314. Total Dhamaal; movie review

TOTAL DHAMAAL
Cert PG
127 mins
BBFC advice: Contains mild bad language, comic violence, threat

Two hours of non-stop shouting and idiocy.
Fans of the Dumb & Dumber-style of comedy may enjoy the slapstick of Indra Kumar's film but those who stopped saying "he's behind you" at the age of eight, probably need to avoid it.
I was about eight when I gleefully watched It's a Mad Mad Mad World, starring Spencer Tracy and Phil Silvers.
Similarly, Total Dhamaal has an all-star cast whose screwball characters go in search of a stash of money.
Ajay Devgn is the leader of the pack whose unlikely heist from a corrupt cop (Boman Irani) results in a double-cross.
This inspires him and his sidekick (Sanjay Mishra) to track down the betrayer and then find where he has hidden the money.
For reasons which are not worth entering, the chase is alongside bizarre brothers (Arshad Warsi and Javed Jaffrey), a divorcing couple (Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit) and two offbeat fire officers  (Riteish Deshmukh and  Pitobash Tripathy).
Their comic pursuit is in planes, automobiles and helicopters.
And the scrapes include dropping from great heights and fending off wild animals.
Oh, and I forgot the speech impediments. Why does almost every Indian comedy have to have a character with a speech impediment?
There is not much more to say about Total Dhamaal other than it may be the only film in which I will ever witness projectile vomiting... by an elephant.
Yes, it is that subtle... not.

Reasons to watch: If you are a fan of slapstick
Reasons to avoid: The shouting grates

Laughs: None
Jumps: None
Vomit: Elephant puke
Nudity: None
Overall rating: 3.5/10

Did you know? After the Pulwana terrorist attack, Ajay Devgn and Total Dhamaal makers decided not to release in Pakistan. The makers of the film including the entire crew, actors and makers donated five million rupue=ee to families of soldiers who died in the Pulwama attack.

The final word. Ajay Devgn: "Don’t look for depth in any of the characters from ‘Total Dhamaal’... It’s a story of idiots.” Gulf News

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