New Delhi

Filmmaker Ram Madhvani who has made 'Let's talk', 'Neerja' and 'Aarya' in the past - is a master storyteller who has presented gripping thrillers over the years. His latest 'Dhamaka' featuring Kartik Aaryan is part of the same genre where an ex-TV anchor lands a big story that can help redeem his career. Does 'Dhamaka' create the same effect as Madhavani's earlier films? Only in parts. 

Arjun Pathak(Aaryan), an ex-star anchor of a popular news channel, lands his biggest story one Sunday as he is hosting a radio show. A mysterious man hacks into his company's network and refuses to go off air and blows up a part of the Mumbai sea link. Pathak, who doesn't take the caller seriously first, watches the carnage from the office window and realises this is his big-ticket back to the newsroom. 

Pathak has been somewhat demoted from the network and sent to radio and he thinks this is a big chance to shine again and get back into the limelight. What he and his TRP hungry boss (Amruta Subhash) do not know yet is that chaos is set to unfold- of which no one can any control. The caller claims to be a labourer and wants the Home minister of the state to come live on TV and apologise for not paying compensation to three labourers who died years back during an accident while working on the same sea link. 

Written by Puneet Sharma and Madhvani, the premise of 'Dhamaka' is very promising. So when the makers dive into the plot right from the beginning, you are prepared for an edgy, nail-biting thriller. Unfortunately, though, the film takes an idealist route along the way, degrades the media and its ethics of selling news and eventually creates a chaotic screenplay with a rather illogical climax. 

Madhvani had narrated a brilliant story in 'Neerja' where a tight screenplay never let the audience get bored even though the entire story was narrated within the confinements of an aircraft. In 'Dhamaka' too, the space is limited with the focus entirely on Aaryan negotiating with the caller from the confines of a makeshift newsroom. But 'Dhamaka's' screenplay fails to grip you at any point in time. The urgency, the tension, the terror is all missing from the screenplay. 

Certain aspects of the film though stand out for their relevancy. 'Dhamaka' tries to throw light on the functions of 24/7 news channels in the country where TRP rules over logic and truth on many occasions. The anchor harps on-air about speaking the truth always, while behind the scene is instructed by his shrewd boss to keep the desperate, angry caller engaged with lies. 

It is refreshing to see Kartik Aaryan in a thriller- playing a character who is desperate, selfish and eventually full of remorse and regret. In the course of the film, as he finds out his estranged wife- a reporter with the same channel is at the blast site, something changes within him. The blood, gore, and death shake him up, questioning his company's ethics even as the caller continues to threaten to blow up the city- bit by bit. 

Subhash as the ruthless editor of the channel starts on a high and exudes confidence, but poor writing makes her look caricatural by the end. Mrunal Thakur, who plays Aaryan's wife and star reporter has very limited screen time. 

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Any thriller's high point is always the climax, but 'Dhamaka's' pinnacle comes way before the climax. The film eventually ends on a whimper, making no sense by the end of it all. 

'Dhamaka' is streaming on Netflix.