Dhoom 3

Plot

In the year 1990, Iqbal Haroon Khan (Jackie Shroff) runs The Great Indian Circus in Chicago, which has fallen on bad times. Anderson's (Andrew Bicknell) bank — Western Bank of Chicago — which has lent money to Iqbal Khan, decides to close down the circus when Khan is unable to repay the loan. Young Sahir (Siddharth Nigam), the little son of Iqbal Khan, pleads with Anderson not to shut down his father's circus, as he and his father would soon be able to turn the corner. But Iqbal Khan's presentation before the bankers and Sahir's pleas don't help. Iqbal Khan commits suicide in front of the heartless Anderson, leaving Sahir devastated.

Now in 2013, Sahir (Aamir Khan) has still not forgotten the high-handedness of the bank and swears revenge. He robs various branches of Western Bank of Chicago, leaving behind a message in Hindi and a clown mask. During the chase, he runs from top to the bottom of the Western Bank of Chicago building. As the Chicago Police Department comes to the scene, he runs into a van as they begin to surround the vehicle. Sahir jumps out in a BMW K1300R after a little explosion. On the chase, he slides under a truck and pops out to continue. He further kicks a police officer off his patrol motorcycle causing the officer to lose control and crash into a newspaper stand. While beyond that, Sahir continually tries to escape his pursuers and goes into a public parking garage. Then out of nowhere, he uses a steel cable cord like an attachment and rides his bike on it and is nearly knocked down by a train. despite all efforts of law enforcement, the robbery isn't foiled and he successfully gets away.

As Chicago Police Officer Victoria (Tabrett Bethell) fails to catch him, she calls ACP Jay Dixit (Abhishek Bachchan) and his partner, Ali (Uday Chopra), for help in solving the case. Jay baits Sahir into robbing again by making it known he's on the case and that he believes the thief to be an amateur thereby goading him on. Gathering information from a news channel regarding the plan, Sahir poses as an informant for Jay, and manages to gather information on the bank while giving Jay a lead to follow. Eventually, Sahir robs the bank and escapes, but Jay and Ali follow him. During the pursuit, Sahir nearly knocks Ali and jumps over Wabash Avenue as the bridge rises, his bike transforms into a jet ski. While on a water pursuit, Jay takes a boat and chases Sahir. After almost knocking off Ali, Sahir is about to reach the next bridge but the police arrives. Sahir dives underwater, then jumps out from the water transforming his jet ski back to his bike. Jay, while hanging on a helicopter ladder, manages to shoot Sahir on the left shoulder before he disappears again.

Sahir has a big premiere of a revamped version of The Great Indian Circus, with his female lead acrobat, Aaliya (Katrina Kaif), involving a trick with him disappearing in one place and showing up in another. The show is a success, but afterwards, Jay, Ali, and the police surround him, knowing he's the thief. Jai says the proof will be the gunshot wound, but when Sahir is examined, there is no evidence of a gunshot wound anywhere on his body. Jay and Ali leave while Sahir retires to his dressing room. It is then revealed that Sahir has an autistic twin brother, Samar, who helps him pull off his trick and helps him in planning and pulling of the robberies and it was Samar who sustained the gun-shot wound.

Jay is fired from the case, but is encouraged by Ali to prove Sahir's guilt by going rogue. Jay eventually finds out about Samar, and sets about finding a way to corner Sahir. Samar, being mentally challenged, is kept in seclusion by Sahir. However, he allows Samar outdoors once a week, and Jay manages to befriend him during this time in order to perform his plan. Samar has fallen in love with Aaliya after performing with her in the circus, but cannot express it. This leads to a rift between the brothers. Jay tries to take advantage of this, but Sahir finds out and thwarts Jay's plan to stop them.When Sahir comes in the disguise of Samar, Jay reveals his true identity and assuming him to be Samar, tells him to surrender since he can give them justice. When Sahir reveals himself, he ties Jay to the track of a roller coaster and tells him that he used Samar for his own benefit. He switches the roller coaster on but Ali arrives in time to save him from being crushed. He decides the only way to catch the brothers is in the act of robbing. Sahir and Samar pull off their final bank heist, and escape. However, the following day, Jay manages to corner them as they're making their way out of town. They rob on 22 May. Samar is hesitant to run when Aaliya shows up, begging him to stop. Sahir surrenders to Jay, asking him to spare Samar. Jai agrees, but right after, Sahir attempts to jump off the dam. Samar grabs Sahir's hand, refusing to let him go. Sahir begs Samar to let go, saying he can live freely with Aaliya. But Samar says that both of them are born together and should die together. Eventually, the two of them jump off the dam together. Western Bank of Chicago is shut down as a result of the heists, while Aaliya is shown having taken over The Great Indian Circus and still performing for it.

