Member Reviews

A series of events and misadventures transpiring over the course of a night is a trope that Bollywood has used in many films. Some have been mystery thrillers and some situational comedies. Netflix’s new film Dhoom Dhaam falls in the latter category where a newly married couple - Prateek Gandhi and Yami Gautam- are on the run from alleged goons across Mumbai - both looking for a certain Charlie. Filmmaker Rishabh Seth merges chaos and comedy- again a tried and tested combination- and delivers a light breezy situation comedy that brings in the laughs and makes you enjoy the 108-minute-long film. Arranged marriages are scary and especially when you barely get to spend time with your partner before tying the knot. Yet scores of people willingly jump in only to be left surprised or disappointed by their partners. Koyal(Yami Gautam Dhar) and Veer (Pratik Gandhi) are one such couple. She pretends to be shy, he is actually shy and while the parents think they are a match made in heaven, they have a lot of revelations in store on their wedding night.

The Telugu film Laila, directed by Ram Narayan and starring Vishwak Sen, outlined its premise clearly in its promotional material. The story revolves around a man forced to disguise himself as a woman to escape a group of men out for his blood — only to be ogled at by the very same pursuers. The trailer openly hinted at the double entendres and adult humour in store. However, the film’s issues extend far beyond its tasteless comedy. The narrative aggressively doubles down on crass, regressive tropes, making nearly every sequence leading up to and following the disguise an ordeal to sit through. Take, for example, a subplot where a family rejects multiple prospective brides because they are not “beautiful” enough to match the glamour of heroines from Chiranjeevi’s blockbuster films. Their eventual choice — a fair-skinned, stunning bride — shatters their illusions when her makeup wears off, revealing dark skin. The son is devastated, while the father, in apparent shock, is nearly paralysed. It is hard to believe that such tone-deaf sequences, masquerading as comedy, are still being written in 2025.

Hindi cinema can be middling in two ways. The first way is common — a movie settles for mediocrity despite a decent idea. The second way is not as common — a movie strives for mediocrity when the idea gets greedy. Dhoom Dhaam somehow manages to uphold both ways at once. It’s disappointing because it could’ve been better, but it’s also fine because it could’ve been worse. The one thing that’s undeniable, however, is the conveyor-belt nature of the modern streaming picture. Every time it threatens to be enjoyable, a peculiar factory-produced tone emerges. The story here is a romantic comedy: Mr. Chalk and Ms. Cheese have an arranged marriage only to belatedly discover their differences. They’re nothing like the eligible partners their families “advertised” them as. The more they learn about each other, the more complicated it becomes. Hidden faults jump out; either they’ll fall for each other or fall apart. The USP of Dhoom Dhaam is that this entire marital journey — which might take years or decades in the real world — is condensed into 24 chaotic hours featuring shady cops, possible gangsters, a masked robbery gone wrong, a mysterious package called Charlie, a horny dog, a kidnapped uncle, and a bunch of chases and escapes across Mumbai. In short, the cross-cultural romcom is accelerated by the black comedy.

At its worst, the Tour de France turned moral decay into a non-factor. Doping among Lance Armstrong-era cyclists was so normalised that, perversely, the sport became a level-playing field. The logic being: if everybody cheats, is it even cheating anymore? It’s simply about who cheats — or performs — the best. The Bollywood period biopic is in a similar position today. It goes without saying that history and mythology are used as pawns to checkmate old-school notions of secularism. It goes without saying that the game being played is more modern. ‘Hidden’ themes like Islamophobia, bigotry, propaganda, erasure and jingoism are so normal that we barely notice them anymore. It’s the default pitch; that’s why “keeping the politics aside” is a common phrase. The irony is that, unlike the cyclists, such movies are so fundamentally broken that nobody wins. Cultural doping makes it a level-playing field of mediocrity and delusion. It’s like watching them race not to the finish line but straight off the top of a mountain. And not just any mountain, Mount Everest itself. Why stop there?

