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Thursday, October 27, 2011

Damadamm Movie Review - Komal Nahta


Business rating: 0.5 / 5 star

Star cast: Himesh Reshammiya, Purbi Joshi, Sonal Sehgal.

What’s Good: A couple of songs; Purbi Joshi’s acting.

What’s Bad: The holes in the screenplay; the routine story.

Verdict: Damadamm! is a dull fare which will bomb at the ticket windows.

Loo break: A couple in the two halves.

Watch or Not?: Watch it if you are a fan of Himesh Reshammiya’s music.

HR Musik’s Damadamm! (UA) is the story of Sameer (Himesh Reshammiya) torn between two girls, Shikha (Purbi Joshi) and Sanjana (Sonal Sehgal). Sameer and Shikha work in the same office and love each other. But Shikha is over-possessive and keeps nagging Sameer, especially if he speaks to any other girl. Sameer feels suffocated in the relationship because of Shikha’s over-possessiveness and nagging nature. One day, Shikha goes out of the city to her home town and is scheduled to return after some days.

In the intervening period, Sameer is introduced to his boss’ (Rajesh Khattar) sister, Sanjana, who joins the office. Sameer and Sanjana become very friendly, a fact that troubles Shikha when she returns. Shikha’s insecurity drives her to say incorrect things about Sameer and Sanjana’s relationship. This infuriates Sameer so much that he breaks off from Shikha. Obviously, Shikha is crestfallen and tries to make amends with Sameer but the latter is in no mood for a compromise.

Soon, Sameer’s boss puts forth a marriage proposal before him – he wants Sameer and Sanjana to marry each other. Sameer accepts the proposal. Shikha leaves the job and applies in another company. What happens then? Does Sameer marry Sanjana? Or does he return to Shikha? Does Shikha keep quiet or does she revolt? What stand does Sanjana take?

Damadamm! Review – Script Analysis

Himesh Reshammiya’s story about a young man torn between two women is not new as one has seen many films with similar story lines. Subrat Sinha’s screenplay is too simplistic and also a case of very convenient writing. Two major defects in the screenplay relate to the second half. Firstly, the good times Sameer and Shikha have spent in the past are revealed to the audience in the second half, only when Sameer starts repenting his break-up. Since the good times had transpired in the past, it is incorrect for the writer to only highlight Shikha’s irritating qualities in the first half while blacking out her praiseworthy qualities so that they can be shown at a later point of time in the drama. Secondly, when the estate broker, Lily Aunty (Lily Patel), tells Sameer that Shikha had wanted to buy a house for the two of them, Sameer feels miserable about breaking off from Shikha. Does that mean that Sameer is greedy and that he didn’t want the house to slip out of his hands or does it mean that he is appreciating Shikha’s sacrifice? Although the writer would have the audience believe that Sameer was appreciating Shikha’s sacrifice, it is very possible for the audience to actually assume that Sameer was greedy. Worse still, Sameer lies to Shikha when he wants to make up with her, by telling her that he had so missed her nagging and over-possessiveness. When did he miss Shikha’s nagging and over-possessiveness? The reason why he started to miss her was because he learns that she had booked a flat for both of them to live in.

Given such a flawed screenplay, the audience cannot be expected to enjoy the drama which, even otherwise, is very predictable. What’s more, there aren’t any surprises or shocks whatsoever. Dialogues (Subrat Sinha) are ordinary.

Damadamm! Review – Star Performances

Himesh Reshammiya has loosened up a lot compared to his earlier films. That he doesn’t have the looks of a hero is true but his acting is fairly good. Purbi Joshi does an absolutely splendid job. She makes every scene she appears in worth watching because of her talent. Sonal Sehgal looks very pretty. Her performance is quite nice. Rajesh Khattar is natural. Ashwin Dhar lends good support. Lily Patel is alright.

Damadamm! Review – Direction & Music

Swapna Waghmare Joshi’s direction is nothing to shout about. Her narrative style is commonplace and flat. Music, scored by Himesh Reshammiya, is good. The Madhushala’and Umrao jaan songs are the best numbers. The other songs are fairly appealing. Lyrics (Shabbir Ahmed, Sameer and Himesh Reshammiya) are passable. Song picturisations (Raju Khan) are ordinary, also because none of the three lead players is even an average dancer! Background music (by Sanjeev Srivastava) is functional. Oystein Lundstorm’s cinematography is fair. Editing (Aarif Shaikh) is average. Production values are ordinary.

Damadamm! Review – Komal Nahta’s Verdict

On the whole, Damadamm! Is a dull fare which won’t do well at the box-office.

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