Film: Dhoom Dhadaka

Cast: Shaad Randhawa, Samir Dattani, Aarti Chhabria and Shama Sikander

Director: Shashi Ranjan

Rating: 1/5

Bolly land has been in a comic mood for a long long time now. The overdose of comedy continues its tired ride with Shashi Ranjan’s latest, Dhoom Dhadaka. Starring Shaad Randhawa, Samir Dattani, Aarti Chhabria and Shama Sikander, Dhoom Dhadaka is a typical comedy in the mode of a crowd-pleaser, the likes of which we see every two months.

Mungi Lal, a powerful Don, is in search of an heir to gain complete control over his territory, which is in danger of being given away to his rival Fursat Lal. Word gets out that he is looking for his long-lost nephew and promptly four fortune-seekers land at his doorstep to take the hackneyed journey forward. Amidst strategically placed emotional outbursts add whacky-but-tacky action sequences and the story finds its final denouement in suitable changes of hearts and goals of all those good achieved.

So what is new you ask? We asked the same too. And came to the conclusion that there is indeed nothing. Anupam Kher leads the procession of this mad-pack and plays a ‘deadly don’ with a golden heart and nerves of steel. Satish Shah plays the Gujju advisor-friend, the voice of sanity in the excitable Don’s life. Although they share a great chemistry in holding scenes and their roles together, a given for actors as seasoned as them, the surroundings leave little room for this chemistry to substantially complement the film.

The lead cast credits read as it is in a for-want-of-better-options mode. Shaad Randhawa, last seen in Mahesh Bhatt’s Woh Lamhe, plays the role of a street-smart, wannabe but do-nothing actor in love with Aarti Chhabria who is a popular item girl Shivani Sawant, the usage of the surname not to be missed. Samir Dattani, unseen for a long time plays the other street smart, do nothing who lands at the Don’s place with his girlfriend Shama Sikander in tow.

Forced humour in the form of lackey one liners and crass double meaning dialogues is at its peak here. The movie invests its comedy as much in its screenplay as it does in its performances. Anupam Kher hams to his heart’s content as he is so wont to do in madhouse capers whereas Satish Shah is impressive in his controlled act. Satish Kaushik is in his typical bumbling mode but is not half as watchable as he used to be a decade back.

Deepshikkha adds the oomph factor with her flashy outfits but justifies her role. The lead cast is strictly ok with Shaad and Samir catching lesser eye-balls than their leading ladies who not only look good but manage to liven up their presence from mere props to equal players. Sadly, this effort doesn’t help this doomed film either.

Tighter screenplay, defined rather than caricatured characterisation and cutting out clichéd sob-scenes would have gone a long way in making this silly comedy sillier and hence worth a watch. Dhoom Dhadaka seems like Shashi Ranjan’s attempt to appease the masses a la Kukunoor in Bombay to Bangkok. Sadly, as with the latter, he too fails miserably.