Karan Johar playing himself ridicules his own films. Riteish Deshmukh jovially accepts his ‘star’ status. Rana Daggubati is fighting his BAAHUBALI hangover, Aditya Roy Kapur’s apple juice in the ‘apple’ city calms a crying Sonakshi and wait Aditya also gives acting tips to a Bollywood obsessed Diljit Dosanjh and comforts Sonakshi that he is alive and not dead. Well that’s sounds like a spoof and a portion of WELCOME TO NEWYORK directed by Telugu helmer Chakri Toleti has that novelty.
Unfortunately, the spoof suddenly decides to roam in the feel good zone and refuses to dig further and shifts its focus.
Teji (Diljit Dosanjh) is obsessed with Bollywood. Jeenal (Sonakshi Sinha) is a fashion designer. A certain Gray (Boman Irani) is the owner of an event company in New York and a Bollywood award is getting planned. Gary’s assistant played by Lara Dutta plans contest to attract Indian eyeballs for the international event. The contest which gives an opportunity to people to get an entry in the industry gains popularity as the winners will make it to the awards gala and get clicked with their favorite stars. The clumsy Jeenal and the kind hearted clown Teji make their way in to the ceremony courtesy a plan of treachery masterminded by Lara Dutta.
The settings are fair enough for a chaos and with the added tweak of Karan Johar’s double role where the other one is a gangster who hates the popular filmmaker, anchor, actor, writer, who loves to dance and is a proud father. But barring a few moments, the movie fails to amuse the audience and indulges in showing clippings of IFFA awards. Yes there is Salman Khan with his brothers Arbaaz and Sohail reconfirming Sonakshi as lead for DABANGG 3, a man getting punished for watching KUCH KUCH HOTA HAI. But it’s all appetizers, the main course never arrives.
Flashes of Robert Altman READY TO WEAR (PRÊT-À-PORTER) a spoof on fashion haunts, ironically that 1999 movie was also shoddy and half baked.
It’s the feel good factor and the infectious charm of Diljit Dosanjh and Sonakshi Sinha’s lovely innocence that powers this film more than the gags and jokes in this wannabe satire/spoof.
As the movie progresses and we see the clippings of IIFA, it gets appalling more and more as we find this movie a pointless chest beating and laughable case of misconception – a result of a clumsy rehearsal done without cohesive understanding of the genre/plot/premise and having the audacity to call it the final act?
The director thinks he has made a satire on Bollywood awards. One of the producers Wizcraft who organize IIFA every year believes they have turned smarter by entering into movie production by poking fun at themselves. Karan Johar, Riteish Deshmukh might be thinking they have pushed the envelope by allowing the jokes on them and their movies. Diljit Dosanjh and Sonakshi Sinha might be under the impression that they are part of a feel good entertainer. Lara Dutta may have thought that she has got some meat in her role. Finally the audience those who have visited the theatres might have entered to watch a 3D spoof on Bollywood and its awards.
The ‘commercialization’ of Bollywood awards which is now meant to attract maximum eyeballs on television was not enough that this unwanted and pointless welcome is planned and for whom.
The whole mess by the name WELCOME TO NEW YORK is nothing but an extended promotion of the IIFA awards. Channels (television) deals are done, now look for another channels (medium) that seems to be the idea behind this movie. Knowing the present nature of the credibility of awards in Bollywood, WELCOME TO NEW YORK as a film is nothing but a plain scratching on the surface that is reluctant to dig in deep and lacks observation. Its ironical but thanks to the feel good aura crated by Diljit and Sonakshi which in reality was not the demand, saves this spoof to turn terrible.
It has some moments of fun mentioned in the beginning but the spoof seems to come with acceptable terms and conditions. Karan Johar plays himself and allows spoof on him but gets a double role in the bargain. In any case, the banter between Karan Johar and Riteish Deshmukh is enjoyable.
During the climax Boman Irani says ‘what a show’, Teji becomes a star, Jeenal becomes a fashion designer, and Boman who plays the owner of the event company that organizes the award, pens a book on his experiences and buys all the copies for records. WELCOME TO NEW YORK is the same, it’s a big screen promotion of IIFA an advertising film that credits brands like Versace, Gucci etc in the process and certainly it’s not made keeping the cinegoers and or lovers of satire and followers of comedies in mind.
