John Abraham, Varun Dhawan Starrer ‘Dishoom’ is Deeply Flawed Yet Entertaining

This case, and its 36-hour time restraint, makes up the rest of the film with the duo of Kabir and Junaid following one strange lead after another to finally lead them to the film’s real villain, Wagah, played by the one and only Akshaye Khanna. His name is Wagah because he is a man who is neither Indian nor Pakistani. His reasoning for kidnapping Viraj has nothing to do with country sentiment and everything to do with his own debts and greed.

The whole kidnapping plan itself is extremely flawed to begin with, and the execution is even worse. Wagah’s undoing comes from his own stupidity and his dog, funnily enough. The tangents Kabir and Junaid have to go on to solve the case are strange at best. The addition of Jacqueline Fernandez’s character Ishika is basically unnecessary. (Isn’t that sadly the issue with most female leads in Indian cinema?)

But why am I even trying to make sense of this film? Let’s all be really honest, sensibility and realism is not why people go to watch these type of films. Somehow, despite everything going wrong in “Dishoom,” it’s still one hell of a fun watch.

Here’s what does work: The duo of Abraham and Varun Dhawan, while not nearly as fun as the duo of Abraham and Abhishek Bachchan in “Dostana,” has some truly great, light-hearted moments that show Rohit Dhawan and his team know not to take their film too seriously. If “Dishoom “had tried to replicate the atmosphere of a dark action thriller, it would be unbearable. The humor definitely makes the film work, and a majority of that credit rests on Varun Dhawan’s shoulders. Rohit Dhawan clearly realizes that while his brother may have the physique of a proper Bollywood action star, his goofy personality is what makes many of his more silly movies supremely watchable. (Of course, “Badlapur” is a different story as it had a much different tone.)

The younger Dhawan is clearly having the time of his life in this film as he steals scene after scene from everyone else onscreen, especially his most consistent acting partner, Abraham, who provides an able straight man for Varun’s antics. Dhawan seems game to embarrass and ridicule himself time and time again, which makes him all the more relatable and endearing.

One place where the comedy gets a little too stupid for its own good is when Akshay Kumar makes a cameo appearance as a gay man who tries to trick the men into taking their clothes off. Considering how terribly insensitive Bollywood has been in the past towards homosexual characters, especially in comedy and action films, this particular portrayal is, unfortunately, a huge step-up. Kumar, like Varun, has a lot of fun with this role—and thankfully the role is not big enough for Kumar or the film to completely offend anyone.

The film also features a cameo from Nargis Fakhri whose role is to help Kabir and Junaid in their Viraj investigation but does nothing to help that—and in turn, does nothing to help move the story along. But like everyone else in the film, she seems happy to be there, and perhaps that’s really all that matters.  

The best cameo, by far, comes from Parineeti Chopra who has not been seen onscreen since 2014’s “Kill Dil.” She finishes up a side joke with Varun Dhawan’s Junaid, and their strong, sweet chemistry in the final song of the film, Jaaneman Aah, is proof that the two actors need to make a movie together quick.

As for the other performances in the film, the standout has to be Akshaye Khanna. Despite a stupid character whose villainous plans are equally stupid, he chews the scenery, which is the best way to re-introduce the always awesome Khanna to a new generation Bollywood moviegoer.

So, in the end, “Dishoom” isn’t going to be winning any major awards some Filmfare season, and it’s likely that after this year, it’ll be forgotten. But all that being said, “Dishoom” is perfect for what it is: an empty-headed, ridiculously fun time at the movies.