[Movie] Dhamaal 4 and Ruined Nostalgia
Look at me in my mid-20s and already talking about nostalgia. What will happen when I go for my 40s. Never mind!
The title tells the whole story, still I need to write down the reasons. Maybe I am just looking for a reason to write down - my usual yapping. The thing is, I was never going to watch this movie. Watch? If it was not on Netflix top-2, there was not a chance of me discovering it. But the trend of it made me watch it. Then there is this nostalgia reason behind it. "Dhamaal" was a really good one. The franchise was new, and the hustle for "W" was real. The comedy felt new at that time, and hey, we were kids back then.
So a "13+" at that time sounds reasonable. Now let us move towards reviewing x analysis part.
The Story
The movie revolves around another ridiculous treasure hunt. Guddu and Johnny discover that Prithvi knows the location of a hidden treasure buried by the notorious pirate Shaitan Singh (Devil Singh). Before Prithvi can reveal everything, pirate Adhoora captures him and accidentally burns the treasure map. It means Prithvi is the only person who knows where the treasure is. Reminds me of Pogues and El-Dorado from "Outerbanks."
From there, the usual Dhamaal stuff begins. Different characters including: Guddu, Johnny, Lallan, Paro, Adi, Manav and Rosy, end up chasing the same treasure. While there is chaos, betrayals, rescuings and some other humanly nature. The search is for the treasure hidden inside the mountain with "M" symbol.
Only worth mentioning character is - Manav, played by Javed Jaffery.
No offense to any other chaarcter. As most of them are already famous one. But other than Manav every character was nothing but overacting. No emotions; no facial expressions. Somehow, even after all these years, he is still carrying the chaos on his shoulders.
Personal Take i.e. Analysis
It has been some time since I last watched a Bollywood movie. Bollywood really used to be a fun watch for me. And the last movie worth mentioning is "October." I might be biased here, but nah, the fun is not here anymore. Or perhaps, the problem is me. I do not know the exact reason. So just leave this point here.
As mentioned above, there is this overacting for the most part. Characters just felt like they are doing it free. Yes I get it that Dhamaal is supposed to be this way. Still, there is nothing but shouting by characters.
They deliver every dialogue like this is the end of the world, or the fate of universe depends on it. The difference between silly comedy - brainrot in GenZ term - and simply throwing random expressions is long gone.
Then comes the story. Honestly speaking, it feels unnecessarily stretched. A simple treasure hunt plot somehow takes forever to reach anywhere meaningful. There are characters running around, stopping, getting in trouble, then the cycle continues. The problem is not that the story is unrealistic - nobody considers Dhamaal as a nonfiction. The problem is that the story feels lame and long at the same time. And I believe this is a dangerous combination.
And then there is the pacing. Some scenes feel like they have been given a whole life; other seems like on deathbed, just making their last wish. Like come on, they just keep going and going, and suddenly there is a moment of complete blindness.
One final thing. The references from the previous movies. Like they literally had to add references to make it look funny. There is this scene "Ram, Ram, Ram..." from "Ishq" movie by Amir Khan and Ajay Devgan. EVen today, I say: nothing beats that scene. It was pure comedy, a big laugh. Ajay tried but once in a lifetime scene can never be replicated.
(The real Ram Ram Ram scene)
In the end, for me, Dhamaal 4 was primarily a nostalgic watch than a genuine one. Maybe that is the biggest problem: I remember the first time experience. And because of that my expectations were somewhat high. There are some good moments. Then there are moments, where you are sitting there saying, "OKAY." Cast is so top-notch but they failed to catch it.
Ratings as of now:
IMDb: 7.0/10
Rotten Tomatoes: 18%
Times of India: 2/5
BookMyShow: 7.5/10
My Rating: 5/10
Peace 🕊️
Rating: 50/100
Originally posted through scrobble.life/movies.