Starring : Arshad Warsi, Jackky Bhagnani, Lauren Gottlieb , Imran Hasnee, Adnan Shah
Producer : Vashu Bhagnani
Director: Ashish R. Mohan
Music : Rochak Kohli, Jeet Ganguly, Amjad Nadeem
Review By : Kriti Agarwal
Rating : 2 out of 5
What's about : Indian version of Hollywood hit ‘Dumb and Dumber’, film hinges on two clichés: Pakistan is the most dangerous place on earth and a Patel will do anything it takes to get to the USA.
The core of Welcome 2 Karachi is a solid heist thriller, delving uncannily into international conspiracies, cross-border terrorism, intelligence teams, country-specific embassies and the navy.
Superficial understanding of contemporary geopolitics: In Karachi, everybody is armed and dangerous, the Taliban is omnipresent, the Americans call the shots from the shadows, and the Pakistani intelligence operatives and politicians floating around in the background are buffoons.
Agents from India, Pakistan, Israel, Palestine, the United States and China have a go at each other with their weapons and tanks. --- All this unfolds on the road in front of the Indian embassy in Clifton while our two protagonists cower like scared rabbits in a corner around the building !!!
From fart jokes, to 'f***er' jokes, the film is replete with absolutely ridiculous, offensive and still outright hilarious fun.
Location : The film has been shot in UK- Bradford, Birmingham and Wales . Karachi sets were recreated in UK to resemble Karachi. During the shooting of scenes in Wales, the lead actors were mistaken as real Taliban people and the shoot was halted by Scotland Yard authorities.
Story : Jamnagar boy Kedar Patel(Jackky Bhagnani) is the son of a Party organizer(Dalip Tahil) and dreams to migrate to America. Shami Thakur(Arshad Warsi) is an ex Marine Captain . Kedar & Shami party hard on a yacht which later capsizes. They land on the shores of Karachi .
They are captured by jihadi groups who use them as mujahideens to carry out terrorist activities. Kedar & Shami decide to steal a mobile phone which turns out to be a detonator and thus unknowingly destroy a terrorist camp. Pakistan prides in their bravery claiming them to be Pakistani citizens.
However, the American soldiers stationed in Pakistan desperately want to take the credit of blowing up the terrorist camp and hence offer Kedar & Shami a safe passage to India and in return the duo would inform the media that it was the Americans who did it. Kedar & Shami are at the airport to board their plane when they notice a terrorist as a pilot.
They decide to let go off their flight and pursue the terrorist.
Characters :
Arshad Warsi [ Shammi): really good, delivers his trademark quips in his inimitable, flawless style.
Jackky Bhagnani [ Kedar Patel ): witty and very effective as a Gujju. funny and speaks in accented Hindi.
Lauren Gottlieb [ Shazia ] : American actress looked stunning , rules heart with her dancing moves, dons an ISI agent avatar - it’s like asking watermelon to taste like a cantaloupe. Her dancing moves were unquestionable but for acting skills ????
Dalip Tahil is the quintessential shrewd Gujju businessman from Jamnagar,looks more Sindhi than Gujju.
Pakistani actors, Ayub Khoso the Taliban leader and Adnan Shah, add dollops of delight to the narration.
Pros :Rib tickling comedy of Arahad & Jackky. Recreation of Karachi and effective display of Pakistani characters – the politicians and jihadi groups. good plot
Cons : Horrible Dubbing, Unskilled Camerawork, Wayward Plot & Shoddy Direction, after interval the story gets dragged to an unnecessarily stretched climax , too unrealistic as a tea vendor is also seen with a gun in his pocket. Weak special effects and VFX.
Music :song 'Lalla Lalla Lori' is a hit amongst the youth . 'Karachi Ki Shakira' is a dance number with fun beats .‘Chal Bhaag” good in music.
Humor galore !!! :
1-All Patel’s in India are refused an American visa & every Gujarati is a miserly businessman.
2- WhatsApp, Skype, Youtube are banned in Pakistan.
3-Presence of Iraqis, Russians, Americans, Afghans, Chinese, Palestinians with weapons in Pakistan.
4-Kedar & Shami are introduced as Col. Ittefaq and Col. Whattefaq.
5- Kedar & Shami prefer to return back to India via Bangkok and not via Kathmandu.
6- Shammi believes that Taliban is a place. Hum Taliban mein hain, he tells his woolly-headed pal.
7- Every character has an intro tag- like ‘Genius’, ‘khadoos’, ‘corrupt’ etc.
8- stereotype syndrome – Every Pakistani is a gun-toting jerk (…this film should be banned in Pakistan for showing them in such a poor light!). For every ten minutes movie says, “Its Karachi, everything is dangerous here.”
9 - Every American is a selfish fool .
10 - Shammi was an ex-naval officer, yet he cannot handle guns or work out on proper escape plans; how did the Army recruit such morons in the first place!
11 - one Pakistani news channel even creates an entire fictional family for the Indian duo !
12 - Shammi uttering, 'Borders chote hai par differences bade' and 'Kameene dono deshon mein hote hai.'
13 - 'Yahan aloo ke bhao par goliyaan milti hai' is biting yet funny .
14 - The 'biriyani laao' scene is comic .
Bottom line : A brilliant idea, light hearted, mindless ,comedy thriller and appropriately silly. ‘W2K stays watchable for the witty and amusing dialogues . It manages to send us out laughing.
Lyrics of song 'Chal bhag nahi to G pe laat padegi' should be a hint to help you decide.