Dum Maaro Dum - Review

Apparently, a suspense thriller based on the sensual threesome between drug, sex, and violence in Goa, the real suspense in ‘Dum Maaro Dum’ (DMD) is to find out how Rohan Sippy could manage to churn out a third-rate commodity like DMD. Vishnu Kamath (Abhishek Bachchan) is the ACP whom you have faced so many times in Bollywood movies that your conscience stops you from appreciating the sudden upsurge of honesty in his character. His dead wife bursting in a white saree in front of him at calculable moments would inarguably help you believe in your patience.

Lorsa Biscuta (Aditya Pancholi) is the classic evil guy and the lord of drugs in Goa, who lures DJ Joki’s (Rana Daggubati) girlfriend Zoe (Bipasha Basu) into the world of drugs. An innocent Lorry (Prateik Babbar), who is also a friend of Joki, falls into the trap of Biscuta and is caught by Kamath while making his way to the US for higher education. With the strong support of Joki for clear reasons and his colleagues Rane (Govind Namdeo) and Mercy, ACP Kamath chases the mysterious gangster who has invisibly ruled the drug-soaked world of Goa for years.

The remaining part of the story is unimaginative beyond narration.

While Amit Roy’s cinematography draws a faded picture of the powdery Goa, the editing by Aarif Shaikh has gone fine until the congruence of the three subplots and irritatingly edgy after that. The sharp cinematography adds little value to the screenplay by Sriram Raghavan, which goes very clumsy and totally shaken after the interval. Deepika Padukone's overhyped item number drops in like a bomb and fizzles out without leaving any mark or adding any sense to a story from the 1970’s that has been remixed at the whims and fancies of the story writer.

If you aren't tired of the cop version of Junior Bachchan or want to shy away from the ongoing IPL matches, here is a movie that can really tire you. Prateik Babbar though is totally unconvincing as a seventeen-year-old guy, is otherwise the real value addition to the movie for his acting skills. Bipasha is worth not any discussion and so is Aditya Pancholi. Rana Daggubati might discover a promising career in underplayed characters.

There is no ‘kick’ moment in DMD if you have already heard the lyrics of the title song recreated by Pritam. Kick or no kick, expectation is an unfair parameter and has no place in the overcrowded world of Hindi movies. Ignore your own expectations if you want to go for DMD.