It’s a far-from-humorous arranged match between Koyal (Yami Gautam) and Veer Poddar (Pratik Gandhi), both looking way past the inexperienced young, eligible bachelor girl or boy stage. It’s even more like an unfunny caricature when parents talk glowingly on their behalf, the ‘girl’ and ‘boy’ nodding like bovine. Veer is a ‘veterinarian’, the families can’t pronounce it as they grapple with ‘vegetarian’ and ‘veteran’. Laugh, guys. It’s followed by over-enthu families crowding ‘girl’ and ‘boy’ who get no chance to get to know each other until their wedding night. Director Rishab Seth’s scenes calibrated for chuckles, don’t work so far. Worse follows as writers Aarsh Vora, Aditya Dhar and Rishab Seth give awkwardness to the groom who fumbles with initiating first-night proceedings, like it’s the height of humour. He even apologises to Koyal for a packet of condoms in his pocket.

Ajay Devgn’s voice introduces the pride of the Marathas, Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj and the Deccan where he held sway. Also meet Aurangzeb and the Moghuls. They are parallels in Indian history. The biggest compliment a veer can receive is when he dies and a sworn enemy asks God to keep open the doors to “jannat” for a “sher” is on his way. When Shivaji’s death is announced, amidst a chorus of sycophantic utterings by courtiers, Aurangzeb (Akshaye Khanna), with sunken cheeks and poring over crochet work, wonders aloud, “Shiva jaisa dushman ab milega kahan?” Aurang then goes on to do what he does best – celebrate the death of his enemy. Writer-director Laxman Utekar’s cinematography origins show up in the “amazeballs” visuals. The earth trembles, hooves thunder in close-ups. The Maratha chest swells with pride as Chhatrapati Shivaji’s son Shambhu Raje (Vicky Kaushal) arrives, tanned and majestic astride his horse, sword flying, his roar surround sound.

If you married ‘Iss Raat Ki Subah Nahin’ with a zillion iterations of the odd-couple and lovers-on-the-run and heist movies, you would get Dhoom Dhaam, a film which borrows from all these elements, while straining every nerve to be novel. The trouble with skimming tropes is that your film, even with a fresh pairing, and despite a few flourishes, ends up more or less trope-y.

Based on Shivaji Sawant’s Marathi novel, Chhaava (lion’s cub) aims to acknowledge the bravery of Shambhu Raje (Sambhaji Maharaj played by Vicky Kaushal), that most history books haven’t been able to. There’s more to him than being Shivaji’s son who was betrayed by his own men, captured and brutally executed by Aurangzeb (played by Akshaye Khanna). The film sheds light on why he was widely revered by his people and feared by rivals in the nine years that he held the Maratha throne. Still reeling from the loss of his father, Sambhaji and Sersenapati Hambirrao Mohite (essayed by Ashutosh Rana) invaded Mughal stronghold Burhanpur right under their nose. For the nine years that followed, Sambhaji trampled on Mughals’ expansion plans making him a thorn in their side. Sambhaji’s bravery overcame the betrayal he faced by his own people until he was ambushed and captured in Sangameshwar. Even his brutal execution couldn’t kill his warrior spirit and fight for Swaraj.

Indian films about same-sex love are far and few. The ones with the right portrayal of homosexuals are even fewer. Director Jayaprakash Radhakrishnan’s recent release, Kadhal Enbadhu Podhu Udamai, is the latest entrant to the list of films on queer love. Starring Lijomol, Anusha Prabhu, Vineeth and Rohini, the film is a deeply moving and heartwarming film about love that goes beyond boundaries, societal acceptance, prejudice and personal traumas. Kadhal Enbadhu Podhu Udamai begins with Sam (Lijomol Jose) having a heartfelt chat with her mother Lakshmi (Rohini Molleti). She confesses that she is in love and Lakshmi suggests she take the ‘man’ home for lunch on a Sunday. Lakshmi conveys the news to her estranged husband Devararaj (Vineeth) and asks him to join them.