Beta Dhavan (Rohit) inherits the
whacky sense of humour from Dad David. He defines clearly his premise and
functions well within it. Like a T20 specialist he is not catering to the
purist and knows that he needs to speed up and not leave too much for analysis
and grace. Dishoom goes just that way.
Rohit Dhavan takes a very simple story line: We have Mr Impossible cricketer in
the form of his life Viraj Sharma (Saqib Saleem – very poor casting). He has just
delivered in the Asia Cup semi-finals and his crucial performance for the
finals against Pakistan in 48 hours is crucial. He goes missing. The External
Affairs Minister (Mona Ambegaonkar – dressed like the present Minister and kilo
miles away in style and poise) steps in and tells the Sheiks in Sharjah that
she is sending her police officer to save the victim and the prestige of the
nation. Se arrives Kabir Shergill (John Abraham). For an assistant he finds the
local police officer – more a skirt staring bungler Junaid Ansari (Varun
Dhavan). The two set out in search of the kidnapped cricketer not knowing as to
whether the kidnap is for ransom, politics or match fixing. The rest of the
film is about the chase and the hunt and the blundering by the two some till
they outsmart the kidnapper Rahul Wagah (Akshaye Khanna) through sheer
serendipity. In the process of the chase they run into Naris Fakri, Ishika
(Jacqueline Fernanadez), the local inspector (Tarun Khanna), the kidnapper
(Rahul Dev). Though the credits do refer to Ram Kapoor we do not get a glace of
the guy and he cannot be missed, unless he was part of the audience at the
cricket match. So is it with the likes of Kabir Bedi and Arjun Rampal. On the
other hand, we have a weirdly attired Akshay Kumar. We also have Jimmy Amarnath
as the coach, Akash Chopra, Mbangwa, Rameez Raja and Atul Wassan to add the
cricketing credibility to the Tom and Jerry game.
You know from the promos that the critical cricketer is kidnapped by none other
than Rahul Wagah from the promos. So it is not a crime thriller. Yes, the film
could have been a tight well thought and executed thriller. It is not. More
important, it is not meant to be one. It is designed to be a light hearted
comedy banking on its hunks on show. John Abraham frowns more than Ajay Devgn
has in all his films put together and that is the demand of the script. The
Dhoom chaser is out at Dishoom understanding that the genre is distinctly
different. Akshay Khanna returns to the silver screen and is his usual suave
self. He has done negative roles in the past and sticks to his basics. The film
however relies more on the acting skills and screen presence of Varun Dhavan
and he delivers effortlessly. This actor is worth investing on.
Films like this are not judged by the logic or even the craft. It is about
being good as long as it lasts. For bonus the film ends on a high with a
gorgeous Parineeti Chopra stepping in to shake a leg alongside Varun Dhavan. It
is about paisa wasool – specially, if the paisa is not too much!!
+ Humour, Varun and Akshay Khanna’s
return
– Script could be tighter
Rating: 2.5 stars
L. Ravichander.