Dhamaka has lived up to its expectations after the much-touted trailer. The Kartik Aaryan 2.0 performance in this film is his best ever. From being a monologue champion, and a rom-com actor he has proved that he is a diverse actor who can dabble any genre and emotion.
The Netflix, Dhamaka is a remake of the 2013 South Korean thriller Deo Tereo Raibeu (The Terror Live). The result – a film that unfolds within the boundaries of a Mumbai news studio with a conversation between a television anchor and a man does catch the attention of the audience despite fewer shortcomings.
Dhamaka is aptly loaded with tension, and action
Director Ram Madhvani, succeeds in creating a world within one room that is full of tension, action, reaction and a sense of tenacity. Dhamaka is loosely based on the 2013 Korean film, The Terror Live, and stars Kartik as a broadcast journalist named Arjun Pathak.
Arjun was demoted from a prime-time news anchor to an RJ but things change when he scores an exclusive interview with a terrorist who has blown up Mumbai’s Sea Link bridge. Arjun Pathak gathers himself to be live on-air amid a terror attack and what all goes through his mind while talking to his caller, is what keeps you engaged for 1 hour 43 minutes.
Film’s never loses pace and keeps you on the edge right from the word go. No time is wasted in the build-up–neither for the story nor the characters. The film starts with a romantic song between Arjun Pathak and his wife Saumya (Mrunal Thakur) and cut to the first scene in the newsroom, we are told they are no longer together.
Kartik Aaryan carries the weight of Dhamaka on his shoulders with admirable confidence. He delivers a convincing performance as a television news anchor craving to regain his lost reputation, conveying the restiveness and resolve of a man determined to go for broke no matter what.
The hows and the whys are dealt effortlessly by the director and the script sails smoothly on without being sticky too long. Madhvani connects with you with the tense environment that news anchors and journalists experience while reporting a piece of breaking news from the studio or from the crime scene.
The performances of each of the characters are impressive – be it the helpless Kartik sitting in the studio and Amruta Subhash bossing around, calm yet assertive, or Mrunal Thakur, reporting from the bomb blast site and helping hostages, and man on the line, sharing his own ordeal. The portions when Kartik is negotiating with him and buying time to sort things out give you real goose bumps. However, a little more of Arjun and Saumya’s love story could have been shown to add a different dimension to his character.
Madhvani never lets you digress from the present moment and that’s the beauty of his storytelling, something that we also saw in Neerja. In the two hours within an airplane, we got to see so many emotions blending into one another and in Dhamaka as well, just one newsroom lets you experience so much under one roof.
Dhamaka is satisfying
Dhamaka, in a way, sets a record of its own for the way the film was shot in 10 days using multiple cameras. The fabulous camera work capturing the intensity of scenes and emotions of characters explains the nitty-gritty and process that Madhvani and the team followed.
Even though Dhamaka isn’t a film high on music but its track Kya Khoya Paaya during the climax, pierces through your heart and stays with you for long, as it beautifully sums up the entire film. If you like thrillers, Dhamaka won’t disappoint you and Kartik Aaryan definitely impresses with his never-seen-before avatar and convincing performance.