akshay shah

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The other day I finally got around to seeing the Indra Kumar starrer DHAMAAL. I keep forgetting the movie ended up being a decent success and actually had some fairly good reviews. I was expecting yet another mindless comedy, and DHAMAAL is just that, however after something like MASTI, I’m surprised at how clean Kumar has kept DHAMAAL. Also with DHAMAAL, I feel Kumar is a director who knows the confines of the comedy genre rather well.

The plot is borderline non-existent. A group of 4 good-for-nothing’s (Ritiesh, Jaaved, Arshad and Ashish) find out the location of a whole bundle of cash hidden by an ex-gangster. Also on the trail of the cash is a daredevil police officer (Sanjay Dutt) who is hell bent on getting his hands on the cash. Who ends up with the cash?

What the movie lacks in plot, it makes up for in genuinely hilarious comic sequences as well as some excellent chemistry from the whole cast. The concept is the same as Kumar’s earlier hit MASTI where there is a trio (Vivek, Aftab, Ritiesh) who is kept on their toes by a tough-as-nails cop (Ajay Devgan). The comic sequences have been superbly written and executed with precision. The timing by the cast members is bang-on and hits all the right notes. The plain sequence with Vijay Raaz is absolute gold and deserves a special mention.

Surprisingly, the film is pretty much songless (except for a number at the end) and has no female cast members at all (no item numbers in between).

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jmM-Y9iG6uk&hl=en&fs=1&]

With MASTI, Kumar had one of India’s first sex comedies, it would’ve been easy for him to repeat the same formula over and over again (and probably got an audience too) however it’s heartening to see him try his hand at the same genre yet make a film which is totally different (and thank god for no MASTI 2 either). With DHAMAAL he makes a very clean comedy which appeals to all. Don’t miss this one…and yes for a fleeting second I’ll forgive him for the trash that was PYAARE MOHAN.

Side-rant: The promos of his latest production scream RIP OFF! And it’s clear that DADDY COOL is a remake of some Hollywood hit, just not sure which one…

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkDkYlGEuKE&hl=en&fs=1&]