Dhoom 2


Dhoom 2 is a 2006 Indian Hindi-language action thriller film directed by Sanjay Gadhvi and produced by Aditya Chopra and Yash Chopra at an estimated budget of under the Yash Raj Films banner. The film stars Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Uday Chopra and Bipasha Basu in the lead roles. Dhoom 2 was shot primarily in India, Durban and Rio de Janeiro, becoming the first major Hindi film to be shot in Brazil. It is the second installment in the Dhoom series. Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra reprise their roles as buddy cops Jai Dixit and Ali Khan, respectively. The distributor, Yash Raj Films, promoted the film by forging associations with Pepe Jeans and Coca-Cola. It premiered on 24 November 2006 in India, where it received the widest release in Indian cinema history with over 1800 prints. It was dubbed simultaneously in Tamil as well as in Telugu. Singer Vijay Prakash dubbed for ACP Jai Dixit in Tamil.
Dhoom 2 was generally well received by critics and audiences; it was accepted well by children and adults. It became the highest-grossing Indian film of 2006 and was the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time as well at the time of its release. It is the seventh highest-grossing Bollywood film in overseas markets. After grossing over, Dhoom 2 was elevated to a "blockbuster" rating on Box Office India. It received an 83% approval rating among critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics praised Dhoom 2 for its exotic locales and elaborate action sequences. However, there was an appeal by the Mumbai city police commissioner to censor the fast-paced rash driving scenes due to fears that it would inspire Indian youths to ride their motorcycles rashly, resulting in an increase in the number of road accidents. A sequel titled Dhoom 3 was released on 20 December 2013, which also went on to become the fifth-highest-grossing Bollywood film to date, and the highest-grossing Bollywood film of all time as well at the time of its release.

Plot

The film opens in the Namib Desert. Mr. A skydives onto a train that is carrying the Queen. He steals her crown by disguising himself as the Queen, beats her guards easily, and escapes.
Newly promoted officer Ali Akbar Khan and ACP Jai Dixit are introduced to Shonali Bose, a special officer assigned to investigate Mr. A's case, who also happens to be a former classmate of Jai. After the initial investigation, Dixit analyses the underlying trend in Mr. A's heists. He concludes that the theft will follow in one of two famous Mumbai city museums.
When Dixit realizes that the artifact in the museum he is guarding happens to be imperfect, he rushes to the other museum, where a disguised Mr. A steals a rare diamond and escapes. While he is about to catch a flight, Mr. A sees on the TV that someone else claiming to be himself, challenges the police, saying that he will steal an ancient warrior sword. In response, Dixit, Bose, and Khan enforce a strict guard at the location of the sword. At night, Mr. A meets the real thief, the one who made the claim on TV, in the room that holds the sword. The police are alerted, but they manage to steal the sword, Shonali is injured in the confrontation and they manage to escape. The impersonator turns out to be Sunehri, a woman who idolises Mr. A; Sunehri convinces Mr. A to form an alliance but he turns her down. Later, after a game of basketball between the two, he finally agrees to work together.
In Rio de Janeiro, Mr. A and Sunehri plan their next heist. As Dixit's analysis has named Rio the location of Mr. A's next heist, Jai and Ali travel to the city. There they meet Monali, Shonali's twin sister, who only speaks English, and Ali immediately falls for her.
Later Sunehri meets with Jai to discuss how things are going between her and Mr. A, revealing that they are working together, and Jai is using her by ensuring her freedom from prison. To get close to Mr. A and find out what his next plan is, they can catch and arrest him, but Sunehri begins to have her doubts.
Meanwhile, the relationship between Mr. A and Sunehri evolves into romance and he unveils his real identity, Aryan, to her. However, during the Rio Carnival, disguised as one of the entertainers, he sees Sunehri and Jai together and realizes that Sunehri has been working undercover for Jai. The next day, Aryan forces Sunehri to play a game of Russian roulette. Sunehri cries and refuses to shoot him, but Aryan forces her to play. After six attempted shots, neither is killed, because Aryan never loaded the gun. Sunehri admits she betrayed Aryan and confesses her love for him. In their final heist, Aryan and Sunehri successfully steal some early Lydian coins while disguised as performing dwarfs. With the heist successfully pulled off, Jai realises that he has been betrayed and she called him on phone to confirm that she wants to stay with Aryan and does not wish to remain allied with Jai, forcing Jai and Ali to go after them. After the chase, all of them end up on the top of a waterfall, where Ali catches Sunehri. Sunehri, despite conveying her feelings for Aryan, shoots him. Aryan falls from the waterfall, after which Jai allows Sunehri to go free.
Six months later, it is revealed that Aryan survived and has opened a restaurant in the Fiji islands with Sunehri. Jai meets Aryan and Sunehri at the restaurant and states that despite their crimes, he does not wish to imprison the couple. Aryan tells him where all the stolen artifacts can be found via a memory stick. Jai is aware of the couple's feelings towards each other but warns them against returning to their life of crime.
After leaving, Jai receives a phone call, and informs Ali that they should be heading back to India for their next case, which is shown on Dhoom 3.

