Two things stand out clearly in Dhooms 3, one that
like New York , Chicago too has an impressive skyline and two it has lousy
policing .
Then you know why they need the services of Lone Ranger Indian
super cop Jay Dixit ( Abhishek Bacchan, looking very good at points and
absolutely bored in the others ) and his Tonto, Ali ( Uday Chopra) who till two
movies ago of the same franchise operated a tin shed garage outside a pipeline
and culvert in Mumbai.
Obviously there is money in franchising is a given. It does allow for locations to shift from Bandra Mumbai ( Dhoom ) to Mumbai & Brazil (Dhoom 2) and now all of it happens in the windy city. It happens with such aplomb that one may be forgiven for almost wondering what the whites are doing there in the North-Indian city of Chicago where they even have a monument to an Indian entertainment enterprise carved in stone called The Great Indian Circus. TGIC for two scenes is owned by a trade magician and conjurer ( Jackie Shroff ) and later by the evil banker Anderson ,who is waiting to pounce on it after casting fish eyes on Shroff’s most awesome performance for a loan extension. Shroff shoots himself in front of the bankers and his son Sahir, who sees all of this in a flashback/dream sequence. The rest as they is history Dhoom style, the bank is the villain and has to be robbed at will till it collapses, by the son who has grown up to become Aamir Khan (in a bowler hat and his eight pack avatar from his Ghajini days - why was it required when there is hardly a fight is confounding ). The banker 20 years ago had requisitioned for a skimpy dressed girl to supplement the show as a song and dance item when he was curtly and dismissively told that this was the future. The son however heeds that advice and gets a grunge clad gorgeous beauty to sing in chaste Punjabi (The YRF map states that London , Chicago, Switzerland etc are but suburbs of Bhatinda ) . Two songs run to packed shows, which actually told me that the poor venture capitalist banker may not have been so wrong in his advice to Shroff after all. But his bank has to go and does albeit after several Motorcycle / Motorboat chases. As a bonus we also have the Indian super cop hanging on an extended ladder in windy Chicago firing a gun in the USA on a bonafide US citizen and they do nothing to him. Then again guns are allowed in the US and had they asked to see how much Uday Chopra was being paid then there was the larger possibility of a serious crime being registered and he being jailed and strip searched. After all if they could get Capone on tax evasion then they certainly could have got Jay Dixit on exploitation of a garage mechanic ( a la Devyani Khobragade ) who has to wear the same bandana in 3 movies of a franchise that is supposed to have garnered collections in excess 10 digits measured in any currency of the world.
Obviously there is money in franchising is a given. It does allow for locations to shift from Bandra Mumbai ( Dhoom ) to Mumbai & Brazil (Dhoom 2) and now all of it happens in the windy city. It happens with such aplomb that one may be forgiven for almost wondering what the whites are doing there in the North-Indian city of Chicago where they even have a monument to an Indian entertainment enterprise carved in stone called The Great Indian Circus. TGIC for two scenes is owned by a trade magician and conjurer ( Jackie Shroff ) and later by the evil banker Anderson ,who is waiting to pounce on it after casting fish eyes on Shroff’s most awesome performance for a loan extension. Shroff shoots himself in front of the bankers and his son Sahir, who sees all of this in a flashback/dream sequence. The rest as they is history Dhoom style, the bank is the villain and has to be robbed at will till it collapses, by the son who has grown up to become Aamir Khan (in a bowler hat and his eight pack avatar from his Ghajini days - why was it required when there is hardly a fight is confounding ). The banker 20 years ago had requisitioned for a skimpy dressed girl to supplement the show as a song and dance item when he was curtly and dismissively told that this was the future. The son however heeds that advice and gets a grunge clad gorgeous beauty to sing in chaste Punjabi (The YRF map states that London , Chicago, Switzerland etc are but suburbs of Bhatinda ) . Two songs run to packed shows, which actually told me that the poor venture capitalist banker may not have been so wrong in his advice to Shroff after all. But his bank has to go and does albeit after several Motorcycle / Motorboat chases. As a bonus we also have the Indian super cop hanging on an extended ladder in windy Chicago firing a gun in the USA on a bonafide US citizen and they do nothing to him. Then again guns are allowed in the US and had they asked to see how much Uday Chopra was being paid then there was the larger possibility of a serious crime being registered and he being jailed and strip searched. After all if they could get Capone on tax evasion then they certainly could have got Jay Dixit on exploitation of a garage mechanic ( a la Devyani Khobragade ) who has to wear the same bandana in 3 movies of a franchise that is supposed to have garnered collections in excess 10 digits measured in any currency of the world.
Suspension of disbelief is a must. Once it is
acquired then the movie becomes enjoyable and one can see why Aamir Khan is a superstar. His brandy eyes and
acrid demeanour conveys an angst and power waiting to be unleashed, the ticking
brain apparent from just his bearing. He is the soul of this movie. He is
totally believable in the ridiculous one line plot which yet is a marked
improvement on the earlier versions. In the first part John Abraham wrested
the control of the franchise and put it firmly into the hands of the villain rendering Bacchhan – Chopra to furniture status. Whatever they do now or in the future has
and will have no bearing on the outcome. The star is the villain for ever. Aamir Khan slam dunks it home and in
imperious style too. 
Katrina is the other surprise, breathtakingly beautiful, the girl has come a long way from her Boom days with Kaizad Gustad for sure.
There is serious promise in the Aamir Katrina pairing. Their chemistry is
apparent as her eyes twinkle with
mischief when she teases him. She is very easy under the skin of Aalia. The machines are the other heroes and while these films would never rank in the same league as the Fast and the Furious movies, the fact that BMW associated with them is an indication of its rising popularity. Franchise movies are like changing different photographs in one single photoframe and Vijay Krishna Acharya is no Christopher Nolan /Sam Mendes ( like with Batman or Bond respectively) to tweak this frame itself. With such directorial talent at its helm it will never become either spectacular or end up being completely boring. It will remain to be the standard cheerful nonsensical fare for our samosa & popcorn crowds to keep the Chopra till ringing.
Suspend belief and you get a Dhoom, go expecting logic or sense (the 'h' immediately goes silent ) and you are Doomed ;-)
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