"Hey, phir dekh raha hain… Aaj aakh senkh raha, kal haath senkhega. Aaj dheel chod raha hain, kal khud hi rokega. Aaj mere liye chair kheench raha hain, kal meri skirt kheenchega." These poetic words begin the rehashed version of the iconic classic Dum Maaro Dum from Rohan Sippy’s latest of the same name. Since the music of the film is composed by de-composer, copy king, Pritam, it must’ve been a delight for him to officially do a cover of this classic pothead song, having had a resume filled with unofficial rip-offs. The song, despite the lyrics, will manage to become a hit with clubs everywhere as the chords of the original are hands down, legendary. And Deepika grooving in her shreds-for-a-skirt will only add value to the song. Touché to sleaze appeal!
Apart from the song, a lot of people are very hopeful about Dum Maaro Dum as the movie is one of the big releases after the obvious off-season in Bollywood, courtesy the cricket World Cup. Also, box office speculators are willing to bet their buck on the Rohan Sippy-Abhishek Bachchan combo stating that it has done wonders in the past (stop bluffing!). And this film’s story and songs have been penned by Shridhar Raghavan (not to be mistaken for Sriram Raghavan) whose last writing credit was Chandni Chowk to China (distributers from both these places are still hunting for him).
The film’s cast includes Abhishek Bachchan, accompanied by a character-specific moustache (I have a mooch therefore I am?), spouting cheesy lines like, “Main sirf duty mein peeta hoon. Apne municipality bhaiyon se seekha hoon. Hamesha do-teen laga kar hi gutter mein ghuste hain.” Who’s doing Sreedhar’s appraisal again? Also, the film’s lead actress, Bipasha Basu hasn’t had a hit or a memorable or even a substantial role in the last few years. So no one’s betting on her. The film’s only bankable star would then be Prateik Babbar who has garnered a lot of respect after his critically-acclaimed performance in Dhobi Ghaat. But how many actors get enough screen space in a movie that stars junior B?
To the film’s credit, the editing looks razor sharp but then most films today are cut very well. And if cheesy one-lines and the wannabe mafioso feel have slipped through into the promos, even that department’s performance needs to be questioned. Yet, the release date of April 22 2011, is still some time away. Perhaps, our naïve multiplex junkies will get wiser with the next batch of promos hitting the screens. If not, Hare Krishna and Hare Ram save them!