Cast

Development

The Dhoom series began with the release of Dhoom in 2004. The film became a commercial box office hit and received generally positive reviews from audiences, but not so much from critics. As a result, producer Yash Chopra announced plans for a sequel, titled Dhoom 2: Back in Action. John Abraham, portrayer of Kabir Sharma, the villain of the predecessor, was eliminated from the sequel because Chopra did not want Dhoom 2 to repeat the stories featured in its predecessor. Instead, Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai were introduced into the franchise as the sequel's main villains. Aishwarya Rai's character was summarised as Catwoman, a female fictional comic book femme fatale or anti-hero. Rai stated, "All I can tell you is it would be nothing like anything you've seen me do before." Producer Aditya Chopra told Rai to lose weight after she gained it for her role in 2004's Bride & Prejudice. Yash Chopra stated, "But yes, the role does require Aishwarya to convey oodles of sensuality. She has asked for a couple of months to get into shape. We are very clear about every character in every script and what's required of the actors. Before Dhoom, Esha Deol was specifically briefed about the look and the attitude she needed to cultivate. She readily agreed, and look at what Dhoom did to her career!" Roshan also lost twelve pounds of weight at Aditya Chopra's request. With the exception of Abraham and Esha Deol, all of the other main actors in Dhoom were hired again for Dhoom 2.

Filming

Dhoom 2 was filmed in Mumbai, Namibia, Durban, and Rio de Janeiro,, making it the first Bollywood movie to be shot in Brazil. In total, production lasted eighteen months and cost of. To ensure the sequel would be different from the original, which became famous for its brash motorcycle stunts, director Sanjay Gadhvi included very few motorcycles in Dhoom 2. Nonetheless, Roshan's role required him to perform several dangerous stunts involving activities such as roller-blading, sand boarding and snow boarding.
Dhoom 2 made extensive use of visual effects, which were filmed at Yash Raj Studios. While shooting at Yash Raj Studios, the film suffered from a flood that destroyed the studio sets and delayed production. Fight and action sequences were storyboarded before being shown to Gadhvi and Allan Amin, who would make changes. The scenes were then sketched, given "proper shot list", and shared with Tata Elxsi, who oversaw the pre-visualization of the sequences. Several scenes were filmed with the use of green screen and computer-generated imagery. For example, the stunts Roshan's performed on a train in the Namib Desert used green screen; after Roshan recorded the stunts on a set, Gadhvi traveled to the desert to film the background. Other stunts were performed by stuntmen whose faces were later digitally exchanged with the actors'.
The bullet effects and Hrithik's gadgets and mechanical arm were also computer-generated. The scene involving Abhishek Bachchan coming out of a lake using a jet ski was created using a green screen. The stunt came out at 90 degrees, but Sanjay Gadhvi wanted a 60 degrees jump. So, it was shot with a Super 35, and hence the angle could be changed. Gandhvi discussed the use of technology in an interview:

Soundtrack

The soundtrack of Dhoom 2 was recorded at YRF Studios. The music was composed by Pritam with background score by Salim-Sulaiman. The lyrics were penned by Sameer except "Dhoom Again" by Asif Ali Beg and "Crazy Kiya Re — Remix" was remixed by Bunty Rajput. Although most of the song's lyrics are primarily written in Hindi with some English, "Dhoom Again" is almost entirely in English. The soundtrack pulled average reviews from critics but higher praise from the public. It became the best selling Bollywood soundtrack of the year.

Release

Dhoom 2's teaser trailer was released with Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna which released on 11 August 2006.
Dhoom 2 was released on 24 November 2006 in India, where it received the widest release in Indian cinema history at the time with over 1800 prints, including 250 digital copies. Some locations raised ticket prices for the film.
It was promoted with several tie-ins. Coca-Cola promoted the film as "Coke Uthale, Dhoom Machale". India's video game producing company FXLabs developed a game based on the film. Pepe Jeans sold Dhoom 2-related garments, including shirts, jeans, bandannas, caps, and metal accessories. Chetan Shah, the country head of Pepe Jeans London, stated: "Pepe Jeans is tremendously excited to be associated with the most awaited movie of the year Dhoom:2. The incredible starcast of Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu and Uday Chopra and the exciting and explosive content of the movie encapsulates everything that the Pepe Jeans brand stands for- young, cool, trendy, hip, fashionable and innovative. While promoting Dhoom 2, Hrithik Roshan admitted feeling foolish over his past statements about his co-star Aishwarya Rai being a "pretty face with no talent" after they worked together for the first time in Dhoom 2, where they became one of the most successful onscreen pairs in Bollywood that also met in other films such as Jodhaa Akbar and Guzaarish.

