Rating: * *

Yamla Pagla Deewana had three things going for it before its release. The past track record of Apne where the father and sons had come to together to deliver  good performances in a movie that was a rather watchable affair, some funky one liners that we saw in the promo and of course the title track. But all the three fail to provide any impetus to this boring and dull date with the Deols.

Sunny Deol comes to India from Canada looking for his father and brother who had got separated from his family thirty years ago. He lands in India first to be fleeced by his brother and then see a debauched father who makes his living by pulling cons and committing thefts. It will a whole lot of silly jokes,  trip to Punjab and a melodramatic face off between a father and a son for the family to unite.

Yamla Pagla Deewana is loud and absurdly silly before the interval. Overacting and a senseless build up to a facetious family drama that is to ensue, the chunk before the interval is almost difficult to endure. Neither the gags nor the one-liners that laboriously try to make you laugh manage to provide any relief from Bobby Deol's overplay. We also get a sneak peek into the fact the movie we are watching will in plenty replicate and spoof super hit scenes from super hit movies. So we get to see Sunny Deol loitering around with his handpump and Bobby Deol trying to pull of the Mausiji scene from Sholay. I also wonder why the filmmakers set the first part of the film in Banaras. Was it to add some sort of a reprieve from the dull character of the film or did it just seem out of ordinary. Whichever way, the locale has been wasted. Also, the sub theme of con or theft has been used poorly and left undeveloped mid way.

It is only once we step into the second half that Anupam Kher and his army of brothers bring in a whiff of fresh air. Their oddities and jokes add that dash of humour to our two brothers and we start getting tad bit more involved in a film we almost wanted to walk out of. Punjab as a setting has been used much better in the film and ends up adding a lot of flavour to an otherwise drab film. But more importantly it is the unique detail with which each character, that steps into the film from the second half, has been etched, that touches our hearts. Whether it is Anupam Kher with his pistol, Mukul Dev with his bottle or Sucheta Khanna's with her broken English, the quirky behaviour of all characters brings a smile to our lips if not a laughter.

Now for the performances. Dharmendra is old and it shows in his performance. No amount of facelift and Botox can hide his age. But the actor nevertheless ends up making a brave attempt. Bobby Deol has thoroughly overacted in the film and begins to peeve us almost as soon as we start watching the film. Sunny Deol is the only Deol who doles out a controlled performance which is most times tolerable, sometimes endearing. Newcomer Kulraj Randhawa is not only beautiful but also talented and visibly comfortable in front of the camera. Mukul Dev is great as the alcoholic Billa. The one other actress that deserves a worthy mention is Sucheta Khanna who wins our hearts as the dying to go Caneda, Poli.