DE DANA DAN
Back with more noise & less surprise
by Vishal Verma

A Raksha Entertainment Pvt.Ltd & Baba Arts Limited Release (1200 +screens) of an Eros International Presentation. A Venus Records & Tapes Pvt. Ltd film of a Baba Arts Limited Production in association with Hari Om productions.

Producers : Ganesh Jain & Girish Jain
Co - Producer : Sunil A. Lulla
Writer : Rajasenan
Director : Priyadarshan
Genre : Mad Caper
Target Audience : General

Starring

Akshay Kumar...... Nitin Bankar
Katrina Kaif...... Anjali Kakkad
Sunil Shetty...... Ram Mishra
Paresh Rawal...... Harbans Chadda
Neha Dhupia
Sameera Reddy...... Manpreet Oberoi
Archana Puran Singh...... Archana
Asrani………………….Mamu
Aditi Govitrikar
Chunky Pandey......
Johny Lever
Manoj Joshi
Rajpal Yadav
Supriya Karnik
Tinu Anand
Vikram Gokhale
Sharat Saxena

Technical Analysis

Venus, Eros, Akshay & Priyadarshan plan to blast away the screen ‘Dan Dana Dan’, in ‘De Dana Dan’ the way it did in the mighty entertainer ‘Hera Pheri’. The difference over here is that the combo unites & this time its loaded more with barrage of virtually non-stop gags, noise, length, flashy music video type numbers & less humour.

Still this noisy, gagy, lengthy, & alternatively funny circus should score in the beginning with the teen mentality crowd but the lack of repeat value may not match up to the expected results. The reason why the spinning speed will be reduced after a quick favorable initial is very simple.

Lot has been said about the combo coming back, yeah they are back in flesh & blood but the soul is missing. Hera Pheri would not have been ‘Hera Pheri’ without its brilliant writers Anand S. Vardhan (story) & Neeraj Vora (dialogue & screenplay), which gave the comedy some fabulous repeat values that ensured its success at the B.O. Sadly, ‘De Dana Dan’ relies entirely on gags & buffoonery. Writing takes a back seat. No wrong in doing that but this formula works under a time frame cause such things are easy to decipher but difficult to execute.

Such presumption that if stupid is good, idiotic is better, filmmakers cram in more gags than would seem possible, hit the target with enough of them to keep the audience going, and then get out quickly, but in this case it takes a loooooong 2hrs & 40 minutes & thus the novelty (if any) wears off. Priyadarshan with his writer Rajasenan fill ‘Hera Pheri’ mostly with noises of misunderstanding but there's also extended hilarity in a couple of scenes involving Jhonny Lever who is the best in the crowd. Akshay, & Paresh are energetic.

The girls Katrina Kaif, Neha Dhupia & Sameera Reddy look attractive & they where signed for that only. Archana Puran Singh hams, Asrani does what he can, Aditi Govitrikar is okay, Chunky Pandey, Manoj Joshi, Rajpal Yadav, Supriya Karnik, Tinu Anand, Vikram Gokhale & Sharat Saxena sign musters.

Tech credits needs special mention as the floody climax though lengthy was well picturised, Priyadarshan was abetted with smart technicians like Varsha Ranu & Krishna Somaiya (Visual Effects), Joel San Juan (Steadicam operator) who do a fine job. 

Top class production values may have tempted the director to give his editor Arun Kumar more coffee breaks then required.
Pritam in his repeated sound still manages one ‘paisa paisa’ one for the teeny boppers types.

All said and done ‘De Dana Dan’ manages to score 2 out of 5.

One for the funny circus gags in parts here & there.

One for the control performance of Jhonny Lever & the energy of Akshay & Paresh. 

The movie looses on plot, wits, writing, humour, & length.

The Story
 
Nitin Bankar (Akshay Kumar) is a personal butler, cook, driver, watchman, gardener to a wealthy female industrialist (Archana Puran Singh) in Singapore. Like any young man, Nitin too, dreams of a better life, but misfortune is his constant companion and his reality is his job under Archana. He desperately wants to become rich and marry the love of his life, Anjali Kakkad (Katrina Kaif), who supports him financially.

Ram Mishra (Suneil Shetty), Nitin's best friend also came to Singapore with the dream of striking it rich, but ended up a courier delivery man. He falls for Manpreet Oberoi (Sameera Reddy), but her high society parents will never approve of marriage, not unless Ram has lots and lots of money.

In the midst of all this, is Harbans Chadda (Paresh Rawal), a shrewd businessman, is looking for ways to multiply his income and avoid his debtors. He decides the best way would be to marry his son off to a girl whose parents can give him a large dowry. He is introduced to Manpreet's parents at a Diwali function and is impressed by their social status. He introduces himself as a well-established businessman, impresses them and they decide to get Manpreet and Harbans' son (Chunky Pandey) married.

With several factors working against them, Nitin and Ram soon reach a dead end in their relationships. When both receive ultimatums from their girlfriends, they realize that only a life of vice can help them out of their misery. They come up with an audacious plan to kidnap someone important and demand a ransom. The kidnapping goes well, and both hide out at a local hotel while waiting for the ransom money. But misfortune is never far, and the kidnapping spirals out of control.

Meanwhile, Manpreet's wedding reception is being held at the same hotel that Nitin and Ram are hiding in. Soon, they are joined by a motley set of characters including a Chinese Don, a hired assassin, a ACB police inspector, a club dancer, an ambassador, a young frustrated double crossing wife, a letch, a drunken waiter, and a dead body nobody wants check into the hotel....

 

Promotion

First thing first, the sexy rain number between Katrina & Akshay running in channels which has generated enough interest will be added as soon as it gets the censor nod. Otherwise, the movie which has been promoted as the comeback of the winning combo of Hera Pheri, the outdoor & indoor publicity has been able to evoke curiosity. With reasonable buzz in media maintain by spice & the growing popularity of ‘paisa’ number, the initials should be as per expectations.

 

Business Analysis

‘De Dana Dan’ comes with high expectations & its delivers in patches & lacks repeat value. Anyhow the lucky Jodi of Akshay & Katrina, some hilarious moments, solo release, holiday weekend ((Bakra Id) & a popular number will ensure expected initials. The gags will play well with the single screen auds & the addition of the sexy number probably from Monday, will ensure that it doesn,t ends as a loosing proposal.

 

Other Credits

Executive Producer : Sanchita Chatterjee. Cassettes and CD's on Venus Records & Tapes. Lyricist: Sayeed Qadri, Rdb, Ashiesh Pandit, Irshad Kamil & Sameer. Music Director: Pritam Chakraborty, Rdb & Ad Boys. Background Music: Salim Merchant & Sulaiman Merchant. Choreography: Ganesh Acharya, Pony Verma & Prasanna. Art: Sabu Cyril. Editor: Arun Kumar. Sound: Rishi Oberoi. Media Relations: Spice. Publicity Designs: Himanshu Nanda & Rahul Nanda. Reviewed at Famous studios on November 26, 2009. Running time: 2 Hrs & 40 minutes. Certified with a U/A certificate.    

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