Dhoom


Fast bikes, hot babes, cool guys and good music. That pretty much sums up Sanjay Gadhvi's Dhoom. Despite the Fast & Furious comparisons, I thought this movie was pretty good. I think I read somewhere that this was one of the first real attempts at making a true full throttle action flick in Bollywood and I think that they were successful. It is sleek and has thrills galore, however (as with his follow up) Gadhvi's film is full of style but little substance. This could be the reason why the chase scenes are far more interesting than the actual story. (spoiler) My biggest pet peeve of this film is the execution of the so-called "finale heist" - a robbery conducted at a posh hotel worth $180 million that is stolen by simply cutting a hole through the floor of their hotel room that was conveniently located directly above the hotel's bank vault and carried out in luggage that was picked up in the same room by the bellhop. (end spoiler)




So let's talk about the cast. I liked Jai, the no-nonsense brooding cop who's determined to catch notorious bike thieves at any cost. I thought, if anything, I liked seeing him in this actiony type role (even if the climactic fight with his "evil" foe is reminisce of The Matrix and therefore slightly unrealistic as our hero hasn't taken any pills!) However, in this film, as opposed to it's successor, Abhiskek's role is a little meatier. He gets to be a little sexy, a whole lot of serious with a small pinch of humour thrown in there towards the end, and that works for me.


I believe John Abraham won a filmfare award for this movie for best villain. I'm not sure why. I know the man has got some body on him (and believe me I can appreciate that plus I did really like him in Dostana), but his character in this film feels incomplete to me. There's no background story on him so we don't know why he's a thief, but I guess one can assume it's simply for the thrill factor? He was not menacing at all, but I suppose his was supposed to be a "smart" villain (though I didn't necessarily see any grand scheme in any of his heists either). So John left me feeling a little flat to say the least, plus I wanted desperately to cut his hair.




Oh Uday, where would Bollywood be without your under appreciated comedy, your over-muscley arms and cartoonish expressions? I got pretty good laughs from his inability to score in the lady department even if I didn't necessarily buy him as a rough bike racing kind of guy. Plus if one can credit Johnny Lever as being a great comedian, why not Uday? And, last but not least, thank you Esha Deol and Rimi Sen for heating up the film and providing some fantastic dance moves to emulate. It's hard being a girl in an adrenaline pumping boy's film!




Last but not least, I loved the music in this film. Whether it's original or not, Pritam has created one catchy soundtrack - I dare anyone to listen to Dhoom Machale and not be singing it for days or weeks to come. Plus if anyone can tell me if "shikdum" means what I think it means....




So, a fairly enjoyable film if you don't go digging too deep. I think, however, that I liked Dhoom 2 better if not simply for Hrithik's smarter sexier thief and the Aish/Hrithik jodi (of which there was simply nothing to compare to in this one).

15 Response to "Dhoom"

  1. ajnabi says:
    September 17, 2009 at 11:11 AM

    I still haven't seen this one, but it sounds like it's right up my alley. Plus I love the sequel.

  2. Soul Seared Dreamer says:
    September 17, 2009 at 1:20 PM

    I haven't seen either Dhoom. But *sigh* John Abraham is soooo fine.

    I heart the song Dhoom Machale, but prob more so coz my cousin won the Internal Boogie Woogie Dance competition dancing to that. Very dear memories attached to it now.

  3. Shellie says:
    September 17, 2009 at 2:59 PM

    @ ajnabi - I've heard people like the first one better, but I liked the second. It definitely was a fine Bollywood action, so I would check it out!

    @ SSD - I'm glad I can post stuff you *ahem* appreciate! That's very cool about your cousin. I imagine it makes the song just that much better.

  4. bollyviewer says:
    September 17, 2009 at 4:14 PM

    Before I watched the film, I was told by a friend that it was about biker thieves who fiddle with the traffic lights such that they can pass through, but the cops get stuck on a red light! lol Try as I might, thats about all I can recall about the plot. Uday's desperate attempts to score, I do remember, though - must be the only memorable part of the film. :-) Dhoom 2 had so much more in the style and cheese deapartment...

  5. Shellie says:
    September 18, 2009 at 7:59 AM

    I totally agree with you! We'll see how much of this film I remember in a year.

  6. bollywooddeewana says:
    September 18, 2009 at 9:08 AM

    What background story do you need on a thief watch it 70's bolly style with your brains switched off..lol

    I'm yet to see this one but i pyar the second one a lot. poor Esha, i miss her and i hope she comes back with a bang soon

  7. Filmi Girl says:
    September 18, 2009 at 12:57 PM

    Oh, poor John!! Nobody has ever accused him of playing his roles "too smart"... XD

    Dhoom is harmless enough - a fun masala-y action/thriller!

    Dhoom 2 gets the formula much more right, though...

  8. Shellie says:
    September 18, 2009 at 2:13 PM

    @ bollywooddeewana - I suppose you are right. I always thought I could enjoy something like an action simply for the action, but I guess I like my stories to be character driven more than I realized.

    @ filmigirl - I thought I would be alone on the Dhoom vs Dhoom 2 issue, but it looks like the 2nd is in the running to be the winner.
    I haven't seen enough John movies to qualify that statement, but there's a few in the que so I'll have to wait and see.

  9. Jules says:
    September 18, 2009 at 6:43 PM

    I loved Abishek in this one, and actually, I liked Uday better too. I thought Abraham left something to be desired as the bad guy, but seeing him half naked was yummy.

    Gonna take Dhoom 2 over to Sherri's tonight and let her drool over Hrithik!! Mmmmmmmmmm...

  10. Shellie says:
    September 19, 2009 at 7:27 AM

    But she's a John fan. Are you trying to convert her? She's going to love it! Have a good time!

  11. Jules says:
    September 26, 2009 at 9:38 PM

    I wasn't trying to convert her.. no... just show her how gorgeous Hrithik is too!!! Not sure of my success, but I lent her the duet and haven't received it back yet! Good sign?

  12. Shellie says:
    September 29, 2009 at 11:59 AM

    Sent her what? What's the duet?

  13. Jules says:
    September 30, 2009 at 11:03 PM

    Dhoom and Dhoom 2... lol

  14. Shellie says:
    October 1, 2009 at 9:14 AM

    oh, duh!

  15. Raj says:
    October 2, 2009 at 12:30 AM

    Heard that Third edition of Dhoom is coming soon!
    Make website india