Cast

Development

Prior to principal photography, the film enjoyed widespread media coverage due to the tremendous box office successes of previous instalments Dhoom 2 and Dhoom, thereby creating anticipation amongst audience and media. On 2 January 2011, the Producer of the previous Dhoom films Aditya Chopra, confirmed that the third instalment of the Dhoom series would begin principal photography by the end of 2011. Initially, the producers and the lead actor Aamir wanted to release the film on Christmas of 2012, but the plan was scrapped in favour of an early release date in 2013, mainly due to a forecast that a Christmas release would force a rushed post-production schedule, which was considered unfavorable given the high degree of technicality required for the film. Dhoom 3 had around ₹1.25 billion (US$19 million) spent on just production side.

Reportedly, Chopra wanted to make the film in 3D after observing the successes of previous Bollywood films released in the same format. However, actor Aamir Khan opined that the 3D technology needed expertise and was unsure of the outcome of its utilisation by the director. As of September 2012, YRF Studios had not announced the production of the film in 3D.

Casting

Aamir Khan was signed on to essay the lead antagonist, while Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra were confirmed to reprise their roles as Jai Dixit and Ali Akbar respectively. Katrina Kaif was signed as the lead heroine, starring opposite Khan. He learnt ballet, aerobatics and the French technique of parkour, a method of movement focused on negotiating obstacles with speed and efficiency, while Kaif took paragliding training and singing lessons. Bachchan reportedly lost nine kilos of weight to prepare for his role in the film. Rimi Sen, who played the role of ACP Jai Dixit's (character played by Abhishek Bachchan) wife in the previous two instalments of the series, was not approached to play her character Sweety. However, she stated that she would not have reprised the role even if she were offered. Unlike the first two Dhoom films directed by Sanjay Gadhvi, Vijay Krishna Acharya the writer of all three instalments of Dhoom was roped in to direct Dhoom 3. Stunt Director Olliver Keller was signed to direct the stunt scenes. Aamir Khan stated in an interview that his role in Dhoom 3 is the toughest role so far in his life. The action scenes were directed by Conrad Palmisano and Sham Kaushal. In an interview with IANS, Abhishek Bachchan expressed how every character of Dhoom 3 is significant: "...Dhoom is my film and I am the hero. Nobody can take that away from me. You can be the biggest or the smallest star but Dhoom is about Jai and Ali. It is as simple as that. If the characters of Jai and Ali are not there in Dhoom, the film won't be there." On 23 September 2013, three months before the actual release of the film, DNA and other media news publications revealed that there could be double role of Aamir Khan in Dhoom 3, but they have not confirmed it that time. It was only confirmed at the release of the film, that Aamir Khan has a double role in the film. This made Dhoom 3 the first and currently the only film yet, in the Dhoom movie series, in which the antagonist has a double role. However, this was not the first time the series featured a double role since Bipasha Basu had a double role in Dhoom 2 as Shonali and Monali, but did not share the same screen space, unlike Khan.

