TOTAL DHAMAAL

Fox Star Studios, Ajay Devgn Ffilms, Maruti International, Sri Adhikari Brothers and Anand Pandit Motion Pictures’ Total Dhamaal is an adventure comedy.

Guddu (Ajay Devgan) and Johnny (Sanjay Mishra) get news of a huge cash transaction taking place in a hotel room. The two reach there to loot the money but they are in for a shock when they see the police commissioner (Boman Irani) himself involved in the black money racket. The duo manages to fool the police commissioner and escape with the loot money amounting to Rs. 50 crore but their friend, Pintu (Manoj Pahwa), gives them the slip and runs away with the money. Guddu and Johnny are hot on his trail – just like the police commissioner is hot on the trail of Guddu and Johnny because he doesn’t know that they don’t have the loot money.

Pintu hides the money safely but he can’t do much with it because he soon meets with an accident while travelling in an aeroplane (alone with the ‘pilot’) which crashes. Six people happen to see the plane crash and they decide to save Pintu. The six are travelling in three different cars. One car has Avinash (Anil Kapoor) and his wife, Bindu (Madhuri Dixit). The two are headed for a divorce because they don’t get along with one another. Another car has brothers Adi (Arshad Warsi) and Manav (Jaaved Jafferi) travelling in it. The third car has friends Lallan (Ritesh Deshmukh) and Jhingur (Pitobash Tripathi). All the six are overjoyed when Pintu tells them that he has hidden Rs. 50 crore in Janak­pur zoo, and after saying so, he breathes his last. Pintu has given them a clue about the location of the money but has not told them about the exact location. Even as the three pairs, who have met each other for the first time, are planning their next move, Guddu and Johnny arrive in another car. After a lot of arguments and discussions about the ratio of sharing the loot money, it is decided that the entire money would belong to the pair which reaches the zoo first.

Since the zoo is far away, the four pairs try their level best to reach the zoo first. But their journeys are beset with problems. Avinash and Bindu first lose their way, after which their car has to cross a rickety bridge made of planks of wood, and then a deluge of water. Guddu and Johnny have to change cars, are followed by the police commissioner who soon catches up with them, and have to make do with a GPS system (voice over by Jackie Shroff) which guides them through dangerous terrain. Adi and Manav’s car catches fire, after which Adi almost dies in a quicksand experience. In a bid to beat everyone else in the race, Lallan and Jhingur hire a worn-out helicopter belonging to Shubroto (Johny Lever) but the helicopter is a veritable killing machine. The two also land atop an under-construction high-rise from where death stares at them.

Anyway, the four pairs reach the zoo at the same time. They begin the hunt for the loot money but before that, they decide to save the wild animals (lions, tigers, chimpanzees, elephants, rhinoceros etc.) which would otherwise all die by consuming poisoned food, thanks to the machinations of Chinappa Swamy (Mahesh Manjrekar) who claims to have bought the zoo, a fact unknown to present owner and caretaker Prachi (Esha Gupta). The police commissioner also soon reaches the zoo.

Is the loot money finally found? Who finds it? Who keeps the money?

Ved Prakash, Paritosh Painter and Bunty Rathore have penned a story which may not boast of novelty but it definitely has a lot of fresh gags. The track of animals, of course, is new and interesting too. The story is so fast-paced that it keeps the audience in­volved throughout. It is also very enter- taining. The trio’s screenplay is full of wit and humour. Yes, many of the jokes are silly but they are so entertaining and enjoyable that the viewers don’t care whether they are silly or intelligent. Of course, logic has no place in the screenplay but the tone for a film sans logic is set right from the word ‘go’. There are at least six to seven highlight sequences which are so fantastic that they evoke a lot of laughter. The entire helicopter sequence of Lallan, Jhingur and Shubroto is simply hilarious and will bring the house down with laughter. The scene of Avinash driving on the rickety wooden bridge also has the viewers in splits. Likewise, the family courtroom scene of Avinash and Bindu with the judge (Sharad Vyas) is very funny. Lallan and Jhingur’s sequence atop the under-construction building has the audiences holding their sides while laughing. Adi and Manav’s quicksand sequence is another hilarious one. The scene in which Guddu drives the car under instructions from the GPS system is extremely entertaining. The train tunnel sequence involving Guddu, Johnny, the police commissioner and his assistant (Vijay Patkar) is terrific. The scenes of the principal characters with the animals in the zoo are outstanding and keep the audience wonderfully entertained. Dialogues, penned by the three writers, are absolutely brilliant as they greatly add to the humour quotient.

Anil Kapoor plays the Gujarati husband with complete conviction. He is very good. Madhuri Dixit looks beautiful and also performs very well as the Marathi wife, out to divorce her husband. Ajay Devgan does a superb job as Guddu. His acting is lovely. Arshad Warsi impresses in the role of Adi. His comic sense of timing is terrific. Jaaved Jaaferi plays the dim-witted Manav so excellently that he raises laughter every time he opens his mouth. Ritesh Deshmukh is splendid as Lallan, using his expressions and body language to the hilt. Sanjay Mishra lends excellent support as Johnny. Pitobash Tripathi makes his presence amply felt in the role of Jhingur. Boman Irani is first-rate as the commissioner of police. He shines with a very natural performance. Johny Lever is extraordinary and makes a mind-blowing impact. Mahesh Manjrekar has his moments as Chinappa Swami. He gets into the skin of the character. Manoj Pahwa leaves a mark as Pintu. Vijay Patkar plays the police commissioner’s assistant with élan. Esha Gupta is alright as Prachi. Ali is good as the non-Hindi-speaking man in the jungle. Special mention must be made of Jackie Shroff’s voice over as the GPS instructor. He is excellent. Sonakshi Sinha looks slim and glamorous and dances well in a special appearance. Niharica Raizada is okay in a tiny role as Adi’s girlfriend. Sudesh Lehri (as Altaaf), Ashwin Mushran (as the sky-diving leader), Sharad Vyas (as the judge) and Chandrasekhar S. Gautam (as the man in the trolley) provide very good support. Others are adequate.

Indra Kumar’s direction is excellent. He narrates the drama with such conviction that he makes the illogical drama seem plausible or at least one which should not be questioned in terms of logic. Gourov-Roshin’s music is good. ‘Paisa yeh paisa’ and ‘Mung­da’ are, of course, remixed versions of already hit songs and so, they are very entertaining. ‘Speaker phat jaaye’ is also a good number. Lyrics (Kumaar and Kunwar Juneja) are in synch with the film’s mood. Song picturisations (choreography by Ranju Varghese and Adil Shaikh) are quite eye-filling. Sandeep Shirodkar’s background music is impactful. Keiko Nakahara’s cinematography is lovely. R.P. Yadav’s action and stunts are very enjoyable. Durgaprasad Mahapatra’s production designing is of a good standard. Dharmendra Sharma’s editing is very sharp. Computer graphics and visual effects (by NY VFXwaala) are excellent.

On the whole, Total Dhamaal is truly total dhamaal. It is a thoroughly entertaining joyride and will keep the audience in splits, and the producers and distributors smiling from ear to ear. The classes may not like the comedy fare but families, kids and masses will love the film which will prove to be a paying proposal for all concerned. The film will definitely join the 100-crore club and will surpass that figure quite easily.