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Johann
12-31-2013, 07:18 AM
Bollywood's newest blockbuster franchise is Dhoom, and I saw the third installment this week.
I sat in front of a Bangladeshi family and behind people from Karachi, Pakistan.
The only white people there were a couple on my right.
It is a complete ripoff of THE DARK KNIGHT trilogy- right down to the chases and street scenes shot in downtown Chicago.
James Bond has been pilfered too. And Transformers. A Hindi friend told me that Dhoum is a series made for the Pakistani market.

The "story", if you can call it that, is about a father losing his circus business to ruthless bankers, and his son grows up to exact revenge on the bankers who shut down his fathers' circus. But this is so disjointed and has such horrific acting and mindless, out-of-place musical numbers that the only way you could like this movie is if you've never seen a movie in your life.

The most disturbing and profoundly shocking thing about this film is a musical number that I swear is based on Kubrick's EYES WIDE SHUT.
"Based" is not accurate.
It is actually an insult to Kubrick. The bank robber ("THE CLOWN THIEF" Sahir, played by Aamir Khan) has a "calling card" of etching a message in the walls of the banks he robs, as well as a "mirror" with a clown face in the middle of it, the mirror resembles the mirror on the poster of Kubrick's EYES WIDE SHUT.
The musical number I'm talking about (there are several in this movie, and they have nothing to do with the story) has people in cloaks, and a GIANT Star of David lit up like a Christmas tree dead-center stage. You watch it and try to understand what the filmmakers are saying to us.
The main character also wears a bowler hat just like Alex in a Clockwork Orange.
The Leading Lady (Katrina Kaif) is a Goddess. Drop-dead gorgeous, and she doesn't belong in this film. She's a star and she can dance better than Beyonce.

The editing and soundtrack (when there are no musical numbers) is lifted wholesale from THE DARK KNIGHT trilogy.
The film has cheesy lines like "Get me a SWAT team and a helicopter by sunrise!"
Horrifying acting here, with a very repellant lead character (Aamir Khan), who plays the roles of twin brothers- a "surprise" twist to the story.
It was 3 freaking hours long with an intermission, and I could've left after the first act. I stayed and was horrified to witness the Illuminati EYES WIDE SHUT musical number.
My jaw dropped, actually.

This film has broken box-office records in Pakistan. It is HUGE.
But it is a slick wholesale ripoff of many other movies. How they do not get sued up the ass is beyond me.
Historically, it is also the first Bollywood film to be shot with IMAX cameras.

Chris Knipp
12-31-2013, 09:40 AM
Aamir Khan is a big star in Indian movies and I've enjoyed him in LEGAAN: ONCE UPON A TIME IN INDIA (2001), the very popular comedy THREE IDIOTS (2009), which I enjoyed; and the visually handsome, more serious and artistic MUMBAI DIARIES (http://www.filmleaf.net/showthread.php?3012-DHOBI-GHAT-MUMBAI-DIARIES-%28Kiran-Rao-2010%29)(2010), which I admired and reviewed here (see link). Musical numbers in Bolllywood movies are not meant to advance the action; they're just fun in themselves. I might enjoy this new one you discuss, though I don't generally find using US locations is a great idea Indian cinema. Do you really think this is a "wholesele ripoff" of other movies and Hollywood blockbusters are not?

Johann
12-31-2013, 10:02 AM
It depends on the movie Chris.

What films did Chris Nolan steal from? I can't think of any. Other Hollywood blockbusters might steal wholesale from others but not Chris Nolan.
He forges his own destiny, a theme that runs through Dhoom: 3. One of the frequent lines is "WHO CAN DENY US? WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD" (paraphrase)
You might enjoy Dhoom: 3.
I laughed at some things- there is a fair amount of humour in it. It's just that the heavy reliance on slow motion and absurd "action" cannot really be taken seriously. It's way over the top in some scenes.
The musical numbers are fun, and a couple of them are stunning. But the "stomping" one near the opening credits was weird to me.
The "audition" of Aaliya (Katrina Kaif) where Aamir Khan tells her he had better not look away once during her audition in order for her to get the part in his show was Amazing. She is a Firecracker, Hotter than Hell.

I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on this one Chris.

Chris Knipp
12-31-2013, 10:25 AM
Of course Bollywood movies are highly derivative, but they're also very Indian. All "art" builds on a "tradition" and owes a debt to its context and what has come before. When it becomes a transcending of the tradition in a new way and when it becomes "stealing" is, to some extent, in the eye of the beholder, though admittedly borrowings in some movie factories are freer and more blatant than others. . You maybe think Chris Nolan is whollly original because you like Chris Nolan. All the comic book-based movies are highly dependent on each other and on the comics they come from. Bollywood movies are a lot of fun, and ought not to be taken too seriously. Of course not. Just have fun. I find Bollywood movies, when they're any good at all, a welcome relief from "serious" moviegoing, because we enter a completely different world, where none of the usual rules apply.

Johann
12-31-2013, 10:41 AM
You might really enjoy it in that case.

It's true that Chris Nolan is getting his "source material" from comic books (for Batman at least), but cinematically he steals from no one.
He's an original filmmaker in that sense.
There are only a couple short scenes in India in Dhoum 3 (a rickshaw chase on the roofs of slums, an airport scene, for two) and most of the action is in Chicago.
I asked my Hindi friend "why Chicago?" and he said he didn't know, that it may be a deal struck with the city to boost it's profile (because Chi-Town looks pretty great in it) or that the scenes of the city with cop cars and helicopters, etc. was actually UNUSED footage from some other movie.
THE DARK KNIGHT perhaps? I'm prone to say no...but it might be second unit stuff loaned to the production.

I'd be curious to hear what people think.

Chris Knipp
12-31-2013, 10:47 AM
I was going to new Bollywood films occasionally for a while. There's a cineplex in my area in California that regularly shows them. But not for a year or two. They tend to be thrown together rather quickly of course, nothing like elaborate, super-expensive Hollywood movies like Nolan's. Using existing footage sounds typical. Someone I used to go to see them with isn't around any more. They are certainly a far cry from Satyajit Ray! Here is a list of Indian directors (http://www.imdb.com/list/M3VxdZRye7Q/) on IMDb.

Johann
12-31-2013, 01:21 PM
http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3665/10959383535_2903e4a1c8_o.jpg

I googled images for Dhoom 3 and I found a barbie doll of Sahir (Aamir Khan's character), complete with Star of David packaging!

WOW!

Johann
01-02-2014, 07:47 AM
The trailer for GunDay was shown before Dhoom:3 and I thought it looked entertaining:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HRQ49cohEw