Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Bipasha Basu and Uday Chopra
Direction: Sanjay Gadhvi
Production: Aditya Chopra
Music: Pritam
Those blue-diamond-eyes make the king of thieves go ‘Krazy Kiya’ on her ‘Dhoom Again’ beats. And that’s not all guys. If you wish to saunter your way into the magnificent world of fantastic babes, brilliant-stunts-n-special-effects and whistle-evoking locations then Sanjay Gadhavi’s ode to Fantasy ‘Dhoom 2’ is meant for you. It would be unfair to compare the sequel to Bombay-to-Goa chor police excitement of ‘Dhoom’. For both are different in many ways. But in spite of everything going right for it, there’s something missing in ‘Dhoom 2’. I am sure you’ll notice that when you watch it (oh yeah it’s surely worth watching).
Alright…When I entered the theatre I didn’t have any notions of watching something outstanding in terms of a revolutionary story idea that can affect the mindset of the country like a RDB or Munnabhai’s Gandhigiri. It’s all about entertainment…That’s the punch line of a film like ‘Dhoom 2’. I’m all for it dude. But when you promise something out-of-this-world, and compromise with your own risk-taking-ability one feels let down. For Aryan (Hrithik) is the perfect thief who can pull off unbelievable heists on a moving-train-top in Namibia or through the skating zone of Mumbai Museum with superlative efficacy. He is the master of disguises and honestly Hrithik looks like a pinch-me-can-it-be-true Dream.
The problem arises when such a dare devil stuntman loses his focus and falls head-over-elbows in love with another thief (also a police mole) Sunehri (Aishwariya). They play basket ball and try their hands with various cuisines while you are left wondering….Hey…how about getting down to some work guys. Jai Dixit (Abhishek Bachchan) on the other hand has good old Ali (Uday Chopra) who has now turned a cop and a pregnant wife Sweety (Rimi Sen in a special appearance) to contend with. He gets down to some ‘Touch Me Touch Me’ groovy dancing with fellow cop Shonali Bose (Bipasha Basu) and Ali oogles himself to death at her sister Monali (Yes guys Bipasha in a double role….One good reason to chase this Dhoom) as she sets Rio’s beach sand on fire with her dare-bare-bikini-peep-show.
Hrithik and Ash make for a smoking hot pair. It’s great to feast your eyes on the christmas-turkey-crispness of Ash in those hot pants and in-shape-bare-belly. She looks cool being on the coy-negative-side. Hrithik carries off the Krrish flavour. This man is a God. Six-pack abs, talking-with-the-wind-locks, stylized body language, fantastic dressing sense and snazzy dance steps are the biggest plus points of ‘Dhoom 2’.
It’s a worth watching movie just because of Roshan alone. This man’s ambitions are unmatched as compared with anyone else around. And he’ll do anything to make them come true. The visual effects by Tata Elxi and action by Allan Amin is first rate. Cinematography by Nirav Shah and Vikas Shivraman is one of the best you’ve ever seen in Hindi cinema. Salim-Suleiman’s background music rocks (Check out the rock guitaring in the train sequence).
On the flipside, the whole plot goes haywire due to the love story between Aryan and Sunehri. I couldn’t help but recall John Abraham’s Kabeer act in ‘Dhoom’. He was a different kinda thief. But he was focused. As a viewer you sympathized with his end and yet his character graph doesn’t confuse you. In ‘Dhoom 2’ the biggest flaw is the sudden shift in the story where Hrithik undergoes a 360 turnaround in his character graph and from the most wanted criminal (If he is pulling off crimes worth Rs 30 to Rs 150 crores then he must be the biggest) he becomes a Mr-Goody-Two-Shoes loverboy willing to do anything (cry baby cry) to make his love life happy.
Uday Chopra as Ali impresses with his wisecrack one liners. In fact he elicits the biggest laughs from the audience. Yet, he is given a short shrift. His Baywatch touch-downs with I-can-give-Pamela-Anderson-a-run-for-her-money Bips on Rio beaches are a fabulous sight to watch. Wish we could have had more of him rather than him being an underused-side-kick. Bipasha looks gorgeous (She is a peep-show-factory and the guys most certainly won’t mind that) but her two diametrically opposite roles leaves you a bit confused as to what was she supposed to do in the film except flaunt that made-to-perfect shapeliness.
Abhishek looks haggard and disinterested. It is apparent Hrithik, Uday, Ash and Bipasha had worked hard on their bodies while Junior Bachchan’s puffy look is an eye-sore. Dude, do something about these crucial weighty issues. Right! One of the highlights of ‘Dhoom’ was its music. ‘Dhoom Machale’ became a national anthem. But the same can’t be said about ‘Dhoom 2’. Except for ‘Krazy Kiya Re’ and ‘My Name is Ali’ none of the songs make you go ‘Dhoom’.
Finally, get it right, ‘Dhoom 2’ is meant for the youngsters. And they’d like it too. All the adrenaline-rushing ingredients shall make them go ‘Dhoom’. I’d say watch it without any expectations and you shall have a fun ride. Yeah, it’s worth the hype. Partially…