Dum Maaro Dum Plot: Abhishek is called in to cleanse Goa of drugs, prostitution and other problems. He has to find out who the drug lord is. He is aided in his mission by several people. Read the full review by Komal Nahta below:
Business rating: 1.5 stars
Star cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Rana Daggubati, Bipasha Basu, Prateik, Govind Namdeo, Aditya Pancholi.
What’s Good: The remixed version of the super-hit R.D. Burman song, Dum maaro dum; the stylish picturisation of the sequences; the acting.
What’s Bad: The loopholes in the screenplay; the revelation of the suspense; the second half.
Verdict: Dum Maaro Dum will not show much box-office dum!
Loo break: A few breaks in the second half are okay.
Watch or not?: Watch it for the style and the song more than for the substance (abuse).
Fox Star Studios and Ramesh Sippy Entertainment’s Dum Maaro Dum (A) is about the drug menace in Goa. Vishnu Kamat (Abhishek Bachchan) is summoned by the chief minister of Goa (Bugs Bhargava) to wipe out drugs, prostitution and other vices that have spoiled the fabric of Goa. He begins work with two assistants, Mercy (Muzammil S. Qureshi) and Rane (Govind Namdeo). In his clean-up exercise is caught Laurie (Prateik) who was being used by Ricky as a carrier to smuggle out cocaine from the country. Laurie, who lives in Goa, was on his way to America for further studies. His friend, Ricky, had brainwashed him into carrying an assignment of cocaine with him, for a fee. Initially reluctant, simpleton Laurie had agreed and now, he was in the police net after getting caught red-handed.
Joki (Rana Daggubati), working for a rich businessman, Carlos Biscuita (Aditya Pancholi), realises that Laurie is a mere pawn and he pleads with ACP Vishnu Kamat to go soft on him, guaranteeing him that he was innocent. He tells Laurie to reveal all but the latter does not spill the beans as he fears for his family’s security. Joki’s concern for Laurie is born out of the fact that five years ago, his girlfriend, Zoe (Bipasha Basu), had similarly landed in the police net while she was training to become an airhostess. Joki’s boss, Biscuita, had used his influence to get her out of jail within days but after that, he had forced Zoe to become his own girlfriend in spite of being a married man. Joki had been a helpless spectator then.
Anyway, even while ACP Kamat’s cleaning-up exercise is on, he realises that Biscuita is himself a drug dealer but the kingpin is one Michael Barbossa. The job now is to find out who Barbossa is and that’s not an easy task because not many seem to know his identity and also because he uses different aliases in different cities.
Does ACP Kamat succeed in his mission? Who is Barbossa? Is he alive? What role does Joki play in tracing Barbossa? Does Laurie muster the courage to help the police? What about Zoe? Answers to all these questions are revealed in the climax of the suspense thriller.
Dum Maaro Dum Review – Story & Screenplay
Shridhar Raghavan’s story and screenplay has its highs and lows. First, the plus points. There are several twists and turns, keeping the audience interest alive for a good part of the drama. Generally speaking, the pace is maintained in the first half. The dialogues (by Purva Naresh) are very entertaining at places and the background score is effective. On the minus side are the several dips in the screenplay, especially in the second half. The film keeps dropping and picking up intermittently although, it must be said, it does not completely lose its grip on the audience. However, since the screenplay is confusing, more so in the post-interval portions and thanks in no small measure to the unusual Christian names of many of the main characters, the audience gets bored. The confusion makes the film more for the classes than the masses because one has constantly got to be alert and thinking, which can’t be expected of the masses. It is not clear why ACP Vishnu Kamat gives so much credence to Joki’s statements even before he (Joki) has proven himself. Probably, the biggest drawback of the screenplay is the revelation of the suspense. The audiences fail to understand what led to the revelation because they are unable to comprehend how a character in the film arrives at the conclusion he does. In other words, the writer assumes that the viewers would simply understand without anything being explained to them – which, incidentally, doesn’t happen! Also, it is not clear why so much importance is given to Michael Barbossa. For, the mission is to wipe out the drug and other menaces rather than merely individuals. Overall, it can be said that the script is more engaging than intelligent or complete.
Although not a part of the script, a big plus point of the film is the title song which is the remixed version of the song from Dev Anand’s Hare Rama Hare Krishna. Its placement towards the end of the film is intelligent because since it is a popular number, the viewer waits for it with a lot of anticipation. Its picturisation (by Bosco-Caesar) on Deepika Padukone is very good, keeping the excited audience satisfied.
Dum Maaro Dum Review – Star Performances
Abhishek Bachchan plays the ACP well. He makes the character believable but what happens to his character towards the end may not go down too well with a lot of people. Rana Daggubati does a fairly good job in his debut attempt. He has screen presence. Bipasha Basu is reasonably nice. Prateik is endearing and acts with aplomb. He will be loved by the youth, especially the girls. Aditya Pancholi does his villainy in his usual style. Govind Namdeo leaves a mark. Anahita Nair is alright in a brief role as Laurie’s girlfriend. Muzammil S. Qureshi’s acting is lovely. Vidya Balan adds glamour in a brief special appearance. Deepika Padukone is enchanting and enticing in the title song-dance. Bugs Bhargava, Gantois Gomes, Mariah Pucu and Gulshan Devaiya lend the required support.
Dum Maaro Dum Review – Direction
Director Rohan Sippy concentrates more on style than substance. For, he has not been able to explain how the suspense is solved. And to watch a suspense thriller and not know how the suspense was ultimately deciphered cannot be many people’s idea of entertainment. Among the songs, the remixed version of R.D. Burman’s ‘Dum maaro dum’ song is the best. ‘Te amo’ (composed by Pritam) is also tuneful. Picturisation of the first-named song (by Bosco Caesar) is very nice. Jaideep Sahni’s lyrics in the title track (‘Potty pe nanga…’) will hurt the sensibilities of a section of the audience. Midival Punditz’s background score is superb. Amit Roy uses his camera rather well and captures the drama and the locations effectively. Action scenes, choreographed by Abbas Ali Moghul, are quite nice. Editing (Aarif Shaikh) could’ve been sharper. Technically, good. Production values are appropriate.
Komal Nahta’s Last Word
On the whole, Dum Maaro Dum has an interesting first half but a very ordinary second half. It will fail to do much at the box-office.
