Dhaam Dhoom

The protagonist of many of Alfred Hitchcock's most famous films was an innocent man who was wrongly accused and went on the run while trying to clear his name. Director Jeeva picks a similar protagonist for Dhaam Dhoom, his first foray into the action genre. Both the action and the romance portions of the film are handled competently, with some notable highpoints. But the result of putting them together isn't as satisfying and so the film seems like its less than the sum of its parts.

A noted cinematographer, Jeeva graduated to direction with the wonderful 12B, a refreshing film that handled the unique subject of parallel timelines. Jeeva guided the potentially confusing story with a confident, firm hand and made us sit up and take notice. His second film Ullam Ketkume was a long time coming as it ran into a host of problems but luck favored him when it released since Arya and Asin, for whom Ullam Ketkume was the debut film, had already become famous due to other releases. The film itself was a cute college romance, one of the few good films in that genre, and went on to become a hit. His last film Unnaale Unnaale was again a romance and though it was too talky and not very practical, it caught the fancy of the youth and became a hit. Dhaam Dhoom's action portions are proof that Jeeva was as adept at filming action as he was at handling romance and the director, who passed away due to a cardiac arrest as he was shooting Dhaam Dhoom will definitely be missed.

Gautham('Jayam' Ravi), a doctor, is one of only five doctors selected by the Government to attend a medical conference in Moscow, Russia. Gautham isn't too enthusiastic about traveling since his wedding with Shenba(Kangana Ranaut) is just a few days away but his family doesn't want him to miss the opportunity and sends him on his way. Gautham runs into a model Anna at the airport and then again at a nightclub a few days later. He brings her back to his hotel room since she is too drunk and passes out too. A rude shock awaits him in the morning as Anna is found dead and he is arrested by the police. As he is charged and sent to Jail, an officer(Jayaram) from the Indian embassy and Aparna(Lakshmi Rai), a lawyer, are the only two people on his side.

The film is primarily about Ravi's troubles in Russia and these segments are bookended by flashbacks that detail the progress of his romance with Kangana. This structure prevents the suspense from being ratcheted up to the level necessary to pull us in. Every time we become caught up in Ravi's situation, the film lightens things by harking back to his romance. The romance isn't bad. Kangana is an interesting character and her encounters with Ravi are sweet. But it lacks excitement(since Ravi and Kangana are getting married, we know how its gonna end!) and has no impact on Ravi's predicament in Russia. So the segments feel like speedbreakers to the film's flow.

Russia provides a fresh setting for the action and the lack of English makes even basic communication impossible. So it becomes easy to sympathize with Ravi. The proceedings aren't as polished(its funny when a conference attended by supposedly leading doctors kicks off with one of them talking about blood mismatch during a transplant) or realistic(our involvement with Ravi is greatly damaged when he walks around Moscow without any problem while on the run) as we'd like. But it helps that there are no unbelievable stunts or fight sequences. Fights are restricted to small scuffles and chases, two of which are spectacularly filmed and get the adrenaline flowing.

We know right at the beginning that Ravi is not going to be on the run the whole time and will swing into action to clear his name. So the fact that it happens is no surprise but the way things proceed after that is. Things plop into place too easily and the plot points used to clear things are simplistic and convenient.

'Jayam' Ravi, who has played loverboy roles so far, slips comfortably into the action role. Kangana feels a little out-of-place in the village setting and the role doesn't stretch her much either. Lakshmi Rai was obviously brought in to provide Ravi a jodi during his time in Russia. She does little lawyering and spends more time running around with him. Jayaram tones down the comedy but still doesn't look too comfortable in his role. Harris Jayaraj comes up with another blockbuster soundtrack for Jeeva, who films them with his usual visual flair. Pudhu Pudhu... looks like a fun and flashy music video and has some nice touches, like the passers-by who launch into those Ha Ha interludes. Thikku Thikku... catches the eye with the bright and flashy lights in the nightclub. Aazhiyile... is sensually picturized with the confines of a car while Anbe Ennanbe... takes place in some gorgeous locales.