Director: Vijay Krishna Acharya

Producer: Aditya Chopra for Yash Raj Films

Writers: Aditya Chopra and Vijay Krishna Acharya

Cast: Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra, Katrina Kaif

Music: Pritam

Genre: Action Thriller

Rating: * * ½

By: Keyur Seta

Story Outline: Sahir (Aamir Khan) has created havoc in Chicago by robbing huge amounts from The Global Bank twice. He is not an ordinary thief. He has a secret mission for robbing the same bank, which is related to his late magician father (Jackie Shroff). As the thief writes a message in Hindi in the bank after each robbery, the Chicago Police calls ACP Jai Dixit (Abhishek Bachchan) and his assistant Ali (Uday Chopra) from Mumbai to help them solve the case.

Review: One doesn’t need a statutory warning to keep reasoning aside while watching the Dhoom series. But to enjoy Dhoom: 3, the third installment of the series, one needs to keep logic away like never before. So if you are willing to accept a film that sets a new benchmark for mindlessness in return for some outstanding action and stunts, Dhoom: 3 is for you. If not, stay thousands of kilometers away from this one!

Dhoom: 3 is very unlike the first two films of the franchise for there is a strong emotional angle attached with the character of the thief. But the USP is, of course, the action that will take you by surprise on numerous occasions. In fact, it won’t be an overstatement that the film’s action, chase and stunt sequences are something never tried before in Indian films. However, on many occasions, the makers have taken cinematic and genre-related liberties to an idiotic level. In fact, the stunts seen in Rohit Shetty’s film would appear much realistic after watching some in this film.

But the mindlessness in the film is not just limited to this. There is a huge surprise element that will give you a jolt. It isn’t something that is revealed in the climax but it forms a major part of the story. This serious twist is not only unfathomable but also plain hilarious. I can’t explain any further since it will be a huge spoiler. But what I can explain is that the basic plot just leaves you speechless. Just because a thief writes a message in Hindi, two cops are imported all the way from India. Well, to understand the thief’s message, you don’t need cops, you just need a translator!

Apart from this, the very motto of the thief is simply psychotic. This doesn’t go with a character which is not quite a psycho. Lastly, the final culmination is also far from satisfying.

The film becomes a visual treat due to the camerawork. Sudeep Chatterjee deserves high applause for his work, which mostly included shooting some utterly difficult shots. Action directors Conrad Palmisano and Sham Kaushal too deserve equal praise. The editing (Ritesh Soni) is sleek and as per the need while the background score is an overdose of the Dhoom theme. Apart from the track ‘Malang’, Pritam’s music is nothing much to talk about.

For Aamir Khan, this was one of the most challenging roles of his career and he does full justice to it. Barring awkward expressions on few occasions, he is terrific not only during action sequences but also during emotional moments. The chemistry between Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra works once again. Although they are getting repetitive, some smart humor, different from the first two films, works for them. Abhishek also scores well during confrontation scenes with Aamir.

Katrina Kaif has nothing much to do. But whatever little part she has, she irritates with her non-acting skills yet again. Some portions of her dance performance during the song ‘Kamli’ are simply scary! Siddharth Nigam, the child actor playing younger Aamir, is remarkable in a very difficult role. Jackie Shroff isn’t bad. It’ just that he struggles with simple lines in between. Andrew Bicknell does well playing the owner of the bank while Tabrett Bethell isn’t bad.

Overall: Dhoom: 3 is a never seen before action adventure in Hindi cinema. Yet the film rises just to an average level due to the various issues listed above. At the box office, it is set to create new records due to the mind-blowing opening it has received.