Cast: John Abraham, Varun Dhawan, Jacqueline Fernandes, Saqib Saleem, Akshaye Khanna

Rating: 1.5/5

There are some filmmakers who honestly attempt to make a good, entertaining action film and then there are some who try and make something like Dishoom. It is quite difficult to understand and digest the fact that experienced film makers work for months together and deliver a film which is “so-not-worthy.”

It-so-happens that India’s top cricketer – Viraj (Saqib Saleem), is kidnapped one fine day, in the UAE, ahead of an India-Pakistan cricket finale. This message reaches the Indian government as a video, who soon appoint Kabir (John Abraham), the ‘super cop’ to take charge of the case and order him to find Viraj with the help of UAE’s police force.  He is immediately flown down and is assisted by Junaid (Varun Dhawan), a Dubai-based Indian cop who is desperate to prove himself worthy as an officer. They start the hunt and arrest Ishika (Jacqueline Fernandez) who apparently helps them find the kidnapper (Rahul Dev) and the mastermind behind the plan, Wagah (Akshaye Khanna). What unfolds in the rest of the film is how the trio, Kabir-Junaid-Ishika find Wagah and free Viraj, few hours before the final match.

The only ones to be appreciated in the film are Varun Dhawan and Saqib Saleem (to-an-extent). Varun tries to please the audience with Junaid’s witty charm. He is ‘kind of’ hilarious and tries to deliver few funny moments. Besides that, his expressions and emotions strongly sell his character. On the other hand, Saqib is convincing enough as a cricketer. Akshaye Khanna is just about okay. We have watching him after a long time, and he doesn’t make a mark as his comeback.

There is much room for sensibility in the film. The big problem throughout the movie is John Abraham. While he is supposed to be a serious, fierce cop, Kabir comes across as one who fails to impress. From being a ‘chor’ in Dhoom where he was at least attempting to act, John here as a ‘cop’ is nothing but a heavy body devoid of expressions. But he is not the only one to be blamed. Accompanying him throughout the movie, with no actions and expressions are Jacqueline Fernandes and Nargis Fakhri. Atleast the former had a role to play, but I do not understand why Nargis was even casted in the film, for merely few scenes, which yet again she failed to impress. The same applies to Akshay Kumar. There was no need for a gay character or that patch of the film.

While the thought is of making an action movie, the outcome is totally different. Almost everything from the plot to cast, dialogues and music is unlikeable. The movie initially has a lot of resemblance to Dhoom but later one realises that the former was far more entertaining than this film.  There are very few funny moments but they have been used and heard several times before. Overall, the makers could have made the film entertaining but unfortunately, it turns out that Dishoom is nothing but a joke.