By the end of it all, only one love story comes to a happy ending in "Dum Maro Dum". Maybe one is not allowed to say which. What one can safely say without the risk of sounding like a spoilsport is that love is not a popular emotion in the world that Rohan Sippy's edgy thriller encompasses. If one loves in this hell-hole of pleasure then there's only a dead end to look forward to.
This film is certainly not a ride for the squeamish. Violence dominates the proceedings.
Ladies and Gentleman, welcome to the Other Goa. The one that we don't see in Hindi cinema. Unless we look really hard and come up with Pankaj Parasher's "Jalwa" 24 years ago. There too Goa became the scene of a watchable drug-busting drama.
In DMD the characters in Goa are constantly up to something self-destructive. You really can't afford to take your eyes off the screen as the lives of three unlikely 'heroes' -- one a redemptive cop, the other a student who sells his soul for a scholarship and the third a musician trapped in discordant notes -- converge in most unexpected ways. But then the 'unexpected' is only expected in a film that addresses the uneasy nexus between crime and conscience in hedonistic Goa, without taking sides.
DMD avoids getting judgemental. The writing, by Sridhar Raghavan, doesn't assume a position of moral superiority over Goa's inglorious crime syndicate. Probing into the anatomy of the global drug racket in Goa, the film sweeps us with a violent jolt into a world of doom and damnation where the innocent must perish and the incorrupt must suffer.
Abhishek Bachchan's cop's role as ACP Kamath acquires an interesting moral ambivalence. Yup, the celluloid cop has evolved from the seething simmering Bachchan persona in "Zanjeer" to the laconic almost-cynical and acutely suffering law enforcer in DMD who must make hard decisions not in the last reel but Reel Now.
The vehement violence and illicit wealth of the crime syndicate and the immediacy of its annihilation are brought into one jagged but unified line of vision. Often Rohan Sippy's direction seems to favour the craggy uneven route. But hey, that could just be Amit Roy's moody cinematography capturing the crowd sweat and greed of the Goan drug cartel.
Sippy displays a tremendous partiality for restless visuals. The characters are always on the move though their destination is a mystery even to themselves. Maybe their aspirations are over-run by their greed. The narrative never stops long enough to let us come near to the characters to feel the heat of their hurt. A breathy wheezing anarchy rules over the universe that Rohan Sippy's arching cinema embraces.
Some of the characters sneak in a warm regard for their individual space in unguarded moments of vulnerability. Abhishek Bachchan's mourning for his lost family runs through the film like an aching limb that cannot be amputated from the proceedings no matter how hard it tries. To the cop Kamath's role Abhishek infuses a kind of supple laconism that makes this suffering cop remarkably free of self-guilty, not to mention the khaki uniform.
How one wishes Kamath's relationship with the troubled world around him was allowed to grow. The only time we see him in an interactive mood is with his subordinate Mercy who true to stereotype, gets bumped off.
Has the film been edited (by Aarif Shaikh) too tightly, sacrificing the need to let the characters space for emotional growth for the sake of getting on with the process of cracking the case?
Very often we want to enter the pain-lashed soul of the characters, the underage boy played by Pratik Babbar (vulnerable, again!) who gets caught in the airport while trying to smuggle out drugs. The musician Raba Daggubati (striking debut, this) who loses love to crime. The crime-lord's mistress, Bipasha Basu (fetching in her trauma), who in a haze of numbing alcohol and drugs, wonders when she lost her innocence. That is a question that runs through the plot. And runs too fast.
On some deeply ironic level "Dum Maaro Dum" celebrates that loss of innocence which haunts the beaches of many touristic paradise. And yet we see glimmers of stark humanity in Rohan Sippy's characters. It's not in the way the actors play these people. It's in the way fate plays with the characters' dreams.
Rohan Sippy's Goa is an irreversibly blemished paradise. Though visually plush the hard-hitting content is not overpowered by style. And yes, the only time the disappointing soundtrack comes alive is when strains of R.D. Burman's "Dum maro dum" play in replicated splendour, reminding us of the poor quality of the rest of the music.
That’s right, how much I ward myself away from movies during exams, I just can’t. Finally went to see DMD. Reviewing the movie is solely the basis of my personal view, as everyone’s view is different. Let’s start with the postmortem of movie, here we go-
First, the all new RSE production co.’s ad brought a huge grin on my face. Nicely done. The story kicks off in Goa(have to mention the use of yellow tint which reminds you of a Sanjay Gupta flick). The drug business is on the peak here at Goa and the CM chooses insp. Kamath(AB) to clean up the city. (lorry) Pratiek Babbar plays the role of a victim allegedly forced into this business. While Kamath tries to wipe off the whole ‘drug thing’, He comes to know that all the state’s drugs(worth 950 crore!) has been kept safe by a person whose name is the only clue they have. This man forms the basic crux of the storyline through which the story revolves. Joki (rana daggubati) plays the role of a protagonist in this film which gets the meatiest role as a debutant, while bipasha plays his love interest. (biscuit, yes the name)Aditya pancholi plays the chief of drugs business in goa. As it is a suspense-commercial-thriller, less talk about the story is better.
The movie moves in supreme pace which never let you miss a wink. Even in post half it successfully maintains the pace and grip. What amazed me most is the direction. Rohan sippy, with all the talents combined makes skillful use of the camera serving a near Hollywood dish. Watch the entry sequence of AB and the fight scenes, which needs a serious applause for the creativity. Attempt is made to keep it a stylish, enjoyable watch and the director has just hit the bulls eye. Music by pritam is sublime. The much anticipated title song plays just at the right moment and the other songs: tea amo,jiye kyun,jana hai goes well with the story. Need to mention the north-east singing talents> papon,zubeen,ayush phukan that adds different zing to the songs. The background score is just perfect for a thriller. The editing is slick and stylish and appropriate. In short, DMD nearly excels in every department and shines.
Although a couple of scenes I found irrelevant. For example the bipasha role is little tedious and the flashbacks interrupt some good scenes while watching. The screenplay too, seems to be written in haphazard way. Nevertheless, the product looks exceptionally good and it will surely make you hold your seats till the end credits. Watch it if you are longing for some intriguing movie, this one won’t disappoint you.
