Can Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se bring back the Deol renaissance into Bollywood? The first Yamla Pagla Deewana was surprisingly funny, the sequel was a debacle. And if you pinned your hopes on Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se to revive the fortunes of the Deols, sadly, you will be disappointed. Just like Race 3 and six-packs did little to save Bobby Deol's flailing career. Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se is a travesty in every sense.

Vaid Puran Singh (Sunny Deol) is an Ayurvedic doctor in Amritsar, who is idealistic and good-hearted. His younger brother, Kaala (Bobby Deol) is a good-for-nothing fellow with dreams of migrating to Canada. They are bothered by a long-time tenant in their house, a flirtatious lawyer Parmar (Dharmendra), who sees imaginary apsaras and refuses to vacate his room. Puran has a miraculous formula called Vajra Kavach in his possession that could cure any ailment, which is eyed by a big medical corporation. When Puran resists their deal, they send a spy in the form of a pretty doctor (Kriti Kharbanda) to steal the formula and slap an infringement case on him. The heroes have to join hands together to fight this evil corporation, and give a very lazy message on how Indian medicine rocks!

The Deols have to be lauded for their confidence to continue a franchise that is standing on weak legs. Unfortunately for them, Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se does little to justify that confidence. For this movie is a cringe-fest, with an execution that should have been left in the '90s.

The comedy is flat for most of the film, barring a courtroom sequence in the climax that delivers some OTT laughs. Otherwise, the humour relies too much on Punjabi and Gujarati tropes to generate chuckles, and for some reason, also on Bobby Deol's lack of comic timing and Dharmendra cavorting with imaginary young angels. How long do we have to bear all those khakra-fafda references or Punjabi's love for the spirit before Bollywood realises there is more to these states than their appetite proclivities?

And if not these caricaturish jokes, then YPDPS goes back to what any Deol movies these days do - make jokes that pass off as tributes to its lead stars. So as usual, Sunny Deol has to punch things (he even gets to stop a truck in full speed. Sigh!). Dharmendra makes mincemeat of his old songs and dialogues. Bobby Deol, surprisingly, doesn't make any Gupt or Soldier or DJ Bobby jokes, and instead replicates his father's famous Sholay water-tank scene one time too many. Just that none of them is worth any chuckle. And even less effective is the weak romance between Bobby and Kriti's romance.

The first half is truly terrible while the second half becomes sparsely interesting, thanks to the courtroom scenes. It's not that they are great; these sequences are very cartoonishly depicted. But there is some mirth in the proceedings, which feels like a discovery of a miniature oasis in a desert. Salman Khan's cameo towards the end (along with the star-studded Rafta Rafta song) comes too late; it is also one of his worst special appearances after Welcome to New York.

Major blame for Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se's failures should go to the shoddy writing (Dheeraj Rattan) and Navaniat Singh's uninspired direction. The songs are decent at the most, except for the foot-tapping Rafta Rafta. Editing is another major drawback; with a very flimsy premise, the movie shouldn't have gone for a runtime of nearly two and a half hours. The background score is irritating!

The Performances

Bobby Deol, who gets surprisingly major screentime, struggles in a role that he has grown past ten years ago. The actor makes no kind of impact in either the comedy scenes or the romantic ones. I have no clue what the hell was going on in the supposedly funny scenes between him and Asrani (wasted). It was awkward to see Dharmendra in the film, the veteran star is clearly not comfortable with the humour. It's only in the climax that his act somewhat works. Kriti Kharbanda has a very beatific smile but her performance is annoying. Shatrughan Sinha, in a friendly appearance, is merely passable.

The sole saving grace is Sunny Deol. He is the only actor in the cast who leaves some kind of impression in the film with a decent act and a child-like innocence. The movie comes alive when his dhai kilo ka haath gets to bash goons, and he is really good in the emotional scene where he sermonises his wayward younger brother and lawyer.

Yay!

- Sunny Deol

- Rafta Rafta song in the end

- A couple of feebly funny jokes

Nay!

- Alas, the rest of the movie!

Final Thoughts

Yamla Pagla Deewana Phir Se is not the movie you want to see the Deols in, if you have a soft corner for this father-sons jodi. Totally avoidable!

Rating:
1.5 out of 5

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 31, 2018 03:37 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).