Dhoomwas the first action film produced by Yash Raj Films since Yash Chopra's Vijay. The film revolves around a gang of robbers on motorbikes, led by Kabir (John Abraham), who carry out robberies in Mumbai, while a cop Jai Dixit (Abhishek Bachchan) and a motorbike dealer Ali Akbar Fateh Khan (Uday Chopra) are assigned to stop Kabir and his gang.
Kabir and his motorcycle gang carry out robberies in Banks and other public places in Mumbai, which causing chaos to the police. ACP Jai Dixit is assigned to investigate the case. Jai seeks the help of Ali Akbar Fateh Khan, a local bike dealer and racer, and creates a plan to trap the gang, but to no avail. Kabir taunts Jai, claiming that he cannot catch him even if he was right in front of him. Kabir is proven correct and Jai's inability causes him to part ways with Ali.
Kabir lures Ali into his gang as a substitute for Rohit, a member of Kabir's gang who was killed by Jai. Ali falls in love with Sheena, another member in the gang. The gang plan their next and final heist in Goa before parting ways. Kabir and his gang robs a casino on New Year's Eve, but Kabir realizes that Jai led him into a trap. It is revealed that Ali was actually working with Jai, and a fight ensues.
Kabir manages to escape and goes back to the gang's truck, where Ali has kept Sheena hostage. Kabir beats up Ali for his betrayal, but Jai arrives and saves Ali. Kabir and his gang, except Sheena, escape with Jai and Ali chasing after them. Jai and Ali eliminate the gang and corner Kabir. Rather than letting Jai arrest him, Kabir kills himself by riding his bike over the edge of a cliff. Later, Jai and Ali argue with each other in a friendly way.
Rajesh Karkera of Rediff.com said that "Dhoom does have a few loopholes but the film's fast-paced energy is more than enough to ensure your eyes don't stir from the screen for two-and-a-half hours", on the performance side, Chopra "steals the show", Bachchan is "impressive as the cool and confident cop. Abraham stalks though his role with ease. Deol and Sen only need to look beautiful in their limited presence in this sweat 'n' leather flick".[10] Chitra Mahesh from The Hindu said that the film takes the genre of The Fast and the Furious, Ocean's Eleven and similar others, and wrote that "the actions scenes are extremely well done with zooms and pacy editing, while the music is more raucous than melodious". Appreciating the acting, she said, "Chopra is delightful. Bachchan as Jai does his role with style and grit and is proving to be a wonderful actor. Abraham looks terrific and suits the role of the mean-but-savvy thief".[11]
Taran Adarsh of IndiaFM rated 1.5 out of 5, and said: "Dhoom has gloss, but no substance. Dhoom has style, but no script. Dhoom has thrills in abundance, but the outcome is least exciting. In short, Dhoom ranks amongst YRF's weakest films" and that the film relies "too heavily on thrills", the bike chase in the story are "far more interesting than the story itself. In fact, all you remember at the end of the show are some expertly-executed chases [Allan Amin], not the drama"; the film also seems to take inspirations from The Fast and The Furious and Biker Boyz.[15] Calling Dhoom a "testosterone-overdose", Anupama Chopra of India Today wrote that "Dhoom is adolescent heaven-fast bikes, hot babes, tons of kick-ass action with no-strings-attached ... But there are lots of trendy split screenshots of shiny bikes burning rubber and fast-paced stunts involving boats and trucks. Not to mention sexy songs with water hoses. Acting isn't the point here either. The performances are pure posture."[16]
Dhoom is an Indian caper action film series that revolves around ACP Jai Dixit (Abhishek Bachchan), an Assistant Commissioner of Police and his sidekick Ali Akbar Fateh Khan (Uday Chopra), who attempt to capture wanted, professional thieves. It is the sixth largest Indian film franchise in terms of box-office revenue.[1]
When Sahir, a circus entertainer trained in magic and acrobatics, turns into a thief to take down a corrupt bank in Chicago that is responsible for his father's death, Jai and Ali are called to catch him.