Filming

Filming was scheduled to commence from November 2011, with scenes involving Abhishek Bachchan and Uday Chopra being shot first, but the former was off on a paternity leave and thus, shooting was postponed to January 2012. In January 2012, the schedule was pushed to June 2012 because of lead actor Aamir's prior commitments with his TV show Satyamev Jayate; in June, the filming schedule was further postponed for a month because Khan wanted to prepare himself for his role of a gymnast. Additionally, Khan wanted to concentrate on marketing and promotions of his 2012 film Talaash. Without any further delays, filming commenced with Jackie Shroff and Siddharth Nigam, the child actor playing the role of childhood Aamir Khan on 8 June 2012 at Yash Raj Studios, Mumbai. Aamir Khan joined the crew in July 2012, filming for five days at Yash Raj Studios and further continued to shoot in Chicago and other parts of the United States. Later, Khan, Abhishek Bachchan, Uday Chopra flew to the US on 4 August 2012 to complete a three-month schedule. On arrival to India in December 2012, Bachchan stated that fifty percent of filming was complete and would again resume in Mumbai. In the second week of March 2013, it was reported that the crew departed to Zurich and Ticino, Switzerland to film the climax. The shooting of the film finally wrapped up on 14 September 2013 at a suburban studio in Mumbai. The climax scene in Dhoom 3 is shot at the famous arch dam, Contra Dam (commonly known as the Verzasca Dam) in Ticino, Switzerland. It is the same dam that became a popular bungee jumping venue after a James Bond stuntman jumped off it in the opening scene of the 1995 film GoldenEye.

Release

In November 2013, Aditya Chopra sent out a message to movie exhibitors all over the country to "Go digital or miss Dhoom 3." In detailed statements he claimed, "Release of movies through digital and UFO digital cinema prevents piracy as the prints are water-marked and finger-printed and can be traced back. It is believed that usually films are copied for piracy when the reels are being transported to theatres in the country and abroad. Digital cinema curbs piracy as the 'en route' content leakage is eliminated. It also makes sense economically as a producer saves a lot of print cost. Apart from that, encrypting the content protects the copyrights of the producers and distributors. Digital prints prevent duplication of prints and helps by diverting funds back to the cinemas."

IMAX Corporation and Yash Raj Films announced that Dhoom:3 would be the first Indian local language production to be released in the IMAX format. The film was digitally remastered in the IMAX format with proprietary IMAX DMR® (Digital Re-mastering) technology and was released in IMAX theatres across India and selective global locations. Dhoom 3 was released with cinema sound technology Dolby Atmos. The film received a native Atmos mix at YRF Studios. Dhoom 3 was given a 12A certificate by the British Board of Film Certification for Moderate Violence 12 December 2013, for Moderate violence. The film was released across 4500 screens in India (inclusive of Tamil and Telugu versions) along with 750 screens Overseas. Dhoom 3 had a release on 250 screens in West Bengal. The maximum ticket price of the IMAX version of Dhoom 3 was Rs 900 (US$15) in India. Cinépolis Pune set a unique record by hosting 54 shows of Dhoom 3 on 20 December 2013. Dhoom 3 was also released in non-traditional overseas markets like Egypt, Peru, Germany and Malaysia. Dhoom3 is slated to release in China on 25 July 2014. It will be the widest release ever for an Indian film in China, with 2000 screens across 400 cities.

Pre-release

The title logo of the film was released in a video that credited the main roles of the film. The score for the video constituted paced beats and electric guitars and was released on Christmas 2012 through Yash Raj Film's official YouTube channel, confirming the film for a Christmas 2013 release. The first working as well as promotional poster was also released nearly a year prior. In August 2013, YRF released a motion poster of the film on YouTube, revealing the first look. It featured Aamir Khan with a hidden visage standing inside a tall building, looking at helicopters in the air through a glass window. A voiceover reveals that the Chicago police force is searching for a fugitive biker who vanished before he could be caught. The satellite rights of Dhoom 3 were sold at a record price of ₹750 million (US$12 million). The first teaser of Dhoom 3 was released on 5 September 2013 at 12 noon IST. The teaser achieved 6 million views on YouTube within 6 days, subsequently receiving 12 million views in 20 days. The film's teaser was also attached with the film Shuddh Desi Romance. On 25 October Yash Raj Films launched a game based on the film for Windows Phones. Developed by 99Games Online (a subsidiary of Robosoft mobile games), the 3D game was set against the backdrop of Chicago and opens with a heist by the character played by Aamir Khan. Within 20 days of its launch, the game witnessed over 1 million downloads on the Windows Phone Marketplace and Nokia Store. The Android, iOS and Blackberry 10 version of the game was launched on 19 November 2013. Dhoom: 3 The Game crossed five million downloads across all platforms in less than seven weeks of its launch on 19 November 2013. Dhoom:3 mobile game surpassed 10 million downloads within three months since its release.

