'Dhamaal' packed with mindless merry-making

Film: 'Dhamaal'; Cast: Sanjay Dutt, Riteish Deshmukh, Arshad Warsi, Javed Jaffrey, Aashish Chaudhary, Asrani; Director: Indra Kumar; Rating: **

'Dhamaal' is so silly and goofy that you want to reprimand the people who are falling off their chairs all around you for laughing. Instead, you find yourself joining the mindless merry-making in this all-boys' film, with just two incidental female characters to avoid charges of a gender bias.

For the rest, 'Dhamaal' moves with the insistent clamour of a do-or-die stag party. The economy of expression is admirable. Director Indra Kumar hasn't even left any space for songs.

Dodging over vulgarity, keeping the pace slick rather than sick, introducing characters in the tradition of the whacked-out road movies in 1960s featuring Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr., 'Dhamaal' is fun to watch, more than partially because of the chemistry that the quartet of fun-seeking friends share with a flair for the funnies.

Throw in Sanjay Dutt as the most dishevelled cop, and you have got a comic brew that bubbles over with broad satire.

The ongoing gags are like extended jokes from TV skits. But the skits are never on the skids, even when the focus shifts from the grownup kids to actual kids.

The second half, when the foursome scampers to Goa, is especially frenetic in pace. 'Fuel' marks to editor Sanjay Sankla for providing energy to the gasbags in the Goan goings-on.

And 'fool' marks to the cast for getting so blissfully clued-in to the hi-jinks.

Riteish Deshmukh, a little out of sorts in his last boys-will-be-noise outing in 'Heyy Babyy', sparkles in earnest temptation - specially in the scenes where he's chased by a droll dacoit (Sanjay Mishra).

Aashish Chaudhary, as a goofy Parsi slapped incessantly by his father Asrani, is also a delightful comic revelation. But what happened to the habitually brilliant Arshad Warsi? He seems so disinterested in the laugh riot! Too many crooks spoilt Arshad's broth?

By the time the cast pants and puffs to the location of the intended treasure in Goa, the narrative has just about run out of steam.

For once, a boys' comedy knows where to stop. Freed of the raunchy double meanings of Indra Kumar's 'Masti', 'Dhamaal' is the kind of film where you can put your feet up and sink your teeth into without wanting to wince with embarrassment.

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