Crime and comedy always make for a heady mix. So do romance and humor. So do romantic thrillers. When one amalgamates in a sensible and entertaining way all three genres, it is a terrific treat. And that’s how riveting and rollicking Dhoom Dhaam is, which has streamed on Netflix.
Koyal (Yami Gautam Dhar) and Veer (Pratik Gandhi) have an arranged marriage and hail from conservative families. Veer is a practicing veterinarian doctor, and “cannot eat my patients!”. So he is a vegetarian!
On their first night at a plush hotel, two goons enter and ask the couple about “Charlie”’s whereabouts. They are armed. But with shrewd determination, Koyal flummoxes them and turns the tables on them. After all, neither Koyal nor Veer know who Charlie is, forget where he must be!
The two escape from the hotel window despite the high floor and Veer’s fear of heights (and some more, as Koyal later comes to know!) and the rest of the movie is about how they are chased by the goons and their acolytes.
A cop calls them and tells them the truth about Charlie and how they have to somehow find Charlie—but they must reach the cops first. The system is corrupt, he informs them, accusing an entire police station of being in cahoots with the criminals.
At superficial level, this film is about the cat and mouse game (as it turns out) between cops and criminals, with the couple sandwiched between them. But during the crisp 108-minute run, we also come to know how arranged marriages actually have blips that are unforeseen.
Koyal and Veer come to know of each other’s strengths, weaknesses, kinks and other aspects only after they are hitched. And we get well-delivered takeaways—on past relationships, inter-communal marriages, the flipside of dominating parents causing the young to keep secrets from them, and the way a woman must successively pander to whims and wishes of her parents, then hubby and finally children, and never make decisions of her own and for her own happiness.
Of course, we also see the braggart ex-boyfriend (Prateik Babbar in a cameo), and there is a twist in the tale, but Dhoom Dhaam carries the day with its superb scripting (Aarsh Vora and Aditya Dhar) from an ingenious and lifelike yet fantastic story and the bold dialogues. We see Koyal as a master (mistress?) of expletives that are like shell-shocks for her placid husband (though in the film most are “beeped” out with only Veer’s expressions to reveal their magnitude!).
This consistent undercurrent of humor thus escalates the film to become one of the finest light-hearted entertainers in recent times. Special highlights include the sequence with the Muslim couple who have had a love marriage, a bachelorette party and the whacky climax.
Yami Gautam Dhar continues on her mission of selecting choice work (including her husband Aditya Dhar’s solid productions like URI—The Surgical Strike and Article 370) both in films and her roles. She is fantastic as Koyal and easily one of the finest talents after Alia Bhatt. Aditya himself has shown his range beyond writing real-life events-based patriotic dramas with his one.
Pratik Gandhi yet again shows his formidable range and versatility that was evident even last year in variegated films like Madgaon Express, Do Aur Do Pyaar and Agni. From the support, Eijaz Khan and Pavitra Sarkar as his acolyte stand out as the men out to trouble the newlyweds with their demand for Charlie.
Making a special marks are Mukul Chadda as the senior cop Rebiero, Mushtaq Khan and Veena Mehta as the Muslim couple, Garima Yagnik as Kanika and even the cute dog Bruno as Tushie! Arya Babbar is good for the cameo.
The technical values are upscale and Rishab Seth directs with skill. The BGM by Shor Police is an asset, but not their songs despite the catchy hook of “How are you”.
Thanks to its content and pace, I will definitely watch this one again. It’s an unmitigated delight in times when even OTT films are not always “there”.
Rating: ****
Netflix presents B62 Studios’ & Jio Studios’ Dhoom Dhaam Produced by: Jyoti Deshpande, Aditya Dhar & Lokesh Dhar Directed by: Rishab Seth Written by: Aarsh Vora, Aditya Dhar & Rishabh Seth Music: Shor Police Starring: Yami Gautam Dhar, Pratik Gandhi, Eijaz Khan, Pavitra Sarkar, Kavin Dave, Mushtaq Khan, Veena Mehta, Mukul Chadda, Garima Yagnik, Mustafa Ahmed, Dog Bruno, Sp. App.: Prateik Babbar & others
(Used with permission)