The theatrical trailer was released in IMAX format on 30 October 2013 as well as on YouTube. PVR Cinemas began advance booking for selected shows of the film same day the trailer had released, witnessing sales of just under ₹20 million (US$310,000) until 17 December 2013.

Aamir Khan also promoted Dhoom 3 on the sets of Kaun Banega Crorepati. The publicity campaign included tie-ins with over 17 leading brands including Mattel (manufacture of limited edit action figures, model cars and bikes), Gulf Oil, CEAT, Bombay Dyeing, Archies for stationery and the LINE social messaging application, along with 183 other brands. A marketing pact was also made with BMW Motorrad, which has revealed that its S1000RR and K1300R sport bikes would feature in the film. A special screening of Dhoom 3 was held at Yash Raj Studios on 19 December 2013. A special screening of Dhoom 3 that was attended by Raj Thackeray was organised on 22 December 2013.

Post-release

After the film's performance at the box office, Amul paid a tribute to the film in one of its creative advertisement campaign posters. The poster features the words "Dhoom Tea" in the same typography style as the film's logo is with a caption "Chased everyday". "The Dhoom Anthem" featuring Saba Azad was released by Yashraj Films on 26 December 2013. A Spanish version of "Dhoom Machale" song sung by Mia Mont was released by Yashraj Films on 4 January 2014. In June 2014, 99Games Online launched the sequel to 'Dhoom: 3 The Game' mobile game, title as "Dhoom:3 Jet Speed".

Soundtrack

It was announced that the composer of Dhoom and Dhoom 2; Pritam, would return once again to compose the music of the third instalment. Earlier reports suggested that Shefali Alvares had been roped to sing the Dhoom title track, but this turned out to be a rumour. Aamir said in a statement that the title track "Dhoom Machale Dhoom" is dedicated to Sachin Tendulkar who was then playing his 200th and final test match at the Wankhede Stadium. The title song's video featuring Katrina Kaif and sung by Aditi Singh Sharma was unveiled on 14 November 2013. The first look of the song "Malang" was revealed on 25 November 2013. A teaser for "Dhoom Tap" featured Aamir Khan tap dancing to beats, along with background dancers. It was unveiled on 3 December 2013. A teaser for the song "Kamli", featuring Katrina Kaif and sung by Sunidhi Chauhan was revealed on 6 December 2013. The song "Bande Hain Hum Uske" was sung by Shankar Mahadevan's 12-year-old son Shivam Mahadevan and Anish Sharma. His elder son Siddharth Mahadevan sung the song "Malang" in the film along with Shilpa Rao. The title song "Dhoom Machale" was also recorded in an Arabic version sung by Lebanese singer Naya.

Telugu soundtrack

The music of Dhoom 3 received mixed critical reception.

Joginder Tuteja of Rediff.com noted, "There are songs like 'Tu Hi Junoon', 'Malang' and 'Kamli' that round off Dhoom 3 beautifully." Koimoi reported, "Overall it might not be the best album Pritam has come up with, but two really interesting compositions makes the album scrupulous me! A noteworthy effort for sure!" The predictions turned out to be true as the album topped the iTunes charts only after the release of the film. The songs "Kamli" and "Dhoom Machale" topped the iTunes Singles chart. Rohit Khilnani of India Today deemed the music "below average".

India

Domestically, Dhoom- 3 received mixed to positive reviews from critics. Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama rated the film 4.5 out of 5 stars and said, "On the whole, DHOOM-3 is one solid entertainer loaded with attitude and star power that will leave fans of the series salivating for more." The Daily Bhaskar also rated it 4.5 out of 5 stars. While praising the performance of Khan, the newspaper wrote "The whole film rests on Khan's shoulders, and it won't be an overestimation to say that he is strong enough to hold the three hours all by himself." Mohar Basu of Koimoi gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and stated that it is "spectacular and majestic". Srijana Mitra Das of the Times of India gave the film 4 out of 5 stars. Especially praising the actors' performances, she wrote, "Dhoom 3 makes you laugh, gasp – even sniffle". Aparna Mudi of Zee News gave the film 4 out of 5 stars and remarked "Dhoom 3 manages to deliver a typically Bollywood revenge saga in a modern way." Sarita A Tanwar of Daily News and Analysis also gave it 4 stars and commented, "Welcome to the world of jaw-dropping action and stunts never seen before on Hindi screen. Dhoom 3 redefines the word 'entertainment' in the grandest way possible." Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV, on the other hand, gave it 3 out of 5 stars and noted that "Dhoom: 3 is a high-voltage action flick that relies squarely on known methods of the Genre". Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com gave it 3 out of 5 stars and wrote, "Dhoom 3 continues the tradition of extravagance in adventure and expenditure by roping in the fastidious Aamir Khan as its latest star antagonist". Rachit Gupta of Filmfare rated it 3 out of 5 stars; though he labelled it a "slick looking film", he felt "the force driving them, the story, teeters on abysmal points". Anupama Chopra of the Hindustan Times gave the film 3 stars and wrote, "The third installment...is bigger and more plot-heavy than the first two." The Indo-Asian News Service review, syndicated by Business Standard, also gave it 3 stars, writing, "Dhoom 3 is an intriguing piece of work... slender supple smart and subtle...and yet helmed by a central performance that screams for attention."

