Dhoom 3 Breaks All Bollywood Movie Records, Gives You Some Dumb Entertainment

It was released, it was watched and it delivered some frenzied results. That is good enough for many, especially those who judge a film’s merit by box office collections. Not that we have got anything against big moolah – the kind of money this third instalment of the Dhoom series has earned till Day 4, both in India and abroad.

Directed by Vijay Krishna Acharya and produced by Aditya Chopra, the high voltage action thriller (starring Aamir Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Katrina Kaif and Uday Chopra) has sailed into the Rs 100 crore club just after the opening weekend and grossed around Rs 107 crore at home, according to industry estimates. That’s definitely better than Hrithik Roshan-Priyanka Chopra starrer Krrish 3, which could enter the coveted club after 4 days. Total collections during the first weekend stood at Rs 170 crore-plus, with nearly Rs 63 crore from overseas markets. And that’s a record for any Bollywood movie. Now it is only a matter of time before it surpasses the lifetime grossing of Krrish 3 (Rs 270 crore) or Chennai Express (Rs 409 crore).

Dhoom 3 has also raced past the opening day record of Chennai Express, a Shah Rukh Khan-Deepika Padukone starrer that bagged around Rs 33.12 crore on the first day. In contrast, Aamir’s flick has collected a little more than Rs 36 crore. Its performance is equally impressive after Day 4 (December 23, 2013) and the movie has grossed an estimated total of Rs 127 crore in the domestic market.

In North America, too, Dhoom 3 has debuted to a record-breaking opening weekend, collecting Rs 21.26 crore nett ($3.4 million) across 236 theatres – the biggest opening of all time for a Bollywood movie. In contrast, Chennai Express collected Rs 14.82 crore ($2.4 million) from 196 screens in America and Canada in its opening weekend. So Dhoom 3 has beaten its both records in screen count and collection.

It has an impressive performance in other overseas markets as well. The movie has collected Rs 9.18 crore nett (£906,875) from 97 screens (fewer number of screens than Chennai Express) in the UK and Rs 3.85 crore nett (A$695,782) from 30 screens in Australia in the first weekend. While Dhoom 3 has collected Rs 1.11 crore nett (NZ$ 217,923) from 19 screens in New Zealand and Rs 3.9 crore nett in Pakistan the first weekend, Chennai Express gathered Rs 60.05 lakh (NZ$1,23,478) from 10 screens in NZ and Rs 1.84 crore in Pakistan for that span.

There is yet another record associated with Dhoom 3. It has reportedly grabbed the biggest number of screens this time – around 4,500 in India and 750 screens overseas. The previous record was held by Chennai Express (3,700 screens at home and 700 screens abroad).

If all these numbers have numbed you a bit, let’s look at the storyline for a change. One can easily see it’s loaded with populist fare – bikes, babes (who can forget Katrina’s high-flying acrobatics and tantalising dances), exotic locations, great action and fascinating stunts. To top it all, there’s the muscle-flexing Aamir playing Sahir the baddie and looting Chicago banks without leaving any clue except a smiling clown face and a Hindi message (with help from Katrina or Aaliya, of course) while no-nonsense cop ACP Jai Dixit (Abhishek) and his bumbling sidekick Ali Akbar (Uday Chopra) are back in action to catch a thief.

We are also impressed by the superb cinematography and great technical specs, but in spite of the star power and the sleek treatment, this movie is painfully predictable and incredibly unimaginative. One actually misses the subtle fun and the intriguing crime-tracking mechanisms of Dhoom 2 here but then, this is the age-old Bollywood wine of betrayal-revenge-retribution, served in a new avatar. As Aparna Mudi of Zee News says – Dhoom 3 manages to deliver a typically Bollywood revenge saga in a modern way.

Sarita A Tanwar of Daily News and Analysis gives it 4 stars and says, “Welcome to the world of jaw-dropping action and stunts never seen before on Hindi screen. Dhoom 3 redefines the word ‘entertainment’ in the grandest way possible.”

That is true, in a way, but the flick has drawn flak for its many shortcomings. Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN has given the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and stated, “Dhoom 3 is let down by a convenient script and its inability to deliver solid entertainment.” However, it’s Raja Sen of Rediff.com who drives the point home. He has given it 1.5 out of 5 stars and written, “Dhoom 3 is a children’s film made for children who’ve never seen a film.” And we cannot agree more. You will find loads of fascinating things in Dhoom 3, but just one thing is lacking – good cinema.

With input from Agencies.
Image: Indiatimes