've been tighter but as soon as the action shifts from Benaras to Punjab, the movie becomes much more exciting. Usually, it is in the second half that most movies falter, but YPD gets it right in the second half after a not-so-great first half. 

The Deols are nothing short of brilliant in the film. Sunny Deol takes the cake among the three. After so many years of appearing in mundane action flicks which people wish to forget, the National Award winning actor has clearly enjoyed his role as the lovable NRI Sardarji Paramveer Singh. We get to see a lighter side of the actor which hasnt been utilized by any of his earlier directors. Its a delight when he has fun at his own expense in many scenes in the movie. There's a laugh out loud moment in the climax where his famous roar shatters the entire building and throws away both the good guys and bad guys. It is delightful to watch Sunny Deol in form after a long long time and you cant help but whistle when he beats up the baddies effortlessly with those 'dhaai kilo ka haath's. Dharmendra has also had a ball as the con-man baap. He is constantly dressed in colorful and vibrant clothes and his performance is young and energetic. He is endearing in the comedy scenes and powerful in the emotional ones. And of course, he also has a lot of fun spoofing and being spoofed. I am a big time hater of Bobby Deol and his movies, but I must say Bobby, the youngest and the least talented of the Deols, has done extremely well in this movie. In fact, this would be his career best performance. He just stays back and has fun making fun of his dad and big bro most of the time and his comic timing has also improved tremendously. He does fairly well in the romance portions also but those scenes hamper the pace of this comedy film and do not work very well. Kulraj Randhawa is a beautiful young lady and by her performance in this film, it looks like she can act too. She is sure to go places soon. Anupam Kher in a comic role after a really long time is brilliant. Mukul Dev is superb and its a surprise that he wasnt working for such a long time. Sucheta Khanna is lovely as the 'Caneda' loving Poli. Amit Mistry, the funny guy from 99 is very good. Nafisa Ali was hamming a bit too much. There's Johnny Lever also in one funny scene. Emma Brown, the firang who played Sunny's wife was also very good. 

The music of the film is a mixed bag. It has two great songs - the remix of Dharmendra's biggest hit 'Yamla Pagla Deewana', which also serves as a theme track for the movie; and a beautiful Punjabi melody 'Charha De Rang'. The rest of the songs, including two item numbers do not work at all. The background score is very effective and peps up the proceedings. Cinematography by veterans Kabir Lal and Binod Pradhan is wonderful and showcases the beauty of Benaras and Punjab. Action by famous South Indian fight master Anal Arasu is kickass and Sunny Deol's fights are one of the highlights of the movie. Art by Jeetendra Karwa was also effective. Jasvinder Singh Bath's screenplay could've been tighter in the first half but is very effective in the second half with hilarious sequences coming one after the other. The dialogues are first rate. 

On the whole, YPD is a wonderful throwback to the good old masala entertainers of the 70s, 80s and 90s in this age of sophisticated movie-making. And it is also a celebration of one of India's most loved celebrity families - the Deols. They have had a lot of fun making this movie and that reflects on the audience too, making them have as much fun watching this movie, as they did making it. When Hindi Cinema has been making terrible films in the name of comedies and entertainers like Tees Maar Khan & No Problem, Yamla Pagla Deewana shows how its done the right way. Lets hope we get to see more of the Deols in such refreshing movies hereon. Watch it for the fun, the madness and of course, the Deols!! 

Rating - 3.5/5