Total Dhamaal is the third installment in the Dhamaal franchise. After the second film bombed miserably, the makers pulled all stops and got a star-studded sequel in place that features Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit-Nene, this time.
So is this Total Dhamaal worth your time?
There are bad films, and there are bad films that are so good that you still will laugh while watching it. And then there's Total Dhamaal. The constant background tune of "paisa" echoes the audience's thoughts as they realise that they wasted money on this film, not to mention their time.
For starters, the film's plot is as weak as the bridge that we saw in the promos. But alright, we didn't expect a storyline that required us to use our brains.
Such films usually rely on strong comedy. Except that Total Dhamaal is as bereft of comedy as the desert that Arshad Warsi and Javed Jaffery get lost in. Anyway, let's cut to the chase. Similar to the first Dhamaal (2007), a dying man reveals that there is a booty of Rs 50 crore hidden in a Janakpur zoo.
And so, a mad chase begins as Ajay Devgn-Sanjay Mishra, Javed Jaffery-Arshad Warsi, Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit who play a couple on the verge of divorce, Boman Irani and Riteish Deshmukh begin a mad race to get to the zoo first. However, they have another set of problems waiting for them there. How they overcome them and whether they finally get the money forms the rest of this confusing and haphazard film. There's a message about animals too, but you have too much of a headache to appreciate it. You feel like facepalming like the monkey in Total Dhamaal.
Along the way, apart from the hazards of fire and water, our cast encounters every possible regional stereotype in the book, involving a Bengali woman wearing the trademark red-and-white saree, because what else are Bongs known for? And there's a Tamilian too, who spews some gibberish interspersed with Tamil words. Because what is comedy without regional cliches?
The little respite in this adventure-comedy is the pairing of Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit, who prove that they still have the same impeccable chemistry and partnership almost two decades later. Their occasional Gujarati-Marathi exchanges might make you give a wearied smile here and there. While Ajay Devgn gives a fair performance with his poorly written character and punches, it's surprisingly the otherwise fantastic Sanjay Mishra who is a letdown. The pairing of Arshad Warsi and Javed Jaffery has seen better times in the previous two installments in the film and their comedy is rather forced and terribly painful at points. Riteish Deshmukh does induce a laugh or two as the paan-chewing firefighter. Oh and there's the randomly placed Mungda song, with Sonakshi Sinha showing off some moves which serves no purpose at all.
Overall, there is enough overacting in the film to make your head split into two. Most of the dialogues are cringeworthy and the CGI effects are pitiful. But then it comes to the point, where you almost wish that the film had been about the animals in the zoo. The jokes are predictable WhatsApp forwards and you can almost say them before the actors do. When will Bollywood learn that comedy doesn't mean shrieking and only being caricaturish?
If you swear by comedies like Great Grand Masti and Double Dhamaal, then you just might enjoy this one. Else find something better to do with your time this week.
Total Dhamaal, starring Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit-Nene, is the third film in the Dhamaal franchise. However, the film fails with its comedy and punch-lines and leaves you with a headache, says our review.
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