‘Dhamaal 4’ Review: Ajay Devgn’s Comedy Adventure Falls Short Of Expectations

Honestly, Dhamaal 4 is a tough pill to swallow if you grew up loving the chaotic, unhinged energy of the original films. We all went in hoping that director Indra Kumar would be able to catch lightning in a bottle twice. But the magic seems so thoroughly zapped. Even with a powerhouse like Ajay Devgn at the helm, the movie just spins its wheels trying to squeeze chuckles out of a tired crowd.

The formula here is old-fashioned: a mad, mad treasure hunt, slapstick, goofy misunderstandings and giant set pieces. But where the old films seemed effortlessly funny, this one just seems tiresome. The jokes are consistently not funny, and it becomes a bit of a slog to actually care about what’s going on on-screen.

Great Cast, Ghost of a Script

Ajay Devgn is as starry as ever, and a lot of familiar faces from the franchise drop by to help carry the load. All in the cast. To give credit where credit is due. They throw themselves into the sheer absurdity of it all, but there’s only so much you can do when the writing gives you next to nothing to work with.

The movie relies on loud, aggressive gags and chaotic noise instead of clever wit or sharp comedic timing. Even if you love this particular brand of over-the-top Bollywood comedy, the material here feels like it’s been recycled, predictable and deeply uninspired.

The Trouble with Recycling the Past

Indra Kumar doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel here. Sticks to the old playbook. Eccentric weirdos. Confusion galore. A mad dash to locate hidden wealth. The trouble is that the easy energy and the spontaneous charm of the earlier films are missing.

The humour becomes more of an exercise than comedy as the movie goes on. It comes across as aggressive and forced, and you spend a lot of time watching the screen, waiting for a genuine, organic laugh that rarely comes.

Look, Dhamaal 4 has a couple of isolated moments where the trademark old absurdity shines through, but they are few and far between. Ultimately, it doesn’t make you laugh, really. The cast works hard but is completely overshadowed by weak writing and a totally predictable plot, leaving us with a sequel that honestly struggles to justify why it was made in the first place.