Yamla Pagla Deewana

I haven't spent much time thinking about this movie…..it doesn't merit much thought. So I'll just give my surface-level initial reactions. I enjoyed the movie to some extent, particularly the second half. Let's take a look a look at the things that added to the charm of the movie.

After Dillagi (which I quite liked up the point the melodrama began), it was good to see the brothers back together (I missed watching Shaheed). The addition of Dharmendra to the cast (I missed seeing them all in Apne) made the movie a jewel in itself, even if it had had a terrible story. On the contrary, the plot of the story was quite interesting, although a bit stretched at places. The idea of beginning a story at a point where most old Hindi movies end – the reunion of a family and actually dealing with the complexities of bringing the family together in the real sense – was innovative.

Another attraction in the movie was its locations. I can't remember seeing a movie prior to this one that was shot extensively in Benares. I still haven't been there, so it was great to see the 'holy' town with all its nuances including the two 'thugs' (nicely ironic). I haven't been to Patiala either; but I guess I've been exposed to it by a range of movies.

In terms of acting, the familial bonds of the Deol(s) worked well for the movie. I enjoyed seeing all the leading men freely shedding tears of grief and joy. I have observed this change in television and cinema where tears have become acceptable for men over the years. This movie brought it out full on. It was also pleasant to finally see Kulraj Randhawa in a Hindi movie. I noticed potential in her when I first saw her in Zee TV's Kareena Kareena and was quite impressed with her performance in the Punjabi movie Mannat. The other leading lady of Yamla Pagla Deewana (YPD), Emma Brown Garrett also delivered a notable performance, especially with her Hindi (and Punjabi) dialogues. And I adored the two boys (ditto!!). A special mention for Mukul Dev – I have never been as impressed with him as I was in this one; he was so believable. The character of Anupam Kher was also enjoyable and reminded us of the so many trigger happy north Indian men (thank god the bullets were blanks).

But mostly, I was glad to see the movie in the ambience that I saw it in. I watched this hit movie on a Monday evening to a reasonably full house at my lovely local cinema in the company of everyone ranging from the rickshaw drivers, the local bullies, the fun-loving families, and the small businessmen. In case you've forgotten what it was like to view a movie outside of a multiplex (filled with wannabe's scared to voice anything more than a 'decent' smile), I enjoyed YPD in the ambient noise of whistles, claps, curses and heartfelt laughter. Believe me, the real joy of watching crowd-puller masala movies like this one is in such company.

In terms of specific scenes, I really liked how the 'Gurudwara' scene was played out. It was an intelligent choice of location for the scene and increased its emotional value by many times. For me, it was the highlight of the movie.

However, there were quite a few disappointing moments that led the film to eat more footage than was required. I would have pleased with a 2.5 hour movie. I didn't like the climax…… they could have run away without being spotted. I felt that their being spotted was introduced in the movie without plausible events. As a suggestion, it might have been better if instead of Gajodhar saving 'Jo Paji' from Minty (Puneet Issar) during an unnecessary fight, he would have been faced by a difficult choice of revealing his true self to the brothers to do the right thing and unravel some conspiracy of Minty. That would have definitely left one with a strong ending (like DDLJ).

I also felt both item songs were unnecessary. The first song (Tinku Jiya ishq ka manjan) should in fact have directly focused only on the father-son in acts of deceit after the shot of Paramvir in Canada. That would have brought out a stronger contrast. The second song could have been more about the brothers bonding and the father-son drinking.

Aside from these moments that did not work from me, the overall film was fun and worth a watch (after shutting of your mind and turning on your heart). In its genre (family comedy), it did a good job!