Dishoom (2016) Review!!!

Synopsis – When India’s top batsman Viraj Sharma goes missing in Middle East, two cops Kabir Shergill and Junaid Ansari from either side of Arabian Sea must team up for a 36-hours man-hunt before the final match between India and Pakistan.

My Take – Don’t we just love the buddy cop genre? While the concept has been done to death in the west, the genre hasn’t been a regular in Hindi movies, the result this Rohit Dhawan film right from its 1^st promo felt like a breeze of fresh air. The idea of a stiff and mostly expressionless macho man John Abraham with the delightful & shorter in height Varun Dhawan seemed like a great idea. But when an action thriller’s running time is revealed to be 124 minutes, it could be one of two things: a smartly plotted narrative with well-timed punches and punchlines, or a film that has very little to say. While the film has done reasonably well at the Indian box office, I must say despite its likable characters, insane plot & grand visuals, the film isn’t as fun as it should have been. I do blame director Rohit Dhawan for the shortcomings, who in his second directorial ventures (after the below average Desi Boyz) prefers to showcase his very talented younger sibling in his funny yet action oriented role over a script which does not bother to fill in the gaps.

The story follows ace investigator Kabir Shergill (John Abraham), who send to the middle east to investigate the disappearance of Viraj Sharma (Saqib Saleem), the star batsman of India’s Cricket team. With just 36 hours on hand for the crucial India vs Pakistan match to take place, Kabir picks up rookie Indian born local police officer Junaid Ansari (Varun Dhawan) as his guide and driver. While following up on leads they stumble upon the pretty thief Ishika (Jacqueline Fernandez) and must combine forces to stop the crooked bookie Wagah (Akshaye Khanna) from carrying out his notorious plans. The film’s interesting premise gives it a refreshing feel. The plot could be threadbare but the breezy narrative keeps it pleasant. The film is fast-paced & always on the point. And that’s its biggest strength. Its minus, however, is that there is no soul here. No, I wasn’t expecting a soulful experience, but this film is just chew your popcorn entertainment. The first-hour runs on a rocket-speed & the camaraderie between its two leading-men, is fun to watch. Its the second-hour, where the pace drops. The journey to find the celebrated batsman is dragged for long & even the crispness wears you off. With every predictable scene, the film is a little more derailed. The script written by Tushar Hiranandani and Rohit Dhawan has all the ingredients of a Hindi commercial film which includes dramatic cast intros, inciting episodic incidents with a patriotic tinge, mild complications, action packed climax and a dud emotional denouement, all sans logic. The film talks about crooked bookies and match-fixing, but, whether in this or in the investigations, it takes a light and mostly comic approach throughout. Illogic is splattered everywhere, like the ownership of the pug, who suddenly becomes the villain Wagah ’s dog and how the two cops come to know of Wagah’s whereabouts in the end. With a huge sum of money transferred by the Indian authorities into Wagah’s account in an incredibly short time in return for Viraj’s life and how Viraj escapes a time bomb on his body and many more sequences, the script is not at all concerned about logic in its bid to entertain, entertain and entertain. Which it does moderately and rather breezily well. The film’s writing is crisp (though faulty at places), every scene is well etched, every character is well sketched and every action scene is pitch perfect. There is glamorous, larger than life, slick action. Men fly but this time the power of cinema wins over the action director’s gimmicky vein.

The film’s fatal flaw, then, is its failure to persist with any particular idea, concept, theme or thought. There is, for instance, a potentially sweet scene when a bad guy barges into a group of Muslim men at prayer and Junaid stops Kabir from chasing him through the group, saying: “Namaz ki izzat rakh le, khuda hamari rakh lega (Honour the namaz and God will take care of us).” The few seconds of silence that follow are poignant, especially in the context of the Islamophobia pervading the world right now. And then something goes wrong, and the entire point is lost, though it is clear that it was not Rohit or his co-writers’ intention to suggest that Khuda was not bothered. Even the film’s obvious flag-waving ambitions are erratically executed. It is silly yet amusing when a star Indian cricketer smashes the ball all over a stadium for sixes and fours in an international match, just minutes after he was soundly walloped on a shoulder he had previously dislocated during a game. Amusing because the Saare Jahan Se Achchha playing in the background as he walks on to the field is no doubt meant to emotionally wave aside our powers of reasoning, and so, rather than be irritated, it is possible to chuckle over that scene. The eye soother in this film is the gorgeous Jacqueline Fernandez, who joins the boys to find the champ before the match. The camaraderie, the chemistry is infallible. The trio put together a spectacular show. But also what doesn’t work is Jacqueline. While she ups the oomph in the film, her character also cuts into the film’s pace. Logic is the last thing on the mind of the writers here. How the STF is involved in a case in which the abductor doesn’t demand ransom seems right out of a no brainer? But Rohit doesn’t want you to ponder much on the pitfalls. We wonder if the audiences will accept such treatment of story in what could have been a serious, intense, edge-of-the-seat thriller spanning just 36 hours. But on the other hand, maybe director Dhawan never wanted that. But then even the “Dhoom” franchise takes liberties only on the action front, while here there is sparse action but for some sequences in the climax. The much-touted helicopter sequence is very tame. Applaud the screen presence of Varun Dhawan, the camaraderie between him and John, the latter’s chiseled physique, the low emotional fluff (thankfully) and everyone who decided to come together for a movie that looks like everyone is having a blast. To get John to do that is often an insurmountable task but The Dhawan brothers make sure the film is trippy. Pritam’s music too is a mixed bag. While ‘Sau tarah ke’ is infectiously upbeat, ‘Jaaneman aah’ accompanying the closing credits is embarrassingly tuneless but is highly watchable due to guest star Parineeti Chopra showing off her newly attained slim and trim physique. Varun Dhawan is a delight, pitched just right after his erratic turn as the boy coming of professional age in “Dilwale.” He plays to the gallery and does it immensely likably. John Abraham as the cold all-brains-and-trigger-happy Kabir is excellent in his role. Jacqueline Fernandez is a surprise in the acting department, probably superseding all her earlier performances. Saqib Saleem is wasted in a passive role of the kidnapped cricketer Viraj Sharma. Akshay Kumar’s cameo provides several laughs. Akshaye Khanna has a small role in the film but the actor does a fine act. He is still the man you loathed in Race and Humraaz. He is an effortless baddie, matching the vigor of John and Varun ably. It was a surprise that despite the lack of a well fleshed character, he makes Wagah appealing. The evil streak and his sturdy acting skills makes his act compelling. On the whole, ‘Dishoom’ is a cliched, predictable and a mildly entertaining film showcasing the new star on the block, Varun Dhawan.