Welcome is an Indian 2007 Hindi-language comedy film co-written and directed by Anees Bazmee.[3] Loosely inspired by the 1999 comedy Mickey Blue Eyes, and marking the final screen appearance of actor Feroz Khan, it stars Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar, Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif, Paresh Rawal, and Mallika Sherawat in prominent roles.[2][4] Sunil Shetty and Malaika Arora feature in special appearances.[5][6]
The film is the first instalment of the Welcome series and spawned a sequel, Welcome Back in 2015 that also became a commercial success.[12] A third, unrelated instalment in the series, titled Welcome to the Jungle, is slated for release.
Dr. Ghungroo lives with his wife and his son-like nephew Rajiv, an auctioneer who is his late sister's son. A Don, Uday Shetty, wants his half-sister Sanjana to get married but all his attempts fail due to his criminal background. Rajiv is smitten by her after a chance meeting. Uday and his best friend, Sagar Pandey a.k.a. Majnu Bhai, want their marriage to happen. But after learning that they are mobsters, Ghungroo flees to South Africa with his family. Majnu and Sanjana arrive there for a holiday. She and Rajiv meet again and fall in love.
Uday and Majnu force Ghungroo to accept the alliance, and invite their boss, the powerful underworld Don, Ranvir Dhanraj X a.k.a. RDX, for their engagement. Ghungroo sends his sister-in-law Ishika to break the alliance, who succeeds by falsely claiming to be Rajiv's childhood betrothed at the engagement party. Ghungroo reveals that Rajiv's criminal father harassed and tortured Rajiv's mother, who then requested Ghungroo to keep Rajiv away from crime. Ghungroo says he'll agree to their alliance only if Uday and Majnu give up their life of crime.
Rajiv and Sanjana attempt to do this by reawakening Uday's love for acting and encouraging Majnu's passion for painting. With these things keeping them busy, Uday and Majnu do not have time for crime anymore.
Hilarious chaos ensues as the group tries to balance the cabin together and keep it from falling off the cliff. Amidst this, Majnu tries to hit Lucky's head that is stuck inside a vessel by using an axe, during which an angry RDX tries to shoot Majnu, but misses it, causing the bullet to hit a beehive. As the bees sting everyone, Rajiv finds a rope and the group uses it to get back onto stable ground. But to everyone's shock, the floor breaks, and Lucky is found hanging on the edge of the cabin. While everyone else is bickering and Rajiv is trying to rescue him, Sanjana reveals the truth to everyone that she was the one who shot Lucky, but Rajiv blamed himself so that Sanjana wouldn't get in trouble. After Rajiv rescues Lucky, the cabin he is standing in falls off into the cliff, leading everyone into believing that Rajiv died. However, Rajiv survives the event and is reunited with Sanjana and his family. Lucky and RDX are grateful to Rajiv for saving their lives and tell Rajiv to ask for anything that he wishes for. Rajiv requests them to give up crime, and RDX agrees, allowing Rajiv and Sanjana to finally get married. Uday and Majnu request RDX to get them married to Ishika. However, they realize that Ishika fooled them along with Rajiv, as a part of his plan to marry Sanjana. This angers Uday and Majnu, who start to chase Rajiv, and the movie ends on a hilarious note.
Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film 4 out of 5 stars, and stated "Welcome is one of those entertainers that deliver what it promises: Funny sequences, super performances and loads and loads of laughter. Without doubt, it will be welcomed with open arms by the aam junta!".[19] The Times of India gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, and stated "Go for end-of-the-year gags and season-of-goodwill giggles."[20] Hindustan Times stated, "Akshay Kumar has a flair for comedy but even that is beginning to bore which is quiet evident in Welcome."[21] Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com gave the film 3 out of 5 stars, and stated "it's the extraordinary camaraderie between the actors, completely consumed by the foolhardiness that surrounds them, that tickles the bone. And hard."[22]
Tajpal Rathore of the BBC gave the film 3 out 5 stars, and stated "Comedies should always be taken lightly in Bollywood and Welcome is as zany as they come. And while it emerges as an addition to Kumar's repertoire of films that have little style and even less substance, it is the formidable ensemble cast that ultimately succeed in welcoming you to the theatre hall."[23] Rajeev Masand gave the film 1 out of 5 stars, and stated "Welcome the tortuous comedy."[24]
A sequel to the film, titled Welcome Back, has been released. It features John Abraham, Shruti Haasan, Anil Kapoor, Nana Patekar and Paresh Rawal. Earlier reported to release on 19 December 2014, the project finally released on 4 September 2015.[30]
A welcome is a kind of greeting designed to introduce a person to a new place or situation, and to make them feel at ease. The term can similarly be used to describe the feeling of being accepted on the part of the new person.
In some contexts, a welcome is extended to a stranger to an area or a household. "The concept of welcoming the stranger means intentionally building into the interaction those factors that make others feel that they belong, that they matter, and that you want to get to know them".[1] It is also noted, however, that "[i]n many community settings, being welcoming is viewed as in conflict with ensuring safety. Thus, welcoming becomes somewhat self-limited: 'We will be welcoming unless you do something unsafe'".[2] Different cultures have their own traditional forms of welcome,[3] and a variety of different practices can go into an effort to welcome:
Making a welcome is not a physical fabrication, though welcome may be embodied and fostered by appropriate physical arrangements. There can be an aesthetics of welcome. What is there when one makes a welcome? No thing really, and yet more than any thing. When one makes a welcome one creates the conditions that promise of home. One makes it possible for the other not any longer to feel outside or out of it, but to feel at home.[4]
Indications that visitors are welcome can occur at different levels. For example, a welcome sign, at the national, state, or municipal level, is a road sign at the border of a region that introduces or welcomes visitors to the region.[5] A welcome sign might also be present for a specific community, or an individual building. One architect suggests that "[a] primary distinction between a gateway and a Welcome sign is that the gateway is usually designed and built by an outsider, a developer or architect, while the Welcome sign has been designed and built by an inside member of the community".[6] A welcome mat is a doormat that welcomes visitors to a house or other building by providing them with a place to wipe their feet before entering.
Another community tradition, the welcome wagon, has its origins in an actual wagon containing a collection of useful gifts collected from residents of an area to welcome new people moving to that area.
The phrase "you're welcome" is a common polite response to a person saying "thank you", shortened from "you are welcome", which originally signified that the thanking person was "welcome" to whatever they were thanking the other person for, suggesting that no thanks were needed.[7]
b1e95dc632