Produced by: Amita Madhvani, Ram Madhvani & Ronnie Screwvala
Directed by: Ram Madhvani
Starring: Kartik Aaryan, Mrunal Thakur & Amruta Subhash
Written by: Ram Madhvani & Puneet Sharma
Streaming on: Netflix
DHAMAKA is a remake of the 2013 Korean film THE TERROR LIVE. Arjun Pathak (Kartik Aaryan) was a reputed TV reporter of Bharosa 24×7. He is married to Saumya Mehra Pathak (Mrunal Thakur). All seems to be going well for him, but due to an incident, he has been demoted and is given the post of a radio jockey on Radio Bharosa. Not only that, even his marriage is rocky and he is amidst the process of finalizing his divorce. But one day, Arjun receives a call from a man called Raghubeer Mhata (Soham Majumdar), who claims that he has planted a bomb on the Bandra-Worli Sea Link. He doesn’t believe him and goes back to his work. But moments later he hears a blast to find that there has really been a blast at the Sea- Link. He gets a call from Raghubeer again as he wants to talk. He cuts the call and decides to call the cops. But changes his mind when he sees this as an opportunity to get back to top once again. He immediately dials his boss, Ankita (Amruta Subhash), and informs her about the situation. He also gets an assurance from her that he can go on air with this story. A temporary studio is set up in the radio station. Arjun goes on air and begins to further talk to Raghubeer. At this point, Raghubeer informs that he wants an apology from the minister Jaydev Patil immediately; or else he’ll do more blasts. He also tells Arjun that there’s a bomb in his earpiece and that he’ll execute the blast if he moves from his seat. To add to his fears Arjun also learns that Saumya has gone to the Sea Link to cover the story. What happens next forms the rest of the film.
DHAMAKA starts off with a bang, literally but loses the steam after the second half. But despite that, it still manages to grip you and hold you till the end. But one of the major downsides is that a lot of the developments are not so convincing. The climax is also a bit unconventional, it may work for some and may not for others.
Technically, the film is great. Manu Anand’s cinematography is good and it afds to the tension that the film tries to create. Editing is great, especially in the first half but vould have been slicker in the secind half. The screenplay is well done and has been adapted well but there is a scope for improvement. Ideally the film should have been without songs as they just get in the way of such thrillers. The production design and the costume design is fine.
Performance wise the film is great too. Kartik Aaryan ventures into a previously uncharted territory and comes out victorious. He really nails his role well. Mrunal Thakur has a good role and she gives an earnest performance. Amruta Subhash leaves a mark. Soham Majumdar doesn’t have a lot to do on screen, but plays an important part. The rest of the cast offer good support.
Director Ram Madhvani grips the audiences with his direction but loosens his tight grip in the second half. Although he does get some fantastic performances from his actors.