Mubarakan

Producer: Murad Khetwani and Ashwin Varde
Director: Anees Bazmee
Star Cast: Anil Kapoor, Arjun Kapoor, Ileana D’Cruz, Athiya Shetty, Neha Sharma, Ratna Pathak Shah, Karan Kundra, Rahul Dev
Genre: Comedy
Rating: ** 1/2

Drives your blues away!
Mubarkan has a faint semblance of a plot, which comes as a relief given what we’ had been subjected to in his last outing (Welcome Back).There’s Arjun Kapoor as a set of twins, one in Punjab, the other in London.Add in Anil Kapoor as the ‘maama/chacha’ shuttling between the two boys. All the three- Ileana D’Cruz, Neha Sharma and Athiya Shetty show up, as the three love interests of the twins and a comedy of errors is set into motion, revolving around reluctant grooms and runaway brides.

THE PLUS POINTS:
There are lots of Punjabi songs, some witty dialogues, and overall a light and fluffy feel which works just fine, but for some stretched after the interval. Anil Kapoor scores as the loud uncle but Arjun Kapoor needs to work hard on his weight. Ratna Pathak Shah is loud while Pawan Malhotra deserves praise for his role as the uncle.

THE MINUS POINTS:
There are inane and silly jokes which actually put you off because they are regressive. Athiya Shetty is wooden and does not have a part to speak of while Ileana and Neha are easily dispensable.

THE VERDICT:
If only the duration of 156 minutes had been judiciously pruned, Mubarakan could have been even more welcoming. Still it is worth a watch if you want to drive your blues away but go to watch it leaving your brain behind at home.

-Jyothi Venkatesh