Hindi cinema seems to be craving for those days of 'masala' movies made by the likes of the late Manmohan Desai, Prakash Mehra and their clan. What else would account for the astonishing success of 'Dabangg' last year? So 'masala' is back in fashion. Samir Karnik's 'Yamla Pagla Deewana' made with the Deols too seems to be inspired by that genre. The movie which stars father Dharmendra and his two sons Sunny and Bobby, does not claim to be original at all and is filled with all the so called familiar clichés. It makes its way into one's heart primarily because of the presence of the three Deols together and their existing chemistry on screen. Also, the mainly light hearted tone of the film is what sways one's heart. 'Yamla Pagla Deewana' is not a great film, but it is pretty enjoyable and a lot of fun.

The film's story revolves around a father and son pair of conmen, Dharam Singh (Dharmendra) and Gajodhar Singh (Bobby), who pass their time in Benares in drinking and conning innocent souls. Their idyllic life is interrupted by the arrival of NRI Paramveer Singh Dhillon (Sunny Deol), who claims to be Dharam's eldest son, separated in childhood, who now wants to take them back to Canada with him. Dharam and Gajodhar are more than happy to accept him and make full use of his strong presence in their con games. But meanwhile, matters get a little serious when Gajodhar falls in love with Sahiba (Kulraj Randhawa). But Sahiba's brother (Anupam Kher) arrives and forcibly takes her back to Punjab . However, Paramveer hatches a plan which takes the father son trio from Benares to Punjab to win Sahiba back.

The movie has been written by Jasvinder Singh Bath and the film's humor is of the very energetic kind. Most of it originates from Dharam and Gajodhar. But leaving the humour aside, if one talks of the screenplay, then one finds that the first half is a little too lumbering and if handled well, had a lot more potential. The movie picks up pace and interest in the second half as the trio land in Punjab, and encounter Sahiba's assortment of brothers led by Anupam Kher, and of course, the entry of the villain in the piece, played by none other than Puneet Issar, popular villain of the eighties.

Director Karnik's endeavor is marred by a lot of clumsiness in the first half. One feels that too much space is devoted to the Bobby Kulraj romance. But the film is redeemed by a much more skillfully written and directed second half. The film's music is really nothing much to write home about, however, the highlight is definitely the remix of the famous Dharmendra number after which the movie is named, 'main hoon jat yamla, pagla, deewana', and the 'tinku jiya' track. The film's cinematography by Kabir Lal is quite good, and the action sequences, especially those involving Sunny are quite captivating, thanks to Analarasu.

The real coup is of course having the three Deols together on screen and they manage to create enough stupid and goofy moments on screen which more often than not, hit the bull's eye. But there are no real surprises here as Sunny revisits his screen persona of a gentle giant waiting to explode, and Bobby continues to play the young prankster. The showstealer is, of course, none other than Dharmendra, who still manages to captivate and charm audiences with his excellent comic timing. Anupam Kher as the bride's brother is an uprising to watch. Johnny Lever pulls off the laughs even with his brief emergence. Of the female actors, Nafisa Ali is all elegance in her brief role, while Kulraj Randhawa is honest. Emma Brown Barret is quite good as Sunny's Canadian wife.

'Yamla Pagla Deewana' needs to be seen for its peculiar brand of Punjabi humor, Deols style. Dharmendra proves that old is truly gold. The movie is pure entertainment.

On the whole, it is a masala entertainer in Deols style. It is worthy to watch.