FILM INTERVIEW: CAST OF ‘DOUBLE DHAMAAL’

 

Four years after the original cast of Dhamaal had audiences splitting their pants in laughter, the franchise returns for another healthy heaping of laughs and shenanigans. Produced by Reliance Entertainment and Maruti International, Double Dhamaal picks up right where the first movie ended, with Mr. Dutt entering the foray as the film’s new nemesis.

 

Shot in Mumbai, Hong Kong, and Mauritius on a budget of about Rs.35 Crore, Double Dhamaal has the box office all to itself this week. Some of the cast shared their thoughts of what Hindi film fans can expect from the riotous comedy featuring Ms. Sherawat in the item song “Oye Oye.”

 

Speaking of Ms. Sherawat, the Bollywood Buxom told the Indian press she is not too fond of the industry’s Censor Board.

 

“The Censor Board, with its sharp knife, has always been after all my films since the time I made a debut with Murder,” Ms. Sherawat told the press. “But it does not matter now. Censor is like a cancer. I will continue to do my job, and the Board needs to do theirs.”

 

Helping Double Dhamaal overcome the cancerous oversight committee that is the Indian Censor Board is Mr. Jaffery, the comedian/actor/dancer who based the portrayal of his character upon Laurel of the famed Laurel & Hardy duo.

 

“I brought whatever I could to the table for my character. I took a little reference from Laurel. I mixed all that and made this character," Mr. Jaffery told the media.

 

Helping add to the comedy is Mr. Warsi, who said Double Dhamaal is not your everyday Bollywood flick.

 

“From the Dhamaal series, you expect a different world all together. The comedy here is also different from the kind that you see in Bollywood. In fact, when compared to my own comedy franchises, like Golmaal or Munnabhai, this one is poles apart,” Mr. Warsi said. “It is set in a screwball (genre of comedy) kind of zone. You would see quite a lot of banana peel humor here. It is the kind of film that would appeal to the kids, but would also make adults laugh out loud.”

 

Mr. Warsi added that the jokes go beyond the film, as both he and the cast have been plotting tricks against Mr. Dutt, coincidentally the film’s villain.

 

“This time too, it’s money (that) is the focal point of all issues. To our horror, we realize that Sanjay is now absolutely loaded. We wonder how come he got so much money, and it turns out it is our own money that he has run away with,” Mr. Warsi, who also starred in Ishqiya and Golmaal 3, told the media. “Now it’s the mission of our life to get all of it back.”

 

He added that part of what separates actors such as himself from the likes of Mr. Dutt is the way they choose their films. While he acknowledges the old guard of Bollywood has definitely earned its keep as top-rated film stars, nowadays, actors are more selective and independently minded.

 

Mr. Warsi thinks that is a great thing.

 

“I don’t really care about how things ‘must’ be done. If someone tells me that ‘this is how you have to do things,’ I may not really give it all much consideration,” he candidly told a reporter. “I don’t care if some time goes by before I sign a new film. I do keep hearing scripts, but I do only those films which I really like. I have now said okay to Zila Ghaziabad, Jolly LLB, and Ishqiya 2. Moreover, for next year, too, I am planning a few more films.”

 

While his plans are in motion for the mid-term and long-range future, both he and his fellow co-stars hope Bollywood fans will make it their short-term goals to watch Double Dhamaal this weekend.