The Welcome franchise, Bollywood’s designation for pandemonium comedy, returns with Welcome 3: Welcome to the Jungle. Starring an all-star cast of more than 20 comedians that includes Akshay Kumar, Suniel Shetty, Paresh Rawal, the movie is hoping to tap the anticipation of the series’ madcap spirit. Uncertainty gnaws, however.
Forgotten pillars Anil Kapoor and Nana Patekar, whose biting one-liners defined earlier blockbuster Welcome, are nowhere to be seen. Director Ahmed Khan, whose Baaghi 3 was marred by nonsensical plotting, collaborates with writer Farhad Samji, whose Housefull 4 script was criticized as “lazy humour.” Together, they guide a franchise trying to cope with sky-high expectations.
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Also, the teaser raised more doubts than allaying them. The breakneck montages of disconnected gags and cameos were described as having nothing like the wit of the previous series, causing fans to charge it with being “a parody of itself.”
The comfort of star power is tempered by Khan and Samji’s penchant for idolizing spectacle over substance.
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With Kashmir shooting currently underway and an international release schedule locked in, the question of the day remains: Can Welcome 3 juggle its massive cast and present cohesive comedy, or will it buckle under its own grandiose pretensions?
The fate of it depends on whether or not the duo will be able to learn from the mistakes of before and pay respect to the franchise’s heritage—or leave it to take its place among the been-there-done-that ranks of forgettable sequels.
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