Dus Review

One walks into a multiplex expecting 'Dus' to be an ideal popcorn entertainer with an ample share of thrills, action, excellent music and tons loads of attitude that would make for an ideal weekend watch. Presence of Sanjay Dutt and Sunil Shetty with current favorite Abhishek Bachchan teaming up with hyperactive Zayed Khan are only some of the factors that make you settle down. The lights go off, the camera is on, and title song 'Dus Bahane' begins! A perfect start, one wouldn't have imagined a better kickoff to one of the most awaited movies of the year.

But does the momentum continue the entire duration? Do the thrills stay on till the very end? Does 'Dus' sound convincing as an overall product? Is it going to be an addition to movies belonging to a similar genre of execution [Kaante, Qayamat, Musafir]. Answer to all these questions is Yes - but only partly! The movie that could have been a smash hit of the year begins extraordinarily well but tables turn completely towards the last two reels [20 mins] when the movie ends on an unconvincing note. Also those who have seen Hollywood's 'The Usual Suspects' would easily catch the prime twist in the tale in first 30 mins. itself, well in advance by an hour.

To be fair to the makers, the plot is the USP of the movie. Intrigue, international terrorists group, 'hawala' rackets, and an Anti Terrorist Cell [ATC] whose mission is to thwart an international conspiracy that threatens to put the 25000 lives on stake. There have been a few movies like this before but none at such a grand scale as 'Dus'. Opening of the movie very well establishes the nexus of various groups involved in the conspiracy with countries like Algeria, Canada and India being the key contributors. Special attention is given to introducing each and every character at the very beginning, especially the ATC members Sanjay Dutt, Abhishek Bachchan, Zayed Khan and Shilpa Shetty.

Director Anubhav Sinha [Tum Bin, Aapko Pehle Bhi Kahi Dekha Hai] makes the best use of the high-end technology and comes with extraordinary camerawork and shot execution. There are number of sequences that never fail to amaze with the narrative getting thicker with every passing moment. Another noticeable factor is that scenes do not always appear in a linear, straightforward, ready to comprehend manner, hence keeping the surprise/shock element in place.

The movie dips a bit in the first half at places, especially when it deviates from the plot and starts touching upon Zayed-Dia, Sunil-Raima Sen, Abhishek-Esha relationship. While one is content with the with flying cars, high speed chases, best ever aerial shots and brisk pace, such emotional angles come as a major distraction. But to the credit of Anubhav Sinha, he brings the story back on track in quick time.

Second half begins well too with Pankaj Kapur's character as a 'hawala kingpin' for international terrorist Jaamwal [Gulshan Grover - designed on Osama Bin Laden] starts showing various shades. Twists and turns do come around aplenty, inspite of the fact that you can see them coming while just a distance away. The mystery gets cleared in a flash as well but for an average moviegoer it happens at such fast pace that it may become difficult to grasp the proceedings. There are loopholes galore as well in the script but you still do not worry much because Sinha continues with a thrill a minute approach.

But what happens in last 15-20 minutes brings the movie down with a thud hence nullifying to a large extent all the impact it had made in past 2 hours. Imagine this! The way the lead heroes go about disappearing bombs that threaten to blow away an entire Canadian stadium seems completely out of synch with what an intelligence agency may do. The way Jaamwal comes face to face with Sanjay Dutt and their scenes together from thereon does not registe