I was on a quick trip to Gurgaon where my work got done a day early and given that it was too expensive to change my flight, I found myself with a day to kill. I had previously seen a couple of Gurgaon malls, however they were mostly sad, empty affairs where I seriously doubt that anyone goes to shop (I must have visited the wrong malls as Gurgaon is bursting at its seams with malls). However, this time I did some research and found myself at the Ambience Mall in Gurgaon. The mall is pretty large by any standard and is full of premium outlets (when you have a BMW dealer in the mall then you know which kind of mall you are in!). I had a quick lunch of Shish Taouk at the food court (the outlet promising Mexican, Lebanese and European food should have warned me that authenticity was not likely to be on offer) which was the strangest Shish Taouk I have eaten in my life. It was served with a reasonable pita bread and a side of raita and tomato chutney. The chicken kabab itself was ok, though it was clearly nowhere close to being authentic but the icing on the cake was that it was also served with nachos (aah, the tomato chutney was probably supposed to be salsa). Anyway, I am digressing, in order to kill time, I wanted to see a movie and given that the other choices did not appeal (Chalo Dilli, Shor in the City, I Am, whatever), I decided to watch Dum Maaro Dum.
Right from the beginning the movie caught my attention with the story of Prateik (Babbar). A fair amount of time elapses before one realises that the stars of the movie, Abhishek Bachchan and Bipasha Basu are nowhere on the scene. AB Jr. does make his appearance in due course, however Ms. Basu is introduced into the plot when the movie is more than 40 minutes in the running. The movie is about Goa and drugs which are inextricably linked to each other (at least in the movie). Abhishek Bachchan is a cop who is seeking redemption in elimination of the drug mafia and has been given a mandate by his political boss to spare no one (AB Jr's motivation is established however why his politician boss wants the drug scene cleaned up is never made clear).
AB assembles an unlikely team of a young police officer, Mercy (I couldn't find the name of the guy, even the film's official site does not list him), and Rane (Govind Namdeo). There is also Bipasha Basu's ex-boyfriend floating about, who is the new kid on the block, Rana Dagubatti (yes, that's a mouthful!). Lording over everyone is a sleazy character called Lorsa (no kidding, where do they dream up these names from!) Biscuita, played woodenly by Aditya Pancholi. The stage is set when Prateik is being used by the drug mafia as a courier to send drugs between India and the US (hang on a minute, I thought drugs move from South America, Afghanistan and the Far East to everywhere around the world, but what do I know). The drugs are supposed to be carried in a suitcase with a false bottom (come on, the plot really loses it here, is this the most that the script can come up with?) and our boy Prateik is the conduit.
The movie takes all of the first half to set itself up to this stage with various back stories being filled in till the time Prateik and AB are brought together.
The first half moves reasonably quickly, though not at the frenetic pace that one associates with out and out thrillers (like say a Kaminey). There are interludes for songs, a couple could have been cut out without any loss to the narrative. The movie is shot very stylishly and though Goa is clearly the focus, we are never distracted with eye candy shots of beaches, etc. Of all the actors, Abhishek Bachchan gives a measured performance, Prateik is convincing, Mercy (the mystery actor) steals almost every scene he is in and Govind Namdeo is competent, as the cautious veteran. Though, Bipasha Basu's character is quite critical to the script, she has very little screen time, which is not necessarily a bad thing. Rana Dagubatti is a surprise package and one could easily imagine him in Abhishek Bachchan's shoes in this movie. He can act and assuming his dialogue is not dubbed by someone else, his delivery is also good. Aditya Pancholi is best forgotten.
The final plot resolution is too pat and quite unconvincing. The unmasking of the kingpin Michael Barbarosa is also quite obvious and one can see it coming from a mile away. Deepika Padukone duly makes her 'special' appearance almost at the end of the movie, maybe to ensure that the audience doesn't walk out mid-way! Actually, I am being a bit unfair, the movie is not that bad and definitely worth one viewing. So, in the final reckoning, all the style and great plot setup is squandered in the last 20 minutes of the movie. A more imaginative script probably could have made a big difference. But, do go and watch it .. once.
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