Phata Poster Nikhla... Salman! It is a two-minute cameo by the Being Human man that is the most paisa-vasool bit of Phata Poster Nikhla Hero. Accosted by Shahid Kapoor’s die-hard fan Vishwas Rao — a Bolly wannabe who masquerades as a cop — Salman’s two-bit role packs in enough fun and laughs to give you your ticket’s worth, especially when he says: “Andaz Apna Apna ki shooting ke liye jaa raha hoon. Ooi ma, phir se Aamir ke saath!” even as a sheepish grin, bordering on exasperation, plays at the corners of his mouth.

Salman’s shadow hovers over Phata Poster..., from Shahid’s Being Human tees to the innumerable references to Dabangg. And it is Dabangg’s flamboyant Chulbul Pandey that is the blueprint for Shahid’s cop — a man who romances in style, beats up villains with flair and gets emotional whenever his mom (played by Padmini Kolhapure) sheds a tear. There’s also the stylish Aviators perched on his nose which, however, never make the journey to the back of his collar.

There’s also too much of an Ajab Prem Ki Ghazab Kahani hangover in Phata Poster.... If Salman had a cameo there too, many actors — Darshan Jariwala to Zakir Hussain to Viju Khote — seem to have time-travelled from the 2009 Rajkumar Santoshi rom com starring Ranbir Kapoor and Katrina Kaif that struck gold at the box office. And then, of course, is the trademark chaotic climax, from Andaz Apna Apna to Ajab Prem to Phata Poster....

Phata Poster... is essentially a two-line idea stretched to a two-and-a-half-hour film. Knee-high Vishwas wants to be a film hero, but his mom will settle for nothing less than a cop. She packs him off to Mumbai for a police exam, but Vishwas ends up auditioning for roles instead. A portfolio shoot in a cop’s uniform leads to a series of mistaken identities and before he knows it, Vishwas has been branded the city’s newest supercop. With his mom in the picture, Vishwas has to carry on the charade even as a comedy of errors ensues.

To his credit, Santoshi packs in some solid comic punches in the first half. Vishwas’s comic escapades as a cop, his interactions with a bunch of struggling co-actors and his repeated run-ins with social worker Kajal (Ileana D’Cruz) bring on the belly laughs. It helps that Shahid is in fine form here, his face resembling a BBM emoticon menu as he switches from comic to confused, happy to hyper with ease.

Along with Shahid, it is funnymen Saurabh Shukla, who has you rolling with laughter as the comical don Gundappa Das, and Sanjay Mishra, who brings the house down as aspiring film writer Jogi, that manage to make Phata Poster... quite watchable. Up to interval point.

Cut to Half Two where melodrama and mush score over giggles and gags. His fake identity busted, Vishwas’s mom dramatically lands up in hospital and he ends up being on the most-wanted list of both cops and gangsters. The next hour is lost in tears (for the cast) and trauma (for the audience) even as biochemical bombs, cellphones that cause blindness and watches that you can talk to become the means by which Santoshi tries to elicit laughs — and fails miserably.

While Shahid and some of the supporting cast manage to keep Phata Poster... afloat, Padmini Kolhapure turns in the hammiest act you would have seen in a long time and Ileana — who charmed us on debut in Barfi! — is clearly not cut out for comedy. Just as Nargis Fakhri — who desperately tries to match steps with Shahid in Dhaating naach — doesn’t make the item-girl cut.

If Pritam’s score in Ajab Prem... was the highlight of that film, the same can’t be said for his tunes here that pop up frequently like annoying Internet windows. Only Agal bagal — thanks to Shahid’s moves and Mika’s voice — is of the foot-tapping variety.

Our biggest takeaway from Phata Poster...? The hint of a possible sequel to Andaz Apna Apna, even though Santoshi had denied it in an interview to t2 earlier this week. But then, Bhai ne bola hai. Oops, we didn’t call him that!