Dhoom 2 Review : Return of the masala movie

The nineties were a much more simpler time for us movie-goers. We didn’t demand much and the filmmakers were more than happy not to comply . Action movies consisted on one fight scene after another , tons of fake blood, outrageous laws-of-physics defying stunts and a wronged protagonist sworn on revenge( usualy due to the death of the mother/father/sister)

Ajay Devgan making his entrance on two bikes...with one foot on each .

Akshay Kumar...The khiladi... pherhaps the ony bollyoowd star to take on the Undertaker ( Galat panga liya tune undertaker , apne baap se !!! grrr!!!) , a
sumo wrestler , jump from a moving plane , a hot air balloon , and mud-wrestle with Rekha .

Suniel shetty , star of manly revenge dramas...Raghuveer , Mohra , Takkar , Vinashak.

And any move having more than 1 hereo ( a mullti-starrer in those days ) was sure to have gastric-ulcer inducing masala... Mohra , main Khiladi tu anadi , Waqt Hamara Hai !!!

But why am I reminiscising so much?? Well because after watching Dhoom 2 , I felt that I had seen the only true Masala Action Movie this year...Don tired to be suave and cool...Krrish had the alien superpowers...this one tosses all attempts to be subtle out the window and goes all out to be a masala entertainer!!

The story consists of a international super-theif "A"( Hritik Roshan ) whose only ambition in life is to steal priceless artifacts so that he can , literally , leave his mark on the world( The scene where the three cpos are discussing this is 100% filmi-grade masala at work ). Aishwarya Rai as Sunheri is the female super thief who wants to be associated with A .

In comes meterosexual he-man super-cop Jai Dixit( Abhisheik bachan ) and his bumbling partner Ali( Uday Chopra) who are assigned along with man-hunter Shonali( Bipasha Basu) to nab the dyslexic super-thief .

With this semi-interesting plot , we are treated to the loudest , most hackneyed Hindi action movie since DUS.

The main actors , with the exception of Hritik are not required to act much . Abhisheik reprises his role of the not-so-angry young man of Dhoom , while Uday brings some much-needed comic relief to the movie . Bipasha has what can best be described as a very very extended special appearance. She doesn’t bring much to the movie , and is missing for almost the entire second half . Ash is competent enough as the accomplice .

The movie belongs to Hritik and overshadows the other actors most of the time he is on screen . he gets the coolest gadgets , the most awesome stunts and perhaps the only serious scenes in the movie that actually require some acting to be done .

The stunts are brilliantly executed ,and among the best seen in Hindi movies till date, though they don’t make much sense . (a submerged Abhisheik surfacing from underwater using a jet-ski...10/10 for style , but was it really needed ? ). The robberies are daring but have glaring and quite obvious logical flaws ... in the very first scene , "A" steals the crown jewels of a generic firangi Queen form a moving train...how cool , you say . But the jewels are lying in an open room with only two security guards. I would have brought my safe along .

The robbery form the museum. It was well executed...but how the hell did he get outside the museum form a roomful of guards?? That sequence has been left to the audiences imagination .And why didn’t he just get out the way he came in ??

The worst part of the movie has to be the songs. Looks like Pritam wasn’t inspired enough. ( http://www.itwofs.com/hindi-pritam.html) They are really out of place a. only the title song and to a certain extent “Don’t touch me”and “dil lagana” were any good . they only slow down the pace of the movie . The choreography is good but the costumes from all the songs look the same an its simply a case of mix and match .

As I said before there are a lot of plot holes and logic takes a backseat in the proceedings. If you are the kind who likes taut and cerebral thrillers , it’s best to avoid this movie if you’re looking for that kind of thing in it. This movie also suffers from pacing problems and Bipasha’s character could have been easily deleted. the ending could have been a litle bit better .

Overall , I really feel that the original Dhoom was a tighter , better scripted movie . However , if you remember to leave you brain at home , this an enjoyable and strangely satisfying movie… the masala movie of the 21st century .