Dhoom 3: Drama, action and Aamir Khan awesomeness

Dhoom 3 was possibly the most awaited Bollywood film of 2013, and boy did it finally release with a dhoom (bang) all over the world.

The film managed to do exceptional business in Pakistan, India, Dubai and the US and I personally think that the Dhoom series is at par with any Hollywood action movie, perhaps, even the Fast and the Furious series.

First things first – contrary to the gossip, Dhoom 3 is not a copy of Now You See Me, at all. Yes, the storyline revolves around multiple bank heists and yes, Aamir Khan does run a circus but Dhoom 3 is a revenge saga in a nutshell.

Warning: some spoilers ahead

Iqbal Haroon Khan (Jackie Shroff) runs the Great Indian Circus with his twin sons Sahir and Samar (spoiler alert: double role by Aamir Khan). Iqbal took a loan from the Western Bank of Chicago for his circus but he was unable to repay it and was forced to default. As a result the owner of the bank, Anderson (Andrew Bicknell), froze his assets and asked him to close the circus down immediately. The distressed Iqbal committed suicide, leaving both his sons orphaned.

Here began the tale of revenge where the boys vowed to take every penny from the bank and put Anderson on the street.

The cat-and-mouse chase between the Chicago police and the brothers is initiated. When the Chicago police failed to catch the duo, ACP Jai Dixit (Abhishek Bachchan) and his partner Ali (Uday Chopra) were called in from India to decode the messages in Hindi that Sahir left behind after every theft.

Just like Dhoom 1 and Dhoom 2, this one was also a villain-dependent movie.

However, the story revolved largely around Aamir Khan and it would not be wrong to state that Dhoom 3 was entirely an AK enterprise. He took Dhoom 3 to a whole new level, especially in his portrayal of two very different characters – both crucial to the story, as Sahir was the ‘face of the crime’ while Samar was depicted as the slower, sweeter, more amiable brother.

It is this two-some act that helped them achieve their plans.

Aamir Khan has done justice to both his roles and he changed his expressions in the blink of an eye. He has expertly shown the serious, focused and cunning Sahir and acted as the lovable, cute and very emotional Samar as flawlessly as possible.

While many have criticised the choice of Aamir Khan for the lead, saying that his small stature and softer facial features cannot be compared to the likes of John Abraham and Hrithik Roshan, this is exactly why he has been able to do justice to both his roles.

Abhishek was, as usual, a serious cop in his role of ACP Jai Dixit. He looked dashing in every scene and enjoyed a strong screen presence. However, there was not much for Uday in this movie and he seemed to have taken a back-seat. Katrina made an appearance in a few songs and fewer scenes.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x18x0qi_dhoom-3-kamli-full-song-with-lyrics-2013-katrina-kaif-aamir-khan_music

I seriously do not understand why Katrina signed a movie where she could not showcase her acting skills. After all, she is a good performer and has been able to carry some good movies on her shoulders.

Nevertheless, as always, she gave outstanding performances in the songs Kamli and Malang.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x186208_malang-full-song-with-lyrics-dhoom-3_music

Although Jackie Shroff had a very short role, his acting was spectacular and Andrew Bicknell also acted well as the ruthless banker.

The movie had a good soundtrack. The title track, Dhoom, along with Kamli and Malang are all numbers that I enjoyed.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x177h8c_dhoom-machale-dhoom-song-dhoom-3-aamir-khan-abhishek-bachchan-katrina-kaif-uday-chopra_music

My one concern about the film was that I thought there was too much of Aamir Khan.

Yes, the plot centred on the brothers (and more so, around Sahir) but unlike the prequels, there just did not seem to be enough for all the characters in this film. There were hardly any dialogues for Katrina, Abhishek and Uday and I would say the same for screen presence.

I guess what did make up for this were the action sequences and stunts in the film.

There is no doubt that the producer, Aditya Chopra, has set a new benchmark for the action sequences and from the response of audiences, it was quite obvious that they loved the action more than the ‘acting’.

http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x16m3jz_dhoom-3-official-trailer_shortfilms

Every stunt was thrilling enough to move the audience to the edge of their seats and it was the minute detailing that made it even more enjoyable. Not to mention the directorial skills of Vijay Krishna Acharya, who did a superb job with his directorial debut.

Be warned that the story has nothing intellectual to offer, for sure. But then that is really not the point of an action-flic, is it?

So, if you are looking for larger-than-life action scenes and you are a fan of the Rohit Shetty kind of cinema – the Golmaal series, Bol Bachchan and Chennai Express – then you will definitely enjoy Dhoom 3.

Otherwise, this is just another action film with a good actor in it.

I would rate it 3/5 on content and performances.

The views expressed by the writer and the reader comments do not necassarily reflect the views and policies of the Express Tribune.