RGV took up the challenge to remake the biggest blockbuster in the history of Bollywood, Sholay. His version of the classic movie titled Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag turned out to be his worst product ever with bad remarks hammering in through all possible means. So will Darling camouflage his last mistake and live up to the expectations? Will this movie succeed in being an entertainer? Has the movie done justice to its genre in being “a killer love story”? Read further…

Aditya’s (Fardeen Khan) successful career was complimented with not just one but two perks in life. He is happily married to a traditional yet very beautiful lady, Ashwini (Isha Koppikar) and is the father of a child. With no strings attached, he also has an affair with a gorgeous looking young lady at his office, Geetha Menon (Esha Deol). He managed to lie and keep both his wife and his mistress happy. Suddenly the strings start to wind and the cadence of his life is lost. Geetha gets pregnant. Aditya’s refuses to ditch his wife and child and in this scrimmage Geetha dies accidentally. Petrified, Aditya buries her in the backyard and scampers off. But Geetha’s ghost haunts him and turns his life from miserable to terrifying.

With extended silence and sudden noises, the first half of the movie is canned with utmost care to make it a thrilling experience. But after a promising first half, the pace slackens in the post-interval portions. It gets comical and less daunting. The hospital scene where Geetha hits and tries to terrify Aditya, when he along with his wife Ashwini visit a injured colleague from Aditya’s office is hilarious and not petrifying. The climax too doesn’t measure up to the expectation. A ghost having a loving conversation with the person it’s seeking revenge off. Does the aspect not seem amateurish and improbable?

Ram Gopal Varma has made a good come back but is once again not at his best. Prasana Shekhar’s background score enhances the impact of several sequences. Amit Roy has played well with the cameras. Some shots in the first half are brilliantly executed. The musical score of the movie is easy on the ears. The track ‘Tadap’ and ‘Saathiya’ are already popular among music lovers.

Fardeen Khan is just about convincing in both performance and his looks. He looked fat and flabby. While he excelled in few scenes, he hams in most others. He needs to work on his expressions. Look’s like Esha Deol was given the look of a ghost from the Hollywood movie “The Ring”. Her persona suits the character and she carries of the role with ease. In both performance and looks she has improved a way lot. Isha Koppikar looks the right person for a homely look. With a very limited role, Isha is good. Zakir Hussain is in great form. Upendra Limaye and the rest of the cast are good.

Overall, Darling is a partial thriller. The response to the film will be mixed and would cater mainly to the multiplex audience. ... More ... Collapse

The film's name says it all. Indra Kumar's Dhamaal is a two-hour-20-minute journey into nonsense land with non-stop gags and comic situations. In retrospect, it is not such a cracker of a movie because all it manages to create is a minor dhamaal.

The film has an all-male starcast with no female distractions or attractions anywhere in sight. You don't really miss their absence as well, because the film moves quite swiftly from one incident to the other. Since the major part of the movie is about a treasure hunt, it manages to create a fair amount of pace and keeps you absorbed if not amused for the better part. The best thing about the movie is that the humour is slapstick sans sexual innuendos and therefore makes for great viewing for family and kids.

The film centres around the adventures of four buddies played by Arshad Warsi, Ritiesh Deshmukh, Javed Jaffrey and Ashish Chowdhury. A bunch of good-for-nothings, the four are only out to make a quick buck. They accidently meet up with a rich old man (Prem Chopra) who tells them about a buried treasure in Goa before he actually kicks the bucket. The dying man's last wish was that the four friends should find the treasure and live like kings. The four set off towards Goa to unearth the treasure but their troubles begin even before they can start. They are followed by a cop (played by Sanjay Dutt), who has spent 10 years of his life chasing Prem Chopra. Now he wants a part of that bounty. Next the friends fall apart and it is each one for himself. The race to reach Goa and unearth the treasure begins and a series of mad capers follow.

There is no plot really and just about anything goes. You can have an Ashish Chowdhury flying an aircraft without knowing how to, or a Riteish Deshmukh carving a gun out of a bar of soap. It's ridiculous really, very silly but somehow you can't help but laugh. If Sanjubaba is around, then there has to some bit of hero-giri around as well. So Sanju, the bad cop, rescues a bunch of orphaned kids who fall from the edge of a cliff and becomes a hero.

There are lots of minor characters who also manage to create an impact like Asrani, the mad Parsi, father of Ashish Chowdhury, who refers to his car as his 'dikra' and kicks his actual 'dikra' out of the house. Then there is Vijay Raaz as the loony flight control room officer, who drives everyone bananas.

What makes the film work really is not just the nonsense but the manner in which the director makes the nonsense seem normal. This best captured in the characterization of the four friends and the chemistry that exists between them. Arshad Warsi is the one who always comes with the smart ideas. Javed Jaffrey plays his mentally challenged brother, who always speaks out of turn. Ashish Chowdhury is the good-for-nothing Parsi dikra, who is petrified of his father. Ritiesh Deshmukh is the smart one who always lands himself in a soup.

The plot of the film has been fashioned after a thriller with so many people racing to Goa, each trying to get to the treasure before the others. But, of course, Dhamaal is no thriller, though it provides enough thrills of a different kind. The script is tightly written and everything is focused on the main action—of getting to the treasure. The dialogues are suitably silly. Our famous four do finally make it to the treasure. But to know what happens after, one should probably see the film. As for the actors, they are all quite masters of their trade and do a very competent job. Thankfully, no one goes overboard, making for very entertaining viewing. Quite a dhamaal, really. ... More ... Collapse

Funniest movie of recent times, much better than golmaal. But ending could have been better.it is a success without a heroine ... Collapse