Dhoom 3 also received some negative reviews. Rajeev Masand of CNN-IBN gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars and stated "Dhoom 3 is let down by a convenient script and its inability to deliver solid entertainment". He described the film as a "sloppily scripted sandwich of hammy acting and cheesy dialogue" that lacked the "thrills" of the previous films. Raja Sen of Rediff gave it 1.5 out of 5 stars. Criticizing the villain's motivations and the "yawnworthy chase scenes" that were "both pointless and badly edited", he deemed Dhoom 3 "a children's film made for children who've never seen a film". Shubhra Gupta of Indian Express gave the film 2 stars out of 5. Although he praised the "superb cinematography, great-looking sets, expansive foreign locations", he found the film to be "a victim of both a crying lack of imagination and franchise fatigue". Gupta also felt that Khan lacked the "sexy-badness" required for the villain, and noted Kaif's minimal role. Rohit Khilnani of India Today heavily criticised Dhoom 3 and gave it 2 stars out of 5, calling it "full of loop holes, over-the-top acting and an overdose of action that doesn't fit well all the time". He found that the film's only redeeming factor was that it was "a visual treat" due to its exotic locales and special effects. Rafay Mahmood of The Express Tribune rated the film as 1.5 out of 5, noting the "overdose of one-liners", lack of "a properly connected cause-and-effect chain", and the "over-the-top action sequences" that "build up to nothing dramatically significant". He in particular criticised the actors' performances. Mahmood called Kaif "eye candy" with little dialogue, and felt Khan gave "perhaps the worst performance of his career".

International

Meanwhile, the film garnered praise from foreign film critics. Review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes gives the film a score of 83% based on reviews from 12 critics, with a rating average of 7.8/10.

David Chute of Variety liked the camera work, action, stunts and Aamir's performance: "Acharya's camera seems to be dancing – and swooning – along with the performers.... High-flying acrobatics and a standout Aamir Khan performance dominate the third entry in Bollywood's biggest action franchise." According to Bill Stamets of Chicago Sun-Times, "Dhoom:3 is crowd-pleasing populist fare" that "entertains as a spectacle of chases, bank capers, magic acts and song-and-dance numbers". Many critics noted similarities between Dhoom 3 and Christopher Nolan's films The Prestige and The Dark Knight.

Box office

Dhoom 3 grossed ₹198 crore (US$31 million) worldwide in its first weekend, including its Tamil and Telugu versions. On 6 January 2014, Yash Raj Films issued a statement that Dhoom 3 is officially the first Indian film to earn ₹5 billion (US$78 million) worldwide. The film's final worldwide gross as stated by Box Office Mojo and Box Office India was US$88 million.

Domestic

According to several trade publications, Dhoom 3 opened to an overwhelming response at the domestic box office. Box Office India stated that the film had an extraordinary opening, recording 75% occupancy in multiplexes and 90–100% occupancy in single screens.