Legal issues

The city of Mumbai's police commissioner called for censoring of the fast-paced rash driving scenes in the film due to fears that it would inspire Indian youths to ride their motorcycles rashly, resulting in an increase in the number of road accidents. Unlike the original, the robberies depicted in Dhoom 2 were not inspired by any real-life crimes. Dhoom 2, allegedly inspired the robbery of a man by his nephew, who wore clothing similar to Hrithik's in the film while committing the crime.

Box office

In India, Dhoom 2 broke several box-office records, mainly those for opening day and opening weekend grosses, including a first week of in Mumbai and for all of India. In Mumbai, distributors received a profit of on the first week's business. Box Office India awarded it a "blockbuster" rating after the film netted in India and grossed worldwide on a budget of. It is currently the 13th highest-grossing film in India.
Dhoom 2 grossed US$979,000 in North America in 63 theatres over its three-day opening weekend, becoming the third largest opening weekend for a Bollywood film in North America. Overall, it was the seventeenth ranked film at the American box office. Box Office Mojo reports it earned a total of $2,643,586 inside the United States and a total of $29,752,841 in other countries, including India. In Dubai, it achieved the highest first day opening for a Bollywood film.
Dhoom 2 ranked sixth among opening weekends for international films at the United Kingdom box office with a gross of £8,151. At the Australian box office, it had the twelfth highest opening and collected approximately A$176,462. It grossed approximately NZ $51,453 on five screens in New Zealand. Dhoom 2 is estimated to have grossed US$8,750,000 total in the overseas markets.

Reception

India

In India, the film received mostly positive reviews from critics. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave 4.5 out of 5 stars, reporting "On the whole, Dhoom 2 is a winner all the way. For Yash Raj, who've not only produced but also distributed the film, Dhoom 2 should emerge as one of the biggest hits of their career." Rajesh Karkera of Rediff gave it three and a half stars out of five, calling it "A complete roller-coaster ride which left me completely enthralled and exhausted. Sure, there are faults when you stop to think rationally. But that does not stop you from being dazzled by the film." Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave it a three star rating, saying that Dhoom 2 is without doubt better than its predecessor, and that Hrithik Roshan is the heart and soul of the film. Vijay Venkataramanan of Planet Bollywood gave it seven out of ten stars; while complaining about flaws in the plot and Aishwarya Rai’s performance, he still called it a good adrenaline-pumping entertainer.

International

Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes reported 83% of six critics were positive and gave it a "fresh" certificate. Variety commented, "Loaded with enough attitude, Bollywood starpower and buff bodies to stop a speeding train, Dhoom 2 has been doing humongous biz since its November 24 worldwide opening, and provides adequate proof that Yash Raj Films is good for more than just family-oriented comedy-dramas."
Rachel Saltz of The New York Times reviewed, "The pleasure principle is palpable in the giddy, slick Dhoom 2, a satisfying example of the new, thoroughly modern Bollywood. It may represent the newfangled Bollywood, but old-fashioned star power is what animates and elevates it above its occasional narrative flaws and longueurs." Film Journal Internationals Ethan Alter said, "Dhoom 2 has all of the benefits of a big-budget Bollywood production: big-name stars, exotic locales, well-produced musical numbers and elaborate action sequences. It makes no lasting contributions to world cinema, but if two-and-a-half hours of disposable entertainment are all you're after, you could do far worse." L.A. Weeklys David Chute stated the film was, "A movie meal as satisfying as this one can make you feel that nothing else matters." Jaspreet Pandohar of the BBC gave it a two-star rating, writing "By roping in acclaimed action director Alan Amin to take care of the thrills and spills, you'd expect Gadhvi to have spent time crafting out a sophisticated storyline instead of simply sending his cast on a cat-and-mouse chase around the globe. It's only Roshan's charismatic performance as the criminal mastermind, and the sizzling chemistry he shares with Rai's sassy cohort, that rescues this adventure from becoming an elongated tourism commercial." Manish Gajjar, Bollywood Correspondent for BBC Shropshire said, "With its high-powered action sequences matching Hollywood standards, Dhoom 2 is a winner all the way at the box office!"

Accolades

Dhoom 2 was nominated for several awards that year, but only picked up a few of the major ones. At the Filmfare Awards, Hrithik Roshan won the Best Actor, out of five total nominations for the film. At the International Indian Film Academy Awards, the film won for Best Makeup and the Best Costume Design. At the Stardust Awards, Aishwarya Rai won Star of the Year – Female and director Sanjay Gadhvi won the Hottest Young Film Maker title.
At the 2007 MTV India Style Awards, Dhoom 2 swept nearly all of the movie awards, winning the following:
Dhoom 2 was released in DVD format on February 2007. It was distributed by Yash Raj Films in all regions as a two-disc set and for region 1 as a single-disc set. It was released on Blu-ray in December 2009.
The film is also noteworthy because its soundtrack is the first in Indian cinema to be released in DVD-Audio in addition to other audio formats. The tracks have been mixed in London in 5.1 Surround Sound and audiophiles can choose the format from the audio menu. Four bonus tracks from other films are included, and the lyrics of all 10 tracks can be viewed on-screen while the music is playing, enabling karaoke sing-along.