Dhoom 3: Aamir’s Magical Act Saves The Film

Hi All, 

After watching one of the most accomplished franchisee and its third part, Dhoom 3, one thing for sure is that the year 2013 will indeed end on a stupendous high. Don’t know how much for the viewers but sure shot for Aamir Khan, who recently in Koffee with Karan admitted to be nervous about Yash Raj’s most successful franchise venture. 

It will be only fair to admit that the 3 hour long Dhoom 3 is magical because the clown of the story, is the real vidushak, magician Aamir Khan himself. With exquisite locales of Chicago, an enriching and pulsating background score, slick action and a couple of brilliant twists, Dhoom 3 manages to work in parts. Where it fails is when the film enters a certain predictable zone quite similar to its earlier outings. 

Sahir Khan (Siddharth Nigam – Exceptional in his act as young Aamir Khan) sees his father Iqbal Khan (Jackie Shroff), a magician in the making, die in front of his eyes during a circus performance. Iqbal believes that magic is the future of ‘The Great Indian Circus’, which the bank refuses to come to terms with and decides on auctioning the property leaving Sahir and Iqbal devastated. His father’s death leaves a huge scar on Sahir (Aamir Khan) and he grows up with a motive to avenge his father’s death. he decides to keep robbing the same bank, which was responsible for the death of his father. To investigate ACP Jai Dixit (Abhishek Bachchan) and Ali (Uday Chopra) are called to Chicago. It is here that the chase saga begins. 

Director Vijay Krishna Acharya, who earlier helmed the disastrous Tashan, keeps it fairly simple and that probably works like a double-edged sword for Dhoom 3. At times, one really applauds certain sequences be it action or dialogue, while there are also plots within the story which are sloppy and dull, which makes one lose interest at times. The action and visuals, no doubt are an absolute delight to watch, but engaging audiences in a tight plot is also the key. Dhoom 3 scores in parts over its plot but gets into the whole predictable zone many times over its LONG duration, which works as a flaw. 

Music by Pritam is okay. Malang being the highlight of the adventurous venture. The film could have been easily trimmed by many minutes as some situations, especially introductory sequences of Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra, for the sheer mockery of screen time it makes. It’s the most stupid entry sequence in a film especially not expected out of a class franchisee film like Dhoom 3.

What makes the film an interesting watch apart from its visuals (DOP Sudeep Chatterjee) and background score (Julius Packiam) is a magical performance from the perfectionist Aamir Khan. The actor once again proves that why he aptly deserves the title of being a perfectionist and choosing the ‘PERFECT’ scripts. His performance overshadows even the other two guys giving them less screen time. Katrina Kaif has nothing much to do than a few dance numbers. 

FINAL VERDICT: Dhoom 3 is slick and visually brilliant. It’s a film that relies solely on Aamir’s magical performance to keep the 3 hour long excitement alive. Not the best, but certainly not bad as compared to the recent debacles. End your year in style! 

RATING: *** 1/2

-Rahul Iyer-