Dum Maaro Dum (2011)

A corrupt police officer is entrusted the task of apprehending drug-dealers.

Director:

Rohan Sippy

Writers:

Charudutt Acharya (dialogue), Purva Naresh (dialogue)

Stars:

Abhishek Bachchan, Deepika Padukone, Bipasha Basu

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Abhishek Bachchan	...	ACP Vishnu Kamath
Bipasha Basu	...	Zoe
Rana Daggubati	...	Joki
Prateik	...	Lorry
Aditya Pancholi	...	Lorsa 'Biscuit' Biscuita
Anaitha Nair	...	Tani
Govind Namdeo	...	Inspector Rane
Bugs Bhargava	...	CM Ponda (as Bugs Bhargava Krishna)
Muzammil S. Qureshi	...	Mercy (as Muzammil)
Mariah Pucu Gantois Gomes	...	Rozana
Hussain Sheikh	...	Silest
Gulshan Devaiah	...	Ricky
J. Brandon Hill	...	Viktor
Deepika Padukone	...	Dancer in the song 'Dum Maaro Dum'
Emma Brown Garett	...	Natalya (as Emma Brown)

Storyline

On his way to Griffin University in the U.S., Goa-based Lawrence Eduardo Gomes is arrested and held at the airport by a corrupt ACP Vishnu Kamath as his baggage concealed drugs. While attempts by Lorry and others are made to clear Lawrence's name, Vishnu continues his investigation aided by Inspectors Mercy D'Costa and Rane, which end up not only pitting him against politically-connected drug-dealers but also international gangsters who operate in Goa with impunity. His inquires lead him to question business tycoon, Lorsa Biscuita, while informers indicate that Lorsa is going to meet with a male named Michael Barbarosso, who may well be the head of this trade. Vishnu attempts to attend this meeting, but is not aware that the venue is being moved to Karnataka - well outside Goa Police's jurisdiction - and he may never be able to find out, leave alone apprehend this individual.

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Plot Keywords:

drugs | police | love | death | rave party | 

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence, drug content and some language

Details

Official Sites:

Official Facebook Official Twitter

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi English Russian

Release Date:

22 April 2011 (USA)

Also Known As:

Cercul vicios

Filming Locations:

Goa, India

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$327,523, 24 April 2011

Gross USA:

$564,489

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$1,508,912

Company Credits

Production Co:

Cheyenne Enterprises, Fox STAR Studios, Louverture Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

128 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital (Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound)

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

Emraan Hashmi and Farhan Akhtar were both approached for Rana Daggubati ' role. They both refused.

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Connections

References Pulp Fiction (1994)

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Soundtracks

Te Amo - Reprise
Written by Pritam Jaideep Sahni
Performed by Mohit Chauhan

User Reviews

A Nutshell Review: Dumb Maaro Dumb

Item girls are back with a vengeance given the much talked about Sheila Ki Jawani with the midriff baring Katrina Kaif in Farah Khan's Tees Maar Khan, that fast forward till today the buzz baton was ringing very loudly for Deepika Padukone in her item for Dumb Maaro Dumb. But personally I still preferred Sheila for the music, the narrative flow in which it was picturized on, and of course the dance performance. In Mit Jaaye Gum (Dumb Maaro Dumb), Padukone got decked with a shorter dress number sporting a mean looking cobra tattoo, but I don't have a thing for the drugged out look, given this was solely a song and dance number performed at a rave party before Abhishek Bachchan's ACP Vishnu Kamath came gatecrashing with the cops in tow.

Dumb Maaro Dumb provided what I would deem as a lift from the rather lacklustre lineup of Bollywood films released so far in this year, with the story keeping it fairly simple, yet intriguing with a mystery, with a great ensemble of actors fleshing out their carefully crafted characters. It's a basic cops and robbers tale on the war on drugs in Goa where the stakes are high on either side of the law with matters and issues hovering around the grey, never outright black or white. Cops are on the take, gangsters can turn informers, and you're never too sure just who you can trust, and who will switch allegiance.

Which makes the film thoroughly engaging to follow, paced fairly quickly and clocking just over two hours. The first half of the film before the interval allowed director Rohan Sippy to dabble with a non linear narrative structure to introduce the lead characters, starting with Lorry (Prateik, last seen in Mumbai Diaries), a student at the crossroads of his educational path, being stopped short at clinching a scholarship, and therefore unable to follow his girlfriend to the USA for further studies. Money woes meant subjecting himself to influences from a friend who had persuaded him fast cash from being a drug mule. Then there's the story of ACP Kamath, a once corrupt cop on the take who had now turned his life around given the death of his family, and going all out to take the war on drugs by the horns. The romantic story arc of DJ Joki (Rana Daggubati) and Zoe (Bipasha Basu) has the lovebirds being impacted through the drug trade, with the former being a easy-going, laid back bystander to his girlfriend's woes, with the latter being really hard up to be an air-stewardess, and got sucked into a road of no turning back when short term gains were traded for longer term loyalties.

In some ways this is like Brian De Palma's The Untouchables, where Elliot Ness gathers a few good, uncorrupted man to form a core team to challenge the biggest gangster in town, and here, ACP Kamath does just that when he goes up against Lorsa Biscuta (Aditya Pancholi), a well connected and well oiled businessman who dabbles in the drug trade and is one of the biggest in Goa, carved out into various territories as controlled by various foreign enclaves operating the drug business. With ACP Kamath turning the heat on their operations, Biscuita becomes the guarantor of every drug baron's illegitimate business with the involvement of an enigmatic Michael Babbossa, who becomes the primary mystery man that ACP Kamath and team are trying to unravel.

So begins a cat and mouse game after the interval, where all story arcs merge into a single thread but between the two halves, the first was more of Sippy's playground with tremendous use of seamless and slick editing techniques and transitions. And something that I've always enjoyed watching is the extended single take of an action scene, which Dumb Maaro Dumb now has bragging rights to, involving a very fluid camera following ACP Kamath and team as they go on a drug bust in a building, continuously weaving into and out of corridors and doors, windows and down a drain pipe even in one long extended take. I'm always in awe given the sheer amount of planning that goes behind the scene to have this achieved, and it is nothing short of fascinating always.

The violence is strong as well with ACP Kamath and the villains all dishing out punishment in no holds barred style, whether using a weapon or through their bare fists. And again there will be the usual police tricks and unorthodox techniques used by the no nonsense ACP that may raise some questions, even though he's given the mandate by the chief minister to eradicate the drug problem. It's been some time since Abhishek Bachchan had headlined a box office success, and I'm backing this film to be that shot in the arm for him as he reunites with director Rohan Sippy (since Bluffmaster). Rana Daggubati also shone especially in the second half of the film where his role got expanded and turned meatier, but unfortunately for Prateik he had opened the film, but because of the narrative had to disappear for the most parts in the second half.

Still, this is one of the more satisfying Hindi films that I've seen in recent weeks, with a strong story by Shridhar Raghavan (dialogues by Purva Naresh) coupled with strong performances from the ensemble cast that makes you feel for the characters and their predicaments. Music by Pritam stand out excellently, and if you're in need of a good old fashioned cops and robbers thriller with a mix of interesting cinematography techniques employed, then Dumb Maaro Dumb will be your film of choice this week. Highly recommended as it goes into my shortlist as some of the best of this year!