From hilarious treasure hunts to recycled jokes, here’s how every Dhamaal film stacks up from worst to best.
Key Points
- Dhamaal 4, despite its box office success, is considered the weakest instalment, relying heavily on CGI and recycled gags.
- Double Dhamaal stands out as a con comedy rather than a treasure hunt, with Jaaved Jaaferi’s Manav being a highlight, but it struggled with an engaging narrative.
- Total Dhamaal marked a return to the treasure hunt format, benefiting from new cast additions like Ajay Devgn.
- The original Dhamaal (2007) effectively established the characters and their camaraderie, setting the template for the franchise’s treasure hunt narrative.
So how did you like Dhamaal 4?
The latest instalment of Indra Kumar’s madcap comedy was released in theatres on July 10. The movie brought back Ajay Devgn, Jaaved Jaaferi, Riteish Deshmukh, Sanjay Mishra and Esha Gupta from the previous instalment, while Sanjeeda Sheikh, Anjali Anand and Ravi Kishan joined the madcap fray for a new treasure hunt.
While Dhamaal 4 received mixed reviews from critics, it has been performing well at the box office, reportedly collecting over Rs 60 crore (Rs 600 million) in India during its opening weekend. It shows that even if these comedies fail to impress critics, they continue to click with audiences when backed by a popular franchise and a star-studded cast.
Still, while Dhamaal has become something of a critic-proof franchise, it is interesting to see whether it has been moving upwards or downwards over the years in terms of the quality of laughs.
Sreeju Sudhakaran ranks all four films in the franchise, from being kangaal in the humour department to being uproariously dhamaal.
4. Dhamaal 4 (2026)
The latest Dhamaal film may be raking in the moolah, but it is the weakest instalment in the franchise.
It isn’t an entirely bad film. Some jokes and gags land. Ajay Devgn doesn’t seem to be sleepwalking through his role this time (unlike some of his recent performances), and Jaaved Jaaferi’s Manav remains the best thing about the entire saga (though the scope of his role is considerably shortchanged).
But in trying to recreate the treasure hunt formula of the first and third films, Dhamaal 4 becomes little more than a CGI spectacle that rarely delivers genuine laughs, whether it’s Devgn battling a CGI tiger, or riding two dolphins recycling the Phool Aur Kaante split-bike scene, a gag that should be sent to grave now just like the fat-shaming humour of the movie.
The plot progression and comedy are also largely the same as what you’ve already seen in the franchise. Sure, Dhamaal 4 playfully acknowledges its recycled gags, but that only reminds you that the better films came earlier, and this one is surviving on their goodwill.
3. Double Dhamaal (2011)
Double Dhamaal now feels like the odd one out in the franchise, since it is more of a con comedy than a treasure hunt like the other films.
While it serves as a direct continuation of the original, Double Dhamaal ups the star quotient with the addition of Kangana Ranaut and Mallika Sherawat, and it has a few genuinely funny moments, like the petrol pipeline scam scene featuring the late Satish Kaushik.
Jaaved Jaaferi’s Manav is, once again, easily the film’s biggest asset. But where Double Dhamaal stumbles badly is that, without a borrowed storyline and set-pieces to lean on, it struggles to create an engaging storyline of its own and humour.
Even though Double Dhamaal performed reasonably well at the box office, it was considered disappointing enough for the franchise to opt for a soft reboot a few years later.
2. Total Dhamaal (2019)
Double Dhamaal did promise Total Dhamaal at the end, but the Total Dhamaal we eventually got after eight years wasn’t a continuation of the previous film.
Instead, it was a fresh adventure featuring a mix of returning and new characters. Out went Sanjay Dutt and Ashish Chaudhary, and in came Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit.
Total Dhamaal benefits from returning to the franchise’s roots, with a bunch of greedy characters racing to find hidden treasure while splitting into smaller groups that stumble into their own misadventures.
The biggest laughs come from the pairing of Ajay Devgn and Sanjay Mishra, and of course, the Adi-Manav duo of Arshad Warsi and Jaaved Jaaferi.
By comparison, the much-hyped reunion of Anil Kapoor and (a miscast) Madhuri Dixit as a constantly bickering married couple turns out to be the least engaging track. Total Dhamaal may not rank among the finest comedies, but within this franchise, it was a definite step up from its predecessor.
1. Dhamaal (2007)
If copying is an art, then the first Dhamaal deserves some credit for mastering it.
Freely borrowing from the classic American comedy It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, the second half delivers several entertaining stretches, from the Tamil driver with the impossibly long nickname (problematic racial stereotypes notwithstanding), to the hilarious airplane sequence featuring Vijay Raaz’s air traffic controller.
But what really makes the film work is how effectively it establishes the distinct personalities of the four friends and their camaraderie in the first half, making their gradual betrayal of one another in pursuit of hidden riches genuinely entertaining.
Even Sanjay Dutt’s character had some interesting writing going on with his honest cop succumbing to greed, frustrated that integrity has brought him little in return.
In terms of its treasure hunt narrative, Dhamaal established the template that both Total Dhamaal and Dhamaal 4 have tried to replicate, albeit with far less creative success.
Because original humesha original hota hai.
Okay, okay… I’m not blind to the irony of saying that.
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Photographs curated by Manisha Kotian/Rediff
