Dhamaal Movie Review: It's A 'Masti-Ful' Ride

The film's name says it all. Indra Kumar's Dhamaal is a two-hour-20-minute journey into nonsense land with non-stop gags and comic situations. In retrospect, it is not such a cracker of a movie because all it manages to create is a minor dhamaal.

The film has an all-male starcast with no female distractions or attractions anywhere in sight. You don't really miss their absence as well, because the film moves quite swiftly from one incident to the other. Since the major part of the movie is about a treasure hunt, it manages to create a fair amount of pace and keeps you absorbed if not amused for the better part. The best thing about the movie is that the humour is slapstick sans sexual innuendos and therefore makes for great viewing for family and kids.

The film centres around the adventures of four buddies played by Arshad Warsi, Ritiesh Deshmukh, Javed Jaffrey and Ashish Chowdhury. A bunch of good-for-nothings, the four are only out to make a quick buck. They accidently meet up with a rich old man (Prem Chopra) who tells them about a buried treasure in Goa before he actually kicks the bucket. The dying man's last wish was that the four friends should find the treasure and live like kings. The four set off towards Goa to unearth the treasure but their troubles begin even before they can start. They are followed by a cop (played by Sanjay Dutt), who has spent 10 years of his life chasing Prem Chopra. Now he wants a part of that bounty. Next the friends fall apart and it is each one for himself. The race to reach Goa and unearth the treasure begins and a series of mad capers follow.

There is no plot really and just about anything goes. You can have an Ashish Chowdhury flying an aircraft without knowing how to, or a Riteish Deshmukh carving a gun out of a bar of soap. It's ridiculous really, very silly but somehow you can't help but laugh. If Sanjubaba is around, then there has to some bit of hero-giri around as well. So Sanju, the bad cop, rescues a bunch of orphaned kids who fall from the edge of a cliff and becomes a hero.

There are lots of minor characters who also manage to create an impact like Asrani, the mad Parsi, father of Ashish Chowdhury, who refers to his car as his 'dikra' and kicks his actual 'dikra' out of the house. Then there is Vijay Raaz as the loony flight control room officer, who drives everyone bananas.

What makes the film work really is not just the nonsense but the manner in which the director makes the nonsense seem normal. This best captured in the characterization of the four friends and the chemistry that exists between them. Arshad Warsi is the one who always comes with the smart ideas. Javed Jaffrey plays his mentally challenged brother, who always speaks out of turn. Ashish Chowdhury is the good-for-nothing Parsi dikra, who is petrified of his father. Ritiesh Deshmukh is the smart one who always lands himself in a soup.

The plot of the film has been fashioned after a thriller with so many people racing to Goa, each trying to get to the treasure before the others. But, of course, Dhamaal is no thriller, though it provides enough thrills of a different kind. The script is tightly written and everything is focused on the main action?of getting to the treasure. The dialogues are suitably silly. Our famous four do finally make it to the treasure. But to know what happens after, one should probably see the film. As for the actors, they are all quite masters of their trade and do a very competent job. Thankfully, no one goes overboard, making for very entertaining viewing. Quite a dhamaal, really.