Welcome to Karachi
| Welcome 2 Karachi | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical Release Poster | |
| Directed by | Ashish R Mohan |
| Produced by | Vashu Bhagnani |
| Written by | Vrajesh Hirjee |
| Screenplay by |
|
| Starring | |
| Music by |
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| Cinematography | Mark Nutkins |
Production company |
Puja Entertainment |
| Distributed by | AA Films |
Release dates |
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Running time | 131 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
Welcome 2 Karachi is an 2015 Indian comedy film, directed by Ashish R Mohan and produced by Vashu Bhagnani. The film stars Arshad Warsi[1] and Jackky Bhagnani as pivotal leads. Music directors Jeet Ganguly and Rochak Kohli composed music for this film. The film was released on 28 May 2015.[2]
Plot
Story kicks off with two dumb and dumber friends, Shami (Arshad Warsi) a court martialed navy officer and Kedar (Jackky Bhagnani) a Gujarati who has been denied American visa multiple times. Both plans to sail to USA using a boat but with a twist of fate, end up on the beach of Karachi, Pakistan. On realizing the truth they both try to escape, while being chased by an ISI Agent (Lauren Gottlieb). Both get kidnapped by a local don Azher Baluch, who demands ransom from Kedar's father and later releases them in a pathan colony to collect fake passports. But Shami, messes up with a bunch of pathans over an India-Pakistan match. In struggle to escape from pathans both meets a talibani militant, who takes them to a Taliban camp where they are misunderstood as Talibani militants.
Few days later, Shami and Kedar plans to escape the camp by stealing camp leader's mobile phone, which was actually a detonator of a bomb designed by Taliban to attack US army. In attempt to dial a number Shami unknowingly triggers the bomb destroying the Talibani camp itself. Attracted by the explosions, a Drone arrives and the two are arrested by American Army. After knowing their reality both are been released only to be captured by Pakistani intelligence, who wants to take the credit of attack on Taliban by announcing both Shami and Kedar as Pakistani soldiers.
Soon the two are declared as national hero by Pakistani media while the Indian media claims them as Indians stuck in Pakistan. Caught in this tough of war Shami and Kedar are once again been kidnapped by American army, who promises to deport them to India if they could give the credit of Talibani camp attack to US Army in media. They agree and are been sent to Karachi Airport to finally catch a flight back to India. While waiting for their flight, Shami notices a Talibani militant disguised as an airlines pilot. Seeing a possibility of a terror attack they both decide to rescue, being backed by Pakistani army. During crossfire Shami and Kedar manage to over power the militant and takes off with the plane, finally able to depart from Pakistan. Movie ends with both sitting in cockpit only to find a strange voice behind them (possibly another militant).
Cast
- Arshad Warsi as Shammi Thakur
- Jackky Bhagnani as Kedar Patel
- Lauren Gottlieb as ISI Agent Shazia Ansari
- Ayub Khoso as Taliban leader Agha Jaan
- Adnan Shah as Azhar Baloch
- Imran Hasnee as ISI Agent
- Kubra Khan as ISI agent Asma
- Dalip Tahil as Kedar's father
- Raj Das as Raja
- Pavan Malhotra as Pathan
Production
The film has been shot in various parts of the United Kingdom including Bradford, Birmingham and Wales and sets were recreated to resemble Karachi. During the shooting of scenes in Wales, the lead actors were mistaken as real Taliban people and the shoot was halted by Scotland Yard authorities.[3] The Bradford Bazaar was used as the backdrop of the film's shooting in Bradford.[4] During the shoot, the airport set from Birmingham was stolen by truckloaders. During this, Bhagnani suffered a loss to due to which shooting came to a halt.[5]
Casting
The role of Jackky Bhagnani was first offered to Irrfan Khan but due to other commitments Khan left the film.[6] Few days later Arshad Warsi was offered for the role.
Soundtrack
| Welcome 2 Karachi | |
|---|---|
| Soundtrack album | |
| Released | 29 April 2015 |
| Genre | Feature Film Soundtrack |
The music for the film is composed by Jeet Ganguly, Rochak Kohli and Amjad-Nadeem. The soundtrack of the film comprises 5 songs. The full audio album of the film was released on 29 April 2015 on YouTube.[7][8]
| No. | Title | Lyrics | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Lalla Lalla Lori" | Rochak Kohli | Vishal Dadlani, Shivangi R. Kashyap | 04:18 |
| 2. | "Boat Ma Kukdookoo" | Rochak Kohli | Mika Singh, Rochak Kohli, Deane Sequeira,Shivangi R. Kashyap | 03:20 |
| 3. | "Shakira" | Kausar Munir | Shalmali Kholgade | 03:37 |
| 4. | "Chal Bhaag" | Sameer Anjaan | Love Juneja, Wajid Ali | 04:33 |
| 5. | "Mera Yaar Fantastic" | Sameer Anjaan | Alamgir Khan | 3:59 |
Critical reception
The film received largely negative reviews from critics. Paloma Sharma of Rediff rated it 0.5 stars and said, "Welcome 2 Karachi is a sad excuse for screen space"[9]
Box office
Welcome to Karachi grossed ₹1.5 Cr in India on its opening day. The comedy drama film only managed to gross Rs. 5.50 crore net (55 million) approx. on its first weekend at the Box Office, including paid previews. This isn’t shocking as the film pulled poor numbers on its first day by grossing Rs. 1.35 crore net (13.5 million)approx. on Friday. The film however saw a decent growth on Sunday than it saw on its first day by doing a business of Rs. 2 crore net (20 million) approx. at the Box Office.[10]
References
- ↑ -welcome-to-karachi/ Mir-Amiruddin-Mir-Zada, Welcome to Karachi. ARY News. 29 October 2014.
- ↑ Check out: Jackky Bhagnani and Arshad Warsi in Welcome to Karachi | Latest Movie Features. Bollywood Hungama. Retrieved 10 July 2015.
- ↑ Gupta, Priya (30 October 2014) Arshad Warsi and Jackky bhagnani mistaken for the Taliban by the Scotland Yard. The Times of India.
- ↑ Bradford's Bazaar is the backdrop for new film Welcome to Karachi. Telegraph and Argus. 1 October 2014.
- ↑ Lalwani, Vickey (18 October 2014) Vashu Bhagnani's Karachi airport set stolen. The Times of India..
- ↑ Irrfan Khan quits Vashu Bhagnani's Welcome To Karachi. Bollywoodhungama.com (10 September 2014). Retrieved 2015-10-08.
- ↑ Welcome to Karachi (2015) Songs Lyrics. Lyricser (16 April 2015). Retrieved 10 July 2015.
- ↑ Mera Yaar Funtastic Song Lyrics – Welcome To Karachi. Lyricsol.com (24 May 2015). Retrieved 10 July 2015.
- ↑ Sharma, Paloma. "Review: Welcome To Karachi". Rediff. Retrieved 29 May 2015.
- ↑ Box Office: Arshad Warsi's Welcome To Karachi's First Weekend Collections. Businessofcinema.com (1 June 2015). Retrieved 2015-10-08.