Rating: **

Two years ago, Rohit Shetty came up with a breezy entertainer Golmaal, which, most people agree, is the capable director's finest work to date. The comic scenes hit the right notes and buttons. Perhaps, that must've prompted its producers (Shree Ashtavinayak) and Rohit to continue with the Golmaal series.

But Golmaal Returns treats the viewer like a nitwit, with zero brains. No-brainer laughathons have worked in the past and people have catapulted these films to 'must watch again and again' category. But Golmaal Returns is simply unbearable!

35 years ago, the Kiran Kumar - Radha Saluja comedy AAJ KI TAZAA KHABAR (1973) is the inspiration for Golmaal Returns. No issues with that, it's an interesting concept. But screenplay writer Yunus Sajawal makes a mincemeat of the material, so much so that your head starts aching after a point and you want to tear your hair in disgust.

Seriously, what was the writer thinking when he came up with a pathetic screenplay? And how did a talented director like Rohit Shetty agree to ride on it? And how could an accomplished actor like Ajay Devgan green signal this enterprise? Questions, questions, questions...

Golmaal Returns was never meant to be a thinking man's film, but the attitude is, no-brainer comedies have worked and this one will work too. To give the credit where it's due, a few jokes/sequences involving Tusshar and Shreyas do bring a smile on your face, but in the absence of a tight screenplay, the film falls like a pack of cards.

Final word? Golmaal hai bhai script Golmaal hai!

Gopal (Ajay Devgan), who lives with his wife Ekta (Kareena Kapoor), sister Esha (Amrita Arora) and brother-in-law Lucky (Tusshar Kapoor), gets stuck in a yacht after saving an attractive woman Meera (Celina Jaitly) from some goons.

Both end up spending the night on the yacht and when he comes home the next day, his painfully suspicious wife, who is also a hardcore fan of the saas-bahu serials, smell fish.

Gopal knows it's going to be hard to quell her suspicion, so he concocts a cock-and-bull story about having stayed the night with a fictitious friend called Anthony Gonsalves. Ekta refuses to buy his yarn and writes to Anthony (on a fictitious address given to her by Gopal), asking him to visit her.

Gopal convinces his junior at work, Laxman (Shreyas Talpade), to pretend to be Anthony. Everything goes according to plan till the real Anthony turns up.

If that isn't complication enough for Gopal, a dead body is discovered at the location where he had saved Meera. The Investigating Officer, Madhav (Arshad Warsi), who is Esha's boyfriend and also who cannot stand the sight of Gopal, learns that the latter had been missing from home that eventful night and begins checking on him.

A sequel carries the baggage of humungous expectations. And you definitely expect Golmaal Returns to be a step forward. The makers had thundered, "Golmaal Returns is bigger, it's better" and that raises the bar. But the film is such a put off.

Writer Yunus Sajawal takes an interesting premise, but instead of upgrading it, only downgrades it with lacklustre situations. The writing is so weak, so lifeless that after a point you sit motionless, looking at the goings-on mechanically, instead of being a participant.

A few sequences do entertain you, but they're few and far between. Not enough to camouflage the defects. In view of the fact that the writing is so weak, there's not much that director Rohit Shetty can do to save the ship from sinking.

However, the dialogues are howlarious. Music is not as inspiring. 'Tha Karke' is the best track, while 'Tu Saala' (well promoted) isn't there in the film and 'Meow' comes during the end credits. And you're exasperated by then!

Golmaal Returns belongs to Tusshar Kapoor and Shreyas Talpade. Tusshar is terrific yet again, the real scene stealer, while Shreyas displays his comic side very well. Both, in fact, provide respite to the viewer. Ajay Devgan is likable. Kareena does the suspicious wife act well. Celina stays on your mind even after the show is over.

Arshad Warsi is relegated to the backseat. Amrita Arora is strictly okay. Anjana Sukhani gets no scope. Vrajesh Hirjee is alright. Sharat Saxena, Rakhi Vijan, Sanjay Mishra, Murli Sharma, Mukesh Tiwari and Ashwini Kalsekar fill in the blanks.

On the whole, there's tremendous curiosity to watch Golmaal Returns and the terrific promotion has only enhanced the excitement. But the film is a major letdown in terms of content.

Barring a few jokes and gags, this Golmaal pales when compared to its first part. At the box-office, expect a terrific start for the film, but Golmaal Returns lacks the power to stand on its feet after the initial euphoria settles down.