Dishoom

There is a zone of sensibility we assign to movies while we watch them. Dishoom directed by Rohit Dhawan starts off as a very serious film which addresses its conflict very maturely. But after the half way mark the movie sort of becomes a silly comedy film which demands the viewer to leave all the logical thinking. Even after having good performances and hilarious cameos to its credit, this awkward mixing of treatment disappointed me.

Star inform Indian Batsman Viraj Sharma gets kidnapped a day before the finals against arch rival Pakistan. The Indian government asks their best officer Kabir to go the middle east for finding Viraj. The aid or I should say the guide he gets from their police is this young vibrant guy named Junaid. The movie is about their fast paced investigation to find Viraj.

The trailer sort of made me feel that the movie would be totally a nonsensical comedy. But Rohit Dhawan surprises you in the beginning portions by making it look more of a serious action movie. Even though the masala flavour is there in the treatment, it looked convincing as a commercial cinema in the first half. The script gets fumbled when it crosses the border in the second half. What happens in that second half where the crucial developments of the movie unfold looks way too silly and largely predictable. An interesting villain goes in vain towards the end and the Bradman coincidence and a few other things kind of make Dishoom somewhat a Rohit Shetty movie.

John Abraham’s tough look was what the movie looking for. He is in his bumpy mood throughout the film and I would say the movie has used the macho feel he generates effectively. Varun Dhawan is undeniably the most impressive actor in the cast. The “unstable energy” in him is evident in every frame that has him and I loved his performance in this film. Jacqueline Fernandez’s character doesn’t really have any great significance, except for that “Sau Tarah Ke” song. It was good to see Akshaye Khanna after a long while as Wagah (catchy name).   A special mention to Saqib Saleem for that good performance as Viraj. And cheers to Akshay Kumar for that wonderful cameo at a time when he is delivering back to back hits.

Rohith Dhawan’s making has less cheesy feel when compared to other film makers who makes these kinds of movies (including his father). He isn’t much interested in the over comical presentation. The problem is with the script in the second half with all those big fight set pieces. Predictable and not so convincing twists somewhat takes away that good fun film tag from Dishoom. There are various moments where the dialogue humour saves the movie. Ayananka Bose’s cinematography was good. When compared to Rohit’s Desi Boyz, this music album from Pritam isn’t that peppy or catchy. I appreciate the great effort and risk taken by the actors to do certain stunts, but most of them never really looked necessary.

Dishoom is enjoyable for sure. But when compared to the promise it made in those earlier portions of the movie, the second half is a letdown. I would say it’s a non boring average cinema. That initial cricket match sequence would have been one of the best on screen cricket match if the fences had some banners of sponsors.

Rating : 2.5/5