Dhaam Dhoom Review

The first thing that has to be said about 'Dhaam Dhoom' is that the man who envisioned the project and started making things happen - master cinematographer and director Jeeva would have been a mighty proud man if he had lived to see the release of the film. Cinematography, Art Direction and the Background Score truly comply to international standards and blend perfectly well with the mood of the film.

The story of 'Dhaam Dhoom' heavily inspired from the 1997 Richard Gere film 'Red Corner' keeps the audience engrossed right from the outset. Stunning visuals of ravishing Russia, the earthly beauty of India and the choice of characters have been meticulously showcased thereby creating the right foil for the thriller elements of the film. Jeeva has been a big name when it came to highlighting emotions of young people in a trendy way. This is the first and sadly the last where he has ventured to make a thriller. 'Jayam' Ravi is probably the perfect choice to play the character of a man 'hunted' by Russian law and has to 'hunt' in order to prove his innocence. The onscreen chemistry between 'Jayam' Ravi and Kangana Ranaut is telling and works wonders for the film. Kojernikova Maria, a Russian actress, Lakshmi Rai and Jayaram fit into their characters with ease and style.

Gautham Subramanium ('Jayam' Ravi), a brilliant medical practitioner is engaged to his sweetheart Shenba (Kangana Ranaut) in a village and is all set to marry her in a matter of days when a prestigious call to represent the nation beckons him. A medical convention is to happen in Russia for a week and a few Indian doctors travel to take part in it. Once in Russia, Gautham bumps into a seductive Russian girl, Anna (Kojernikova Maria) who has a mysterious nature about her. After a brief rendez-vous in a night club the two end up in Gautham's place and the next morning dawns as a shocker to the young Indian. Anna is found dead and the police arrest Gautham on charges of murder. Completely bewildered by the sudden happenings and not understanding what the representatives of the law speak, a Russian based Indian attorney named Aarthi (Lakshmi Rai) is appointed to represent his cause. But then our protagonist gets an opportunity to escape from the clutches of the police and decides to unravel the truth with the help of Aarthi. An employee of the Indian Embassy in Russia, played by Jayaram is also sympathetic to the cause. To add a bit of romance-oriented confusion Aarthi begins to drift towards Gautham in spite of danger lurking all around.

Gautham's and the blushing bride-to-be Shenba's family wait for the return of the groom but then they get to know the dastardly events that had happened in Russia through television news broadcast.

The story has been narrated in such a way that montage sequences narrate blossoming love and dreamy scenes with immaculate hopes and then the stark reality of the protagonist being a fugitive sets in.

Harris Jayaraj's songs are pleasant to hear with 'Anbe En Anbe' taking center stage. The background score simply stuns audiences and has traces of the Hitchcockian style of tension building. Certain scenes accompany the 'Pshcho' kind of tension music and the use of traditional Indian instruments accompanying their western counterparts comes out in a breathtaking fashion.

When it comes to cinematography, the word is AWESOME. Manikandan, Rajasekhar and Jeeva himself (for some song sequences) have come out with tantalizingly creative stuff. The awesome threesome will have to thank Thotta Tharani for his brilliant art and design work.  A picture they say is worth a thousand words. With each frame of the film having come out in such a pleasing way the output has semblances of poetic expressions.

Stunts have been innovatively done expect for a few rope-oriented jumps and 'Jayam' Ravi's body language and poise has been excellent. He has all the making of becoming a very successful action hero.

The film however runs out of momentum especially around the time the protagonist finds out the real culprit behind his being framed. On the whole, interest levels are sure to be maintained.

The technical brilliance and intensity the script carries has shaped out to be a true tribute to Jeeva. The hard work meted out after the director's demise is clearly showing. Good work from a good team.