Bollywood-Dhoom I

Starring: Abhishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra, John Abraham, Esha Deol, Rimii Sen
Director: Sanjay Gadhvi
Music: Preetam
Producer: Aditya Chopra

Dhoom begins with a slick robbery in which an armoured truck is stripped of its money by four helmeted, leather-suited bikers. Despite the speed of the thrilling opening sequence, it is the super-bikes -- all from the Suzuki stable -- that grab your attention.

A gang of robbers led by Kabir (John Abraham, repeating his screen name from Jism) are carrying various impressive crimes in the city. They all zoom around on fantastic looking motorbikes, picking up loot in a series of pre-planned locations. The cops are obviously not too happy because they don't have a clue about the identity of the criminals and therefore cant try to end their crime spree.

Enter Jai (Abhishek Bachchan, repeating his father's screen name from Sholay), who is a dashing and talented cop assigned the job of catching the gang. Jay needs the help of a street-smart guy and seeks out Ali (Uday Chopra, not repeating any screen name!). Ali is a garage mechanic with hot biking skills. Although Jai and Ali don't really get along, they work together to solve the case.

DHOOM not only takes its inspiration from several Bollywood flicks, but also seems slightly similar to a few Hollywood thrillers [coincidental?], namely THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS and BIKER BOYZ.

The problem with DHOOM is that it relies too heavily on thrills to take it forward. That explains why the bike chase, at several points in the story, is 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.

Director Sanjay Gadhvi has concentrated too heavily in making each frame look beautiful. The film is a notch above the ordinary as far as the technique is concerned, but, perhaps, he isn't too well aware that what the viewer hopes to watch are not gadgets and gizmos or mean machines, but a well structured story.

Pritam's music sounds good to the ears. The title track [filmed on Esha, Uday] and 'Shikdum' [filmed on Abhishek, Rimi] can easily be singled out. The choreography of the title track in particular is spectacular. Cinematography is first-rate. As mentioned earlier, the thrills are the saving grace.

Abhishek Bachchan makes a sincere attempt to look the character. John Abraham looks cool as the evil guy. But it is Uday Chopra who stands out with an above ordinary performance, playing to the gallery completely. Rimi gets more scope than Esha; she is quite likeable.

On the whole, 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. Go for it, make your day.

Rapidhare links

CD1 : Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Subtitle

CD2 : Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Subtitle