Two years later the same team returns with a sequel, but this time the stakes are higher..a LOT higher! The first promo raised the expectations a few notches higher as it was evident that like Blockbuster Sequels from Hollywood DHOOM 2 was going with the premise “bigger is better” and... ... it looked like everything had been doubled from star power exciting locales, fast paced action, hit tunes and sex appeal. So does the movie live up to expectations? To be brutally honest…NO!
DHOOM 2 starts off where the first one ended. Ali(Uday Chopra) has now become a Junior Inspector and reports to Jai Dixit(Abhishek Bachchan). Life’s going well for Jai and Ali and Jai is expecting to be a father as Sweety(Rimmi Sen as feisty as ever looking very sexy) is pregnant. However something bigs around the corner…
A hi-tech international thief Aryan aka Mr. “A”(Hrithik Roshan) is conducting a series of near impossible robberies all around the globe and his next target is Mumbai. Jai and Ali are onto the case and helping them out is Inspector Shonali Bose(Bipasha Basu) who has a long term association with Jai since the school days. Shonali has been tracking the thief for quiet a while however given that no one has ever seen Mr “A” makes the task all that harder. When executing his robbery in Jamnagar Mr “A” runs into another thief Sunehri(Ashwariya Rai) and the two forms a perfect partnership..however all is not what meets the eye. What happens next? Although it’s quiet predictable I won’t reveal it.
In terms of a story Aditya Chopra has literally made no effort in writing one. DHOOM 2 gives a whole new definition to the word “ No brainer” as there is literally no story and the emphasis is loud and clear-----STARPOWER. The screenplay in the movie I found rather unfocussed inclusive of poor characterisations, unexplained events and totally undeveloped for the most.
As a director Sanjay Gadhvi made a pretty slick little thriller with DHOOM by merging action, comedy and romance all into one nice little package. In DHOOM 2 he attempts to do the same however his direction is almost invisible as he relies on the star quotient in the movie to do his work. The entire “cat and mouse” feel of the original DHOOM is lacking here and the movie feels like an exercise in self indulgence more than anything. My biggest problem came with the lack of tension/enmity if you like between Hrithik and Abhishek. The whole fun of the original DHOOM was to see Abhishek crack down a smart criminal. He was passionate, dedicated and there was a certain urge to his character. However in DHOOM 2 this is not the case. Infact-the whole “chase” element as such takes a backseat as the movie focuses on Hrithik for the majority. The whole “cops and robbers” tale comes across as a rather weak attempt and I felt cheated by the treatment that Gadhvi has given the sequel as its more a “robbers and cops” movie(in that order). In a sense by regulating the main “hero” of the movie into the background and making the villain of the movie into the “hero” he has killed the soul of the original. No doubt Gadhvi has incorporated enough “masala”(namely Hrithik and Ash) in the movie and made an extremely attractive and appealing product which is an almost sure-fire shot as far as the Boxoffice is concerned, but as far as quality goes this is pretty poor. There are certain scenes that have been well executed including all of the scenes with Hrithik conducting robberies, the scenes shared between Hrithik and Abhishek and a few comic moments however these are too few and far in between to warrant the whole movie. My expectations were simply very high with DHOOM 2 and I was expecting an outright “Hrithik Versus Abhishek” movie and DHOOM 2 is far far from that bar a few scenes. The climax too is a HUGE letdown and feels like a compromise more than anything. However it does leave room for Mr. "A" to strike a appearence in the sequel:-) I just wish that Gadhvi had added the nostalgic touch that Rohan Sippy and Shaad Ali bought out in their last two films so brilliantly as there was ample opportunity to play this out, but Gadhvi simply isn’t a smart enough director although there is one nice scene where Jai and Ali are driving with “YEH DOSTI..HUM NAHIN CHODENGEI” playing in the background….
The performances in the movie are a mixed bag.
Hrithik Roshan is undoubtedly the star of the show. This is the BEST Roshan has looked in his entire career and is his most mass appealing masala performance to date. Looking cool as a cucumber and slick as knife the actor has a greek god like appearance on-screen with a simply ELECTRIC screen presence. The role is one that completely taps into his strong points from the action packed stunts that he is now famous for to the energetic dance movements. As far as acting goes, the movie doesn’t require him to do much, however he has never looked more comfortable in front of the camera. The audience reaction to Hrithiks character right from his entry in the movie, to his various robberies to his scenes with Ashwariya were simply treated with a thunderous applause. Infact, there is a scene in the movie where Hrithik is dressed in a white suit and a bandana looking absolutely god-like and for no apparent reason the crowds started clapping both times I saw the movie which simply speaks volumes for Hrithiks current popularity. If there is anyone that will benefit mostly from the success of DHOOM 2 it is Hrithik Roshan..and deservedly so!
