Review of Dhoom 3 (2013) by Jeffrey C — 15 Nov 2018

Dhoom 3, the third installment of the Dhoom series is an action thriller with a sense of comedy. It stars Aamir Khan as the antagonist and the main character. The film also features Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra as the film's protagonists. This introduces an interesting dynamic where the viewer is unsure whether to root for the main character or the "good guys". Dhoom 3 begins with a young Sahir selling his belongings for a measly 25 cents. We learn that he is doing everything he can to try to help his beloved father pay off his bank loans to keep his circus open. After performing a marvelous magic routine in front of the Chicago bankers, they still decide to shut down the circus, leading to Sahir and Samar's father shooting himself in front of them. This causes Sahir and Samar to swear vengeance upon the Chicago bank which sets up the rest of the film. The film has multiple exciting chase scenes which clearly shows its modern release date along with a couple of surprising plot twists. While at times the chase scenes were epic and showcased the development of Bollywood technology, they also dragged on too long. Even though in the end the protagonists win, the viewer is left with a sad, empty feeling which just exemplifies how the film set up the villain to be the beloved main character.

Although this is a more modern Bollywood film, it still incorporates many traditional Bollywood values into its frame. The classic value of family is the catalyst for the whole film as Sahir and Samar base all their actions to get revenge for their father's death. Not only this, but later in the film, the detectives aimed to ruin Samar's plan by pitting his twin brother against him. Beyond the theme of just family values, there is also a clear 'angry young man' in Sahir. At times the film is so enjoyable that the viewer forgets that Sahir is actually committing crimes, regardless of whether it's for his father or not. He is willing to do whatever it takes to ruin the bank that shut down his father's circus.

This film is oddly familiar to Deewaar in the way that Vijay embodies the 'angry young man' role and bases his criminal actions to benefit his family. There are also many action scenes in both films that feature the 'angry young man'. As Sumita Dasgupta writes in "The Birth of Tragedy", "Vijay will not mend his ways. He has taken charge of the world and he cannot go back because for him to return would mean going back to his past. Vijay has risen from the past not to go back into it but to go beyond it" (19). Sahir, similar to Vijay, is looking to forge onwards and create a new more equal future rather than bring up the past. The defining difference between these two films is the presence of a mother which Sahir lacks. While love does play a slight role in this film, it does not play nearly as large of a part as it would in most Bollywood films. This is not because of its newer theme however. Other films released in 2013 such as Chennai Express show that love still plays a major role in most Bollywood films.