There have been large number of false rumors spread of an upcoming sequel to Dhoom 3, some rumors stating that Akshay Kumar would be in Dhoom 4.[39] However, Yash Raj Films later clarified that they had never, asked Akshay for a role in the film. In fact they further even stated that they did not even have a script, plot, or even an idea, at that point.[39] The response that the production company gave even further clarified that there was no actors yet even signed or in consideration for the so-called Dhoom 4 by the production company.[40] This was not the first time such a rumor relating to Dhoom 4 happened, when Shah Rukh Khan was rumored to be in the film, one of the directors at the production company stated a similar statement that there was no story for a Dhoom 4.[41] The actor himself even stated that he had not yet been offered to sign up for a Dhoom 4 film.[42] This was the same case when other actors were speculated, with the production house stating the same response.[43] In fact in at some time in 2018, a spokesperson of the production company stated that there were no current plans for the movie.[44] However, around the time of the release of Thugs of Hindostan, a film made by the same director of Dhoom 3, some people from the production house stated the possibility of a release of Dhoom 4 lies on how successful the movie is.[41][45]
The problem is there are few equivalents of Oscar-bait and indie films made in India to balance out the dreck. I was lucky enough to be brought to India by a filmmaker who had exquisite taste and who tried his best to make non-dreck, to work with Western sensibilities. As a result, he never made a feature film after that Himalayan epic ground to halt owing to budget problems and political upheaval on location.
But between the two, which is daffier? Would the daffy crown go to lazily crooked cop Johnny Kelly or crookedly lazy cop Ali Akbar? Would the magician thief of record be Sahir Khan or Hayes Stewart? What is, in fact, the most ridiculous cinematic abomination to film on these sacred shores?
I, on the other hand, am just the kind of fellow who will kick back for three hours of action / romance / comedy / musical / fantasy entertainment. I dig Bollywood films. When MC Frontalot invited me to join him for a screening of Dhoom 3, I did not let the horribleness of my day deflect me.
Here is where I would normally give you a sense of what happens in Dhoom 3, but to do so would be to miss the point entirely. Unlike the French sex romps and the Korean bloodbaths, popular Indian films are more often devoted to the gods of pure entertainment. Imagine, say, the Fast & Furious films if they were three hours long and featured extravagant musical numbers and a kooky uncle and maybe a little reincarnation. You know; like The Avengers.
Remember Pacific Rim? This was a film that blended action, comedy, and romance in an effects-heavy, mostly nonsensical story that swapped around established story beats from various other (foreign) sources to make a piece of entertaining malarkey.
This third, and most accomplished, segment in the Dhoom (Blast) franchise is the first Indian film to be released in IMAX. Showing on a record 236 screens in North America, including some with Dolby Atmos sound, the film is bound to earn well-deserved record revenues here and in India.
To be sure, Dhoom 3 also includes a few rotten elements common to Hindi films, such as improbable shifts in location (from downtown Chicago to the Verzasca Dam in Switzerland five minutes later); uniformly awful acting from the non-Indians in the cast; and the shameless borrowing of ideas (from Now You See Me, The Town and one or two Bourne films).
The 2002 film followed the story of a cat-and-mouse game between a gang of motorbike robbers, led by Kabir (John Abraham), and Jai Dixit (Abhishek Bachchan), a Mumbai cop who teams up with Ali (Uday Chopra), a motorbike dealer to stop them. It also starred Esha Deol and Rimi Sen.
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Written and directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya, Dhoom 3 is a stand-alone film that has been breaking global box-office records. If you, like me, missed the first two films, you will not be lost. The series follows the adventures of two Mumbai cops, Jai (Abhishek Bachchan, playing the serious one) and Ali (Uday Chopra, playing the silly one with a unique fashion sense). After an engaging opening action sequence through the streets of Chicago, they are called upon to help apprehend a bank robber Sahir (Aamir Khan), who has been leaving his mark in Hindi.
Do you like the dangerous dead sexy bad boy, the safe husband type, or the clown? Whichever it is, this movie has a man for you! And then of course we have the added complication as the series progressed, WHICH dead sexy dangerous bad boy do you prefer, John or Hrithik?
The Dhoom-genre, this kind of lighthearted action film with high production values, was also a bit groundbreaking. At least, in the early 2000s. Back in the 80s, there were loads of these fun action films, but they had fallen out of favor around the time Indian film started breaking through internationally. To see a fun silly buddy action movie kind of plot, with the gloss of the newer production values, was revalatory for the audience.
Oh this plot! So silly! Abhishek is a calm low key police detective with a sexy wife, Rimi Sen. He is assigned a robbery in which the thieves escape on motorcycles. To help him catch the thieves, he asks for help from a small time crook who runs a motorcycle shop, Uday Chopra. Uday is foolish and talkative and always falling in love at first sight. He and Abhishek go on a series of stake outs but keep missing the thieves.
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