Abhishek Bachchan reprises his role as Jai and on the whole is regulated to the backseat! Given that this is HIS franchise along with Uday Chopra this came to me as a complete shock. His character is there throughout the movie, however he simply isn’t given the right amount or type of scope to really shine. He performs his part ably slipping into Jai Dixit again with utmost ease and hits the right notes however there simply isn’t enough “masala” for Abhishek to really play to the galleries like he did in the original. Onmce again this comes down to the lack of “chase” between Abhishek and Hrithik as no real tension really develops. In saying that there are a few scenes where Abhishek really shines including his one scene with Rimmi, his constant bickering with Uday and above all his scenes with Hrithik. Going into detail-there are three crucial scenes that are shared between Hrithik and Abhishek in the movie and to be blunt Abhishek steals all three of these scenes. The first time the two come face to face at the coffee shops had the crowd in absolute hoots and Abhishek simply takes the cake. The second is the scene at the bar where once again Abhishek comes out the clear winner though the impact of the scene is watered down as his horrible dance steps and a atrocious singer make Abhishek look rather comical for all the wrong reasons. Lastly the climax and the end sequence where the duo engaged in a final fight and a final scene as well where. But frankly, there is just too much riding on Abhishek for him to be regulated to a “side” role and in that sense DHOOM 2 is a disappointment for Abhishek fans. All eyes are now on GURU which makes the expectations on the movie a few notches higher!
Ashwariya Rai is simply stunning here. I for one have never been a Ashwariya Rai fan be it looks or performance(except HDDCS and RAINCOAT). I’ve always thought she is pretty like a mannequin but lacks that extra “zing” to look totally sexy however DHOOM 2 shatters that myth loud and clear. This is clearly Ashwariya Raiss sexiest role to date and a role where she completely plays to the masses and one where the audience verdict was loud and clear------YES! Her bronzed skin, sexy wavy hair, excitably short mini skirts, tighter than skin tops and some very sexy one liners(“Gosh I’m hot” she says as she takes off her outfit) cement the fact that this girl is PURE SEX APPEAL ON LEGS. As far as acting goes, she plays her part well but her performance is clearly overshadowed by her looks. Infact-I would go as far as to say this is the BEST Ashwariya has ever looked(god a girl has never looked sexier stuffing her face with a big fat burger!..ROAR!). Her chemistry with Hrithik too is simply fantastic and the duo look stunning on-screen. Their scenes together made some of the best moments in the movie, and yes folks, they do share a kiss which was received with the loudest applause in the movie cinema in the whole movie. One thing is for clear……The Hrithik-Ashwariya Jodi is a winner which makes one all the more anticipated for AKBAR-JODHA where the two are paired together again.
In saying that I didn’t find any great shakes about the chemistry between Abhishek and Ashwariya. Although they weren’t paired together, they did share scenes together however their chemistry when they are on-screen together seemed rather lifeless to me.
Uday Chopra as Ali plays his part well ****SHOCK HORROR****. But after a second watch I’ve figured out why. It’s not that Uday is a great actor all of a sudden or a fine comedian, it’s the mere fact that he provides the comic relief in the movie and the goofy attributes and actions of his character come at the right moment and time which in the context of the movie works well. Much to my surprise Uday managed to make me laugh a few times, especially with his dream sequences. His chemistry with Abhishek was good here too, however given that this was one of the mainstays of Part 1, and this was clearly not developed much at all here.
Bipasha Basu is given the weakest deal of the lot with a extremely POORLY etched character. In the first half of the movie she plays a hard as nails cop, who then disappears off the case. When Abhishek and Uday go to Brazil they meet her twin sister(Bipasha again). It looks stupid, completed unwanted and serves no purpose at all what-so-ever. Bipasha tries her best with what she’s got however here it’s just not enough. She adds the right amount of OOMPH to her character with those sexy curves in tight bikinis but she was more delicious in OMKARA any day.
Rimmi Sen makes a nice little appearance as Jai’s wife and makes her presence felt in a feisty performance.
Technically the movie is a extremely SLICK product from the word go. The camerawork by Nirav Shah and Vikas Shivraman is outstanding and the whole ambience of the DHOOM franchise is captured perfectly on celluloid including the all the gorgeous locations from Brazil to South Africa.
Much was made of the action scenes by Allan-Amin however I was totally disappointed. In a way, I had the same problem with the action scenes in Rakesh Roshans recent blockbuster KRRISH. In trying to be more “Hollywood” and including lots of slick gadgets, explosions etc the action scenes don’t really have any intensity nor are they very exciting to watch. The first action scene with Abhishek and Uday is downright pathetic. All the heists have been superbly canned but they aren’t very original at all. The one action scene that is fun to watch is the final fist fight between Hrithik and Abhishek, but there simply wasn’t enough to it. Like the old BATMAN series…the movie needed more “BAM”, “POW” and “BOOM”!
Pritams music is a complete letdown in every sense however, to an extent the tunes are salvaged due to some visually striking picturisations.
The title track is simply outstanding. Hrithiks dance steps are applaudworthy and the amount of enthusiasm he puts into his dancing is simply amazing. Time and time again Hrithik impresses with his dancing and this song is no difference. Given the expectations attached to this song and it’s cult following I would say Hrithik does the song justice!
CRAZY KIYA RE is another number which is foot tapping and eye catching. The DIL LAGA NA track has been well picturised though Jolly Mukherjees voice on Abhishek is a definite NO NO! The rest of the songs are barely passable. Salim-Sulaimans background score is loud but exciting.
On the whole where does that leave DHOOM 2? Best way to describe it would be like eating some really unhealthy fast-food when you’re really hungry…satisfies you for that moment and you get your moneys worth, however afterwards you realise it’s not all that great at all! The movie has it’s moments but on the whole is a disappointment given the high expectations.
Final Rating: * * *
