Koyal Chaddha (Yami Gautam Dhar) preens as her family prattles on about what a susheel, mild-mannered woman she is, a description perfectly curated for the to-be-in-laws seated in front of them. Veer Poddar (Pratik Gandhi) shifts awkwardly as his parents regale the former with his tales of courage.
They’re both put into boxes you would expect from an arranged marriage meeting and, impressed by this obviously flawed packaging, the families agree and they’re wed within the month. These newlyweds barely have time to get to know each other before they’re forced to enter a crime caper following a mysterious knock on the door on their wedding night.
Two burly men threaten the couple while asking for the whereabouts of a ‘Charlie’. Despite actions that surprise both parties and some quick wit at display, they manage to escape the room. Neither Koyal nor Veer are the person their families think they are – Koyal is loud-mouthed, boisterous, and reckless and much braver than ‘Veer’ who seems to have more phobias than she can remember. Koyal spends most of her time rescuing from situations, all while taking control of situations where he has none and yelling expletives and hurling objects at everyone in sight.
This unlikely match will either fall in love or separate forever when their delicate bond is tested by the happenings of one very long night. Dhoom Dhaam milks this gimmick for all its worth, managing to get quite many laughs along the way. At this point, you’re impressed by the film’s efforts and its originality. How will two people fare when they need to work together to stay alive but are surprised by each other at every turn?
Veer being surprised at the sheer number of skeletons that fall out of Koyal’s closet doesn’t stop being funny and it’s refreshing that a film doesn’t feel the need to make Koyal feel apologetic, as Indian cinema often does.
The issue with the film, however, is that its own sequences feel disjointed. The crime caper and the romantic comedy end up becoming two films with each genre pausing for the other to finish what it wants to say. Koyal’s rage and frustration with the things happening around her are quite understandable – it isn’t surprising that she goes into a passionate, feminist monologue with the stylings of America Ferrera in Barbie. What is surprising, however, is that all the other action in the film stops while this is happening.
As much as I love a good feminist monologue myself, I wouldn’t jump into one when my parents’ lives might be in danger. But maybe Koyal and I are built different. Dhoom Dhaam forgets that sensitive or impassioned moments can exist within the realms of a screwball comedy too. One can’t expect the audience to balance the tonal shifts instead of immersing themselves in the story.
It’s this sort of disjointedness that affects the entire film. The film has a messaging about gender dynamics, that much is obvious, and in making Koyal the story’s fulcrum, it does manage to challenge those dynamics. However, by limiting her desire towards Veer to how ‘veer’ or typically hyper-masculine he can be, the film unravels its own message. Veer seems much more attractive when he manages to fix a wound in a Mumbai local than when he karate chops someone.
It’s Dhar who is the story’s focus and the actor does a great job of keeping the viewer’s attention on her. While the script does a disservice to her by making her rage more trope-y than righteous, she keeps trying. Some scenes ask more of her than she can deliver – the layers of her character congeal into one emotion at a time – but it isn’t as bothersome as it sounds. In a role she hasn’t tried before, she does, however, prove that she has the chops for comedy.
In the supporting cast, Ajaz Khan, Mukul Chadda, and Kavin Dave – perhaps the only ones long enough on the screen to make their presence felt – are effective. The few stray characters from Koyal’s life littered across the screenplay deliver too – the clearly manipulative ex who speaks of chakras is a fun touch.
There was little doubt before the movie released that Pratik Gandhi would ace this character – he is so likeable and believable as Veer that you can’t help but be endeared to him.
And like his turn in Madgaon Express (a true example of what a madcap comedy can achieve), his comedic strength shines through here too. It’s a pity then that the writing puts him at the precipice of something great and forgets about it. When the film makes its point about the male gaze by placing Veer in a strip club, one hopes that this ‘exposure therapy’ (in his words) will push him out of his shell a little. It looks like a cathartic experience for the character but we don’t get to see the effects of this catharsis.
In that, the film, despite knowing how to write the characters, forgets sometimes to take them where they could naturally go. Dhoom Dhaam, as a film, is quite fun to watch and never lets you feel the strains of its runtime – its pacing is sharp and precise coupled with decent cinematography and editing.
But you can’t shake off the feeling that it’s holding back.