Blast
It's Dhoom Time. This is the first in a three film series starring Abhishek
Bachchan and his comic cohort Uday Chopra chasing after master thieves. But
in a sense, it was more than that. The films announced a new style of Bollywood
action film that was sleeker, more stylish, polished, bigger budgets, sexually
combustible, glossier and more Westernized in its action. The action scenes
are way over the top defying gravity, aerodynamics and common sense.
No longer the clunky action scenes of yesteryear in which you can hear the
sound effects of a punch in the next county. But those clunky action films
of the 70s and 80s had their charms, wonderful actors and moments of pure
glee. Everything here is smooth with the personality of a turnip. Men are
macho and women are objects of desire.
No more dancing around trees or magically transported to Switzerland - they
are filled with pumping sexual desire. And female hips are gone - the women
all look like they walked off a fashion runway right into a sleek mini-skirt.
Some traditions still exist fortunately - there are two wet sari dances but
not in saris any longer. This was also announcing a new generation of actors
- the big stars of the 80's and 90s were getting older and the new kids were
easing their way in. This is fun. Don't get me wrong but you are here for
the cheap thrills. Nothing wrong with cheap thrills of course. I have already
seen Dhoom 2 and 3 - and I enjoyed both quite a bit. I am not immune to shallow
flash.
I finally got hold of Dhoom with subs. Only a bit over two hours which is
a pleasant surprise. A group of four robbers who escape on super-charged
motorcycles have been flummoxing the police with their brazen robberies.
The film spends practically no time on the robbery itself - but on the get-away.
None of it is particularly clever, it is mainly meant to look cool as they
speed down the roads on these sparkling-colored motorcycles. Heading them
is Kabir played by John Abraham who burst on the scene with the scandalous
Jism a few years previously. His two-day facial growth is always in place
and it went over well with the women. He can go either way - the villain
or the hero - but he is no one I have ever warmed up to. Snake eyes.
Jai (Abhishek) is assigned to bring them down. First though he has to get
out of the clutches of his wife (Rimi Sen) who had my ceiling sweating with
a dance that would have been impossible a decade earlier. Good girls were
never that provocative or revealing. Just as she is about to get him under
the covers, the phone rings - he has to go catch some bad guys. She has to
catch a cold shower. So, did I.
Ali is played by Uday Chopra, son of Yash Chopra who produced this film and
it feels like every important film out of Bollywood since the 1960s. Ali
is a motorcycle mechanic and racer and Jai gets it into his head that he
is one of the four and beats him. He isn't, so Jai recruits him. It
turns into a cat and mouse game in which both players try and one-up each
other with their bravado. Showing up also is Esha Deol as the woman of Ali's
dreams in two high voltage dances. Esha is the daughter of Dharmendra and
Hema Malini - both huge stars in the 70s and 80s and Esha inherited those
huge eyes of Malini. Like all Bollywood family children there was a huge
carefully planned launch to her career - but it just never took off. When
she tries to be sexy, you want to make sure your wallet is safe. I think
she would do better in innocent roles like her mother had but maybe they
don't make films like that anymore. A pretty great and totally unbelievable
finale that just gets nuttier as it goes. It was a big hit and led the way
to the modern Bollywood action film. Whether that is a good thing or not
is up to the viewer.
