Why I Went In With Certain Expectations
I've followed the Dhamaal series since the very first film, and it has always occupied a strange, specific spot in my mind. Nobody watches this franchise for tight plotting or emotional depth. You walk in knowing you'll get mistaken identities, absurd situations, and characters who can't stop talking over each other. That's the whole appeal. Going into Dhamaal 4, I wasn't expecting anything different — and I wasn't disappointed.
This wasn't a solo trip either. My whole family tagged along, since comedy films are usually a group outing for us.
The Theatre Experience Before the Show
We arrived about twenty minutes early, assuming that would be plenty of time to find seats and settle in. The lobby had other plans — it was already packed. By the time we made it inside the auditorium, nearly every seat around us was taken. It didn't feel like a routine weekday show. It felt like people had actually been counting down to this release.
Bigger Madness, Same Old Magic
The core formula of the franchise hasn't shifted, but the scale of the comedy clearly has. Ajay Devgn and the rest of the ensemble keep the energy from dipping for even a scene, and the film leans into more chaos, bigger set pieces, and louder laughs than before.
The hype had already been building online — behind-the-scenes clips from the shoot had been circulating on Instagram for weeks before release.
The moment Ajay Devgn's face appeared on screen, someone a few rows behind us yelled his name. Clapping and whistling followed almost instantly, and the whole auditorium's energy shifted up a notch. That buzz didn't really fade for the rest of the runtime.
The Story: Same Treasure Hunt, New Confusion
At its heart, this is still a treasure-hunt film — something longtime fans will recognize immediately. Rather than reinventing that formula, the makers scaled it up: bigger locations, bigger action, and situations that spiral into even more ridiculous territory than earlier installments.
One running gag stood out above the rest — a mix-up between the letters "W" and "M" that spirals into complete confusion for nearly every character. It's a tiny, dumb mistake, but it fuels a huge chunk of the film's comedy. And that's honestly what I enjoy most about this franchise: the humor doesn't always come from clever writing. Sometimes it's just people misunderstanding each other in the stupidest possible way.
Visuals and Production Quality
Compared to the earlier films, Dhamaal 4 looks noticeably more polished. The jungle sequences look genuinely good on a big screen, and several wide shots give the film a scale the earlier parts never really had. It's obvious more money went into this one.
That said, it isn't flawless — a handful of CGI shots are a little rough around the edges. For a comedy film though, it never pulled me out of the experience.
Cast Performance: Who Stole the Show
Riteish Deshmukh and Sanjay Mishra
These two walked away with most of the laughs, in my opinion. Several scenes didn't even need a punchline — their expressions and reactions alone were enough to get the audience going. Sometimes the funniest beat in a scene wasn't a line of dialogue at all, just the look on their faces.
Ajay Devgn
Devgn plays Guddu with the same deadpan energy that's suited him for years, and that contrast is where a lot of the comedy actually comes from. Watching him stay completely serious in ridiculous situations landed funnier, at times, than the scripted jokes themselves.
The Chemistry That Makes It Work
Whenever all three of them shared a scene, you could sense something silly was about to happen. They don't come across as actors straining to be funny — they look like people who genuinely enjoy winding each other up on screen, and that dynamic carries a lot of the film.
One thing I appreciated: the movie never tried to pivot into something it wasn't. It didn't suddenly turn emotional or squeeze in a moral lesson halfway through. From the opening scene, it committed to being a loud, over-the-top comedy, and it stayed that way till the credits rolled.
What Didn't Work As Well
Not everything landed perfectly, of course.
A few scenes ran longer than they needed to. I also caught one or two moments where the lip-sync felt slightly off, along with a couple of reactions that came across as a bit much. None of it derailed the film, but if you're paying close attention, you'll notice these rough patches too.
What Other Viewers Felt
After the film, we stuck around outside the theatre and chatted with a few other people who'd just watched the same show. Opinions were mixed but leaned positive:
An older gentleman said it reminded him of the original Dhamaal films.
A group of college students preferred the second half over the first.
One family told us it was the most fun they'd had together in weeks.
Not everyone agreed, though. A few felt certain scenes dragged, and one viewer mentioned Ajay Devgn seemed a touch less energetic compared to his earlier comic roles.
Why Comedy Is the Hardest Genre to Judge
Hearing all these different reactions got me thinking. With an action film, people usually rally around the same fight scene. With horror, everyone remembers the same jump scare. With romance, the emotional beats tend to land for most people the same way.
Comedy doesn't work like that. A joke that has one person doubled over might not even get a smile out of the person sitting next to them. It's the most subjective genre there is, and that probably explains why reactions to this film were all over the place.
Walking Out of the Theatre
Even with those mixed opinions swirling around, I left smiling. Not because the film was flawless, it clearly wasn't but because it delivered exactly what I walked in expecting. It kept me entertained for close to three hours, and honestly, that's enough some days.
A Bigger Thought: Where Indian Cinema Stands Today
On the drive back, something else crossed my mind. Bollywood isn't just being measured against Hollywood anymore — the comparison pool has gotten a lot wider. Between Korean dramas, Hollywood blockbusters, Japanese anime, Spanish web series, and content from practically every corner of the globe, streaming has given audiences endless choices. Naturally, every new release now gets held up against the best the world has to offer.
Some of what Indian viewers are consuming heavily right now includes:
Hollywood action films
Korean movies
K-dramas
American TV series
International OTT originals
Watching all of this side by side naturally invites comparison in filmmaking style and scale.
But Indian cinema has been closing that gap fast. Films like RRR, Baahubali, Baahubali 2, KGF, Kantara, Pushpa, and Kalki 2898 AD have proven Indian filmmakers can absolutely go toe-to-toe with the biggest productions in the world. The old idea that only Hollywood could deliver that scale simply doesn't hold up anymore.
Maybe it's time we stopped splitting our own industry into Bollywood, Tollywood, Kollywood, Sandalwood, and Mollywood — and just started calling it what it is: Indian Cinema.
Final Take
Dhamaal 4 isn't trying to be groundbreaking, and it doesn't need to be. It knows exactly what its audience wants — chaos, comic timing, and a cast that clearly enjoys working together — and it delivers that without apology. A few scenes overstay their welcome and the polish isn't perfect everywhere, but as a loud, feel-good theatre outing with family, it does the job.