Yamla Pagla Deewana: The Deols are back...with a bang, or without it?

There are some movies that are so boring that you leave the auditorium after the intermission and regret having seen even the first half of it. YPD is not one of those movies; it is the kind of movie that you want to leave after the intermission, but would regret if you do. Starring the explosive (with the exception of Bobby) Deols, YPD has been a much awaited movie, especially in the northern half of the country. And as one sits through the first half of the movie hoping for a super-dose of entertainment, all one receives is a super-dose of disappointment and long yawns. The movie starts really slow and focuses too much on the emotional melodrama which seems completely out of place in an over-the-top spoof-like intended-comedy. The first half attempts to build involvement in a story which is almost non-existent, and the one thing that is needed: quality humor and punches, are far and too few to keep one engaged.

The real zest of the movie, however, comes up in the second half when the Deol-trio decide to go to Punjab in an attempt to help Bobby elope with his lady love. Along enters a whole bunch of half-lit brains, ranging from Anupam Kher as a pistol-carrying wanna-be politician to Mukul Dev who delivers a charming performance as a drunkard. Please do not assume that the movie builds an interesting story in this half, but the dramatic and chaotic interactions and situations create a series of very funny moments. The kind of humor here is neither Rohit Shetty type with deliberately placed jokes, nor is it like “Phans Gaye Re Obama” with carefully articulated situational humor. Instead, the movie takes a bit of both worlds to create not-so-realistic yet funny situations, cautiously decorated with relevant and humorous dialogues. One of the scenes where Sunny Deol drinks liquor from a bucket and roars insults at the girl’s brothers is one of the funniest scenes in the movie, and worth watching over and over again.

Coming over to the actors in the movie, the show-stealer is clearly Sunny Deol with his endearing performance as the strong yet polite NRI, and he performs his comic and action parts superbly with characteristic super-star persona. Bobby Deol overacts throughout the movie, and excess of dialogues have been allotted to him, which irritate more than impress. Legendary star Dharmendra is more like a trophy in the movie, and performs his part with honesty and humility, but doesn’t have much to add. The leading lady of the movie Kulraj Randhawa, has a decent personality but shows too little of acting. There are a number of surprisingly good performances from Mukul Dev, Emma Brown Garett as Sunny Deol’s Canadian wife, and most of all Sucheta Khanna as a “Caneda-obsessed” Punjabi girl who insists on calling her “Poli” instead of “Bholi”.

The movie seems a bit too long, and could have easily taken better editing in the first half. The music is average, and there are too many songs that do not add much flavor to the movie. Cinematography is decent, especially for the parts shot in the beautiful land of Banaras. Overall, it is a movie that is good in parts, and could have been a lot better given the presence of super-stars such as Sunny and Dharmendra. Watch it in cinema only if you are a die-hard Sunny Deol fan, or if you have a great deal of patience to bear the painful pre-intermission fiasco. Otherwise, wait for the DVD release, so that you can skip the boring parts and enjoy the good ones.