Dishoom’ is fast-paced & always on the point. And that’s its biggest strength. Its minus, however, is that there is no soul here. No, I wasn’t expecting a soulful experience, but’Dishoom’ is just chew your popcorn entertainment.
When a popular Indian cricketer is kidnapped by an unknown assailant, the government sends Kabir(Abraham), a no-nonsense, disobedient, and beasty special ops officer, to Abu Dhabi to salvage the situation. He teams up with Junaid(Dhawan), a fledgling cop with a comic nerve. Together, they trace the cricketer’s last known whereabouts, which becomes the foundation of the story.
The first-hour runs on a rocket-speed & the camaraderie between its two leading-men, is fun to watch. Its the second-hour, where the pace drops. The journey to find the celebrated batsman is dragged for long & even the crispness wears you off. In short, ’Dishoom’ has a winning first-hour, but a disappointing second.
Hussain Dalal’s Screenplay tackles the buddy-cop genre & runs on a fast-speed, but is not up-to the mark post-interval. The Writing needed to be crisper. Rohit Dhawan’s Direction is decent. Ayananka Bose’s Cinematography is marvelous.’Dishoom’ is a visual delight & the ace cinematographer, nails every frame. Editing is sharp. Art & Costume Design are excellent. Action-Sequences are ably executed. Background Score is super. Songs are good.
Performance-Wise: John & Varun work well together. John dominates on his huge personality, while Varun oozes energy. But its Akshaye Khanna who steals the show. As the menacing bookie, Khanna stages a comeback & chews on the scenery. Jacqueline Fernandez looks stunning & delivers fairly. Saqib Saleem is decent. Rahul Dev is first-rate. In Cameos, Akshay Kumar is a riot & brings the house down. Vijay Raaz excels.
On the whole, ’Dishoom’ is, at best, a one-time watch.