The USP of 'Yamla Pagla Deewana' should definitely be the sharing of screen space by the Deols and the fact that a large portion of the movie is based in the home ground amidst the Jats/ Sardars/ Punjab. The taste buds of Deol's fans + North India + Overseas market is satiated to great lengths. The Santa/ Banta jokes are aplenty. To fire up the screens, not one but two item songs are thrown in for good measure (cashing on the success of "Munni Badnaam" vocalist of to croon both "Tinku Jiya" & "Chamki Jawaani").
░ Dharam Paji:: The 75+ star manages to pull off a good performance, though as expected wrinkle lines are obvious. A few of his nostalgic lines are bound to draw whistles in the cinema halls.
░ Sunny:: His character is confined to play the macho man who stutters the moment his better-half turns him into battered-half. The "Dabbang"'isque action is revisited showcasing the "dhaai-kilo-ka-haath" in full glory.
░ Bobby:: Not quite there. Wish he could put in that little extra to pull-off the "Gajodhar" character.
░ Kulraj Randhawa:: The Preity Zinta impersonator has a charming screen presence. Though the romantic track is not fleshed out adequately.
░ Anupam Kher:: His comic timing deserves a mention and his character seemed Santa-Banta rolled into one.
░ Puneet Isaar:: Not enough screen-time.
░ Mukul Dev & Himanshu Malik: I failed to recognise them both in the Sardar get up.
░ Johnny Lever:: Not even worth a mention. Thankfully very limited screen-time.
░ Nafisa Ali & Emma Brown:: The role can be termed as special appearance.
The plot is very much 1970's and the voice-over from Ajay Devgn serves the disclaimer of "lost & found" script at the very start of the movie. On that note, the writing should have been further polished. The screenplay is the weakest link. Additionally the editor could have trimmed at the right place to make a lasting impact of the scene.
"Yamla Pagla Deewana" has been marketed well, especially the promos which managed to create a buzz (and more or less encapsulated the funny moments!).
Samir Karnik seems to know how to hold the reigns, the only thing he needs is to hold them tight!
PS: The original Rafi's title track has been re-mixed quite well.
