Starring Kartik Aaryan, Mrunal Thakur and Amruta Subhash, Dhamaka is the story of a news anchor, Arjun Pathak, whose life takes a sudden downhill turn. This is made obvious in Kartik Aaryan’s transformation from well-groomed and overly jumpy to overgrown hair and wearing sunglasses indoors…all in a montage.
When a terrorist calls up a failing news anchor on his show to declare that he will blow up the Sea Link in Mumbai, it sets in motion a chain of events that can be career-defining for any news professional.
Directed by Ram Madhvani, the film is relevant for present-day India, a country that is plagued by fake news and bigoted news anchors. The remake of a Korean film, The Terror Live, Dhamaka is a chaotic film and not just because it intends to be. It starts strong but somewhere along the way, Dhamaka loses steam.
Amruta Subhash is wasted in her role as Arjun Pathak’s boss. The potential was there but it seems that during the film, the makers told Subhash to just stop.
Among the many irritants in this film are the shoddy, hurried ending and the constant emotional drama between an anchor and a reporter on the ground during a terrorist attack. When you watch Dhamaka, you’ll know what we’re talking about.
If you can look past the ridiculous elements of the film, like a man completely ignoring the fact that he has a bomb in his earpiece, or that a news anchor takes over the investigation of the attack instead of the actual law enforcement agencies, watch Dhamaka. It is thrilling in parts, so it’s not a complete waste of time.
Dhamaka is streaming now on Netflix.
