"I remember hating the first Welcome film I’d seen in 2007," said our friend Rajeev Masand film critic for CNN-IBN, the man whose opposable thumbs, which indicate his likes and dislikes of Friday releases are as closely watched by industry, as the Khan ab count. "I recall giving it a one star review and adding a caveat that I would pay the psychiatrist fees of any one who said they liked it," said Masand, whose interview with two of Welcome Back’s stars (the franchise sequel) Anil Kapoor and John Abraham, we happened to catch last week. We had called Masand because we’d been struck by how he’d managed to couch his earlier dislike of the Anees Bazmee’s schlock comedy action release with a good natured ribbing of Kapoor and Abraham, during the interview we saw. "I had recorded that before I saw the film," said Masand. "And yes, I could feel John squirming when I asked them whether they didn’t think the film’s trope was a bit outdated," said the impassioned film buff. "But then, to my great surprise when I actually saw the film, I quite liked it and ended up giving it two stars," said Masand. He said, "And I found it very funny. Especially the chemistry between Kapoor and Nana Patekar. Yes it’s pedestrian but it’s not pretending to be any thing else."

Anil Kapoor and John Abraham