Adventure Comedies do not necessarily need to have logic, but a certain level of chronology is definitely a must. Total Dhamaal misses out on that point, and fails to generate the expected humour.
STORYLINE
A small-time crook Guddu (Ajay Devgn) and his accomplice Jonny (Sanjay Mishra) steal black money worth Rs 50 crore from a corrupt Police commissioner, played by Boman Irani. However, Guddu's another partner Pinto (Manoj Pahwa) double crosses him, and runs away with the cash.
Incidentally, three other pairs – a Gujarati couple Bindu (Madhuri Dixit) and Avinash Patel (Anil Kapoor), two brothers Adi (Arshad Warsi) and Manav (Jaaved Jaaferi), a Bhojpuri thug Lallan (Riteish Deshmukh) and his friend (Pitobash Tripathy) – come across a dying Pinto, who tells them about a zoo where the cash is hidden.
While all the four greedy pairs want share in the stolen money, Guddu and the other pairs conclude that the cash will belong to whoever first finds it. Then starts a mad race that shows the characters doing everything possible and also impossible to reach the jackpot. The commissioner too is after Guddu and his black money.
While one pair takes aerial route in a helicopter that was originally an autorickshaw, another one drives through mountains. Who finally gets to snatch away the treasure makes the crux of the story.
PERFORMANCES
Despite comedy being one of the toughest genres, Total Dhamaal is not the kind of movie that relies on performances. It is a completely mad film with just crazy things happening all around. Nonetheless, Arshad Warsi and Riteish Deshmukh deserve appreciation for their comic timing.
Sanjay Mishra is a brilliant actor but he hardly has any punch-line strong enough to make you laugh. Moreover, his constant act of addressing Guddu as "bro" for everything he says is somewhat irritating. Anil and Madhuri's bickering also adds humour to the plot. Ajay and others are just fine in their acts.
POSITIVES
Total Dhamaal has a few funny moments that make you laugh. Some of the punch-lines are quite witty, while some of the scenes are extremely crazy but humorous. The film is not dragged unnecessarily.
NEGATIVES
The movie is a victim of bad direction. A lot of sequences are unconnected, and absolutely make no sense. For instance, the Gujarati couple in one sequence gets washed away by a river, and ends up going down a waterfall. In their next scene, they are seen driving to their destination in a car completely unharmed. There are a number of such loopholes that could have been avoided.
Total Dhamaal also lacks in the expected humour quotient. Some of the scenes and dialogues are just too dull. None of the songs are catchy enough.
VERDICT
All in all, Total Dhamaal can be in your watch-list once, but do not have much expectations. Though it has a few scenes and dialogues that tickle your funny bones, there are more dull and stupid moments to disappoint you.
