Dhoom 2 (2006)

Director: Sanjay Gadhvi
Story: Aditya Chopra
Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Abishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra, Bipasha Basu  
Music: Pritam, Salim-Sulaiman
Time: 152 minutes
Bottom-line: Entertaining action sequences and a powerful cast make Dhoom 2 an exciting film

 It was John Abraham in 2004, and in 2006, it is Hrithik Roshan. Sanjay Gadhvi returns with a Dhoom (literally!) two years later, with bigger and better stars and locations. The second installment in the Dhoom franchise proves to be another exciting thriller, and is powered by its ensemble cast. It starts with a Dhoom (the theme song ‘Dhoom Machale Dhoom’) and also ends with a Dhoom (as the character of Jai Dixit says).

Hrithik Roshan as Mr. A, and Aishwarya
Rai as Sunheri. Bike chases were popular
in both parts of the Dhoom series.

The new thief is Mr. A (Roshan). As the film begins, we see that he successfully steals the crown of the British queen. Meanwhile, in India, cops Jai Dixit and Ali are introduced to a new member of the crew, Shonali Bose (Basu). Jai put forth his theory of Mr. A’s methods, which make lot of sense. As per his calculation, Mr. A’s next two robberies will be in two museums in Mumbai. As Mr. A steals a sword, he is helped by another person, who turns out to be Sunheri (Rai), an idolizer of Mr. A. as the story proceeds, Mr. A’s game goes international, but he doesn’t realize that Jai is already onto him. What happens next? Watch Dhoom 2 and find out!

From the first scene, Gadhvi takes us into the action. He also doesn’t waste any time for giving Hrithik’s entry. The queen says (about the crown), “If I can see the sky in it, then it can be seen, from the sky.” And we see Hrithik gliding down from the sky, ready to steal the crown. In my opinion, this is the perfect entry Hrithik could have possibly had. Yet, I don’t know why the director created an elaborate set up for the intro of Ali and Jai. These two characters have already become popular after Dhoom, and it is actually Hrithik and Aishwarya Rai who should have a spectacular introduction, but here, it is the opposite.

Abhishek Bachchan as Jai Dixit

The story is quite fast paced. The heist methods have become better and more cunning and interesting over time, in films of all languages. Whether or not robbery has increased in the actual world, the life of crime in films certainly has! In this film too, the scenes where Mr. A steals the crown, the diamond, the coins and the sword are all exciting to see (and you, as a viewer, should not wonder whether such acts are possible in the real world). Of course, the songs somewhat slacken the pace of the story, but it is compensated for by the other action scenes. In all the heist scenes, the Dhoom theme music in the background gives the scene an additional boost. I particularly liked Hrithik’s escape after stealing the diamond. his escape after stealing the coins is awesome, but the way he gets away after stealing the diamond is very classy.

Uday Chopra as Ali

Hrithik’s acting is superb. With the catchy dialogues and the heist methods already written, Gadhvi needed someone with a sort of both heroic and villainous look, and he found Hrithik. A muscle man he may be, and along with the disguises he dons in the film, he makes a pretty good and classy villain. As I said, Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra reprise their roles as the buddy cops. The former is the only one who looks like a cop, and while the latter has a strong body, Gadhvi uses him for the comedian role! Starting from the scene where Ali gives his introduction, till the last scene of the film, all the laughs are given by Uday Chopra. I am not sure why the character of Bipasha Basu was added. The character of Shonali only appears for the first 45 minutes or so, including in a song. After that, Basu plays a double role, as she also acts as Shonali’s sister, who literally has no role at all in the film other than being Ali’s girlfriend. So, in my opinion, both Bipasha Basu was added only to attract audiences. Rai’s character is important, but the actual contribution of her role to the story is very less.

Bipasha Basu as Shonali Bose

To conclude, Sanjay Gadhvi’s Dhoom 2 is a high octane thriller powered by Hrithik Roshan’s performance. Abhishek Bachchan has acted well, and Uday Chopra has acted poorly, but provides some good humour. The exciting action sequences, along with some catchy dialogues all add to the entertainment. Get ready to be ‘Dhoom’ed! 

My Rating: 3/5