Dhaakad

I was super excited about this movie; a film featuring a femme fatale similar to Atomic Blonde, Salt and such. But I have come to understand that having such expectations is only going to disappoint me more. Dhaakad falls short by a lot.

Agent Agni has had a traumatic past. But she has channeled that trauma and anger into becoming one of the most ruthless spies ever. She is tasked to track down a dangerous human trafficker; her toughest challenge till date.

Kangana Ranaut is by far one of the most talented actors we have today. She has portrayed a variety of characters; each different from the next. But none of these have been successful despite the actor receiving praise for her performances. Dhaakad is no different. She is stellar in her first action film. She pulls it off with such panache! The action set pieces are well choreographed albeit a little violent. Arjun Rampal is menacing but his accent is off. Divya Dutta is excellent and so is Saswata Chatterjee.

Dhaakad could have been much better. It could have been our Atomic Blonde or so. But the plot is predictable and plods along for most part. The melodrama and emotional scenes just make it worse. But hats off to Kangana and Divya Dutta; the dhaakad duo of the film!

Too unrealistic and the main protagonist thinks too much of herself as if she is a superwoman and whatever he dishes out people will accept not any more lasy u have fooled enough.

Full non logical storyline, total waste of time and money. Producer should reimburse viewers. When I saw only 3 people apart from me inside the hall, I knew I have wasted my money.

I remember being chuffed with the headline of my Revolver Rani review: Paan Singh Tarantino. There was a cool Walking-Dhulia-Talking-Tarantino ring to it. The Chambal-set 'Spaghetti Eastern' starred a post-Queen Kangana Ranaut doing the rugged cowgirl routine to uneven effect. The film didn't do too well. So eight years on, Ranaut is back with another female-led conquest of a male-dominated action template - except this time, it's Walking-Tarantino-Talking-Tarantino-Sleeping-Tarantino-Smoking-Tarantino. Half of Dhaakad is shot in Budapest, the other half in Bhopal. But the narrative style, treatment and characterization are combed from half a dozen Hollywood female-assassin thrillers, including but not limited to Atomic Blonde and Red Sparrow. The listless and derivative action flick is a missed opportunity, because it is centered solely on its brooding super-agent - sans romantic tracks, male saviours and nationalistic fervour - in a film industry that writes women spies as either token eye-candy, supporting acts in a hero story or undercover honeytraps. The intent is correct, but the execution leaves a lot to be desired.

Read the full review on Film Companion.

Dhaakad review :

Out of the two Bollywood releases this weekend, I preferred Dhaakad for two main reasons : one is for its pulsating action sequences and second for Kangana Ranaut who has always impressed me as an actor since her debut Gangster (2006). On both the fronts - action and Kangana- Dhaakad met my expectations but sadly, fell woefully short at an overall level.

Don't know whats it with Bollywood but they just dont seem to get their secret agent stuff right. Sriram Raghavan's Agent Vinod (2012) was a royal drag and here, newcomer Razneesh 'Razy' Ghai falters completely with his Agent Agni. Kangana plays the titular character trained since childhood to become a ruthless killer and her latest mission oscillates from the calm streets of Budapest to the noisy coal mines of Madhya Pradesh which is apparently, the hub for human trafficking.

Next, Agni lands in the big bad place and tries to infiltrate the empire of a prostitution kingpin Rohini (Divya Dutta) who partners with the mine lord Rudraveer (Arjun Rampal) in this flesh business whose clients extend right upto some Sheikh in Budapest, no less. Before that, we get to see a black and white montage of quite too young Rudra and Rohini sweating it out in bed before beginning their illicit collaboration.

To be fair, the action sequences are superbly executed almost giving you a Hollywood movie feel. Charlie's Angels (2000) and Kill Bill (2003) are its obvious influence. The spectacular cinematography as well as the zany background score deserve a special mention as well. Razy Ghai's vision is clearly international but his script is rooted in 80's Bollywood. Especially that personal vendetta angle which creeps up and occupies most of the time post interval. C'mon dude, why do agents really need that?? Bond or Bourne never fought to avenge their pitaji's death, did they??!!!

Of the cast, Divya Dutta is super in a negative role. The brilliant actor that she is, Divya truly elevates Rohini to a different level altogether. Kudos! Arjun Rampal is also impressive as Rudraveer. Note the dining table scene where he plays a game of Russian roulette with a small girl.

As for Kangana Ranaut, her hard work and painstaking effort is visible in each and every action sequence. She is indeed marvellous as Agent Agni and this one had a franchise potential. Unfortunately, the insipid plot and an illogical climax defies it that!! Going by the zilch turnout at the Cinepolis Thane multiplex on a Sunday morning show, Dhaakad has no chance, whatsoever. Sorry Kangana!

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.