The opening day collection stood at ₹309 million (US$4.8 million) from the Hindi version, while the dubbed Tamil and Telugu versions together earned ₹28 million (US$440,000). The total opening day collection of the film broke the records of highest non-holiday opening and highest single day previously held by Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani and Krrish 3 respectively. On the second day of its release, it went on to collect ₹295 million (US$4.6 million), setting new records in several circuits. Dhoom 3 (Hindi) nett. grossed ₹350 million (US$5.5 million) on its third day to take Hindi version total to about ₹958 million (US$15 million) in the first weekend and further ₹70 million (US$1.1 million) in Tamil and Telugu which took the all language figure to ₹1.02 billion (US$16 million), making it the fastest film to reach ₹1 billion (US$16 million) in India. The film grossed ₹200 million (US$3.1 million) on its first Monday, ₹210 million (US$3.3 million) on the first Tuesday, ₹240 million (US$3.7 million) on first Wednesday and ₹140 million (US$2.2 million) on first Thursday, taking the first week total to nearly ₹1.74 billion (US$27 million) for its Hindi version. The film set new first week records in all circuits and became the highest grossing film in the East Punjab circuit at the end of its first week. Dhoom 3 grossed ₹100 million (US$1.6 million) from its Tamil and Telugu versions to take its all language total to ₹1.83 billion (US$29 million) in first week.

The film collected ₹100 million (US$1.6 million) on second Friday, ₹115 million (US$1.8 million) on second Saturday, ₹170 million (US$2.7 million) on second Sunday, ₹60 million (US$940,000) on second Monday, ₹70 million (US$1.1 million) on second Tuesday, ₹105 million (US$1.6 million) on second Wednesday and ₹40 million (US$620,000) on second Thursday to take its Hindi-version total to ₹2.39 billion (US$37 million) in two weeks. Dhoom 3 set a new record for second week collections with ₹648 million (US$10 million), beating four-year-long record of ₹562 million (US$8.8 million) of 3 Idiots.

The film collected around ₹120 million (US$1.9 million) on its third weekend and ₹20 million (US$310,000) on its third Monday to take its Hindi version total to ₹2.52 billion (US$39 million) in 18 days. Dhoom 3 set new records in all territories across the globe apart from Mumbai, the biggest circuit. It grossed around ₹173 million (US$2.7 million) in its third week taking the three-week Hindi version total to around ₹2.56 billion (US$40 million). The Hindi version had a theatrical run for 9 weeks with a final domestic nett of ₹2.61 billion (US$41 million). Dhoom 3 earned about ₹125 million (US$1.9 million) from its Tamil and Telugu versions. Of its collections, ₹970 million (US$15 million) nett was from single screens in India. Dhoom 3 broke all records of 3 Idiots in domestic market, except Mumbai territory.

International

Dhoom 3 grossed US$10.32 million in its first weekend, setting new records in almost all territories. Dhoom 3 grossed 107cr total in Overseas. Dhoom 3 is the highest grosser ever in US/Canada, UK, Gulf, Australia and New Zealand. The film grossed over £2 million in U.K in 11 days, and went on to gross £2,708,046 to become highest grossing Bollywood film in UK The film collected $3,423,508 (₹ 204.9 million) in its first weekend in the United States-Canada region. Dhoom 3 collected US$20.5 million internationally in ten days. Dhoom 3 eventually grossed US$28 million in international markets in its lifetime overseas theatrical run and surpassed the record of 3 Idiots to become the highest grossing Bollywood film in international markets.

Dhoom 3 also set a new opening record in Pakistan, beating the previous record held by Pakistani film Waar. Dhoom 3 eventually became the highest grossing Bollywood film in Pakistan with overall gross of US$1.95 million (INR 121 million, PKR 245 million). Dhoom 3 became the first film to gross Rs 60 million at the box office in Nepal, as the local filmmakers of Nepal had to delay the release of their own films for three weeks due to the strong performance of Dhoom 3 there. Dhoom 3 had the biggest opening ever for any Indian film in Turkey, when it released there in June 2014.

China

The film released in China on 25 July 2014, 8 months after the release of the film in India and other overseas markets. Dhoom 3 was claimed to have the widest release in China for a Bollywood film in more than 3 decades. The film opened in 2,000 screens in 400 Chinese cities, upon release it entered the Chinese top 10 charts at number 9 and grossed $1.35 million for the three-day weekend beating the local Chinese romance "No Zuo No Die".

Sequel

Victor Acharya has confirmed that there will be a sequel, but he is not sure when the film will be released. The teaser poster of Dhoom Reloaded was released by Yash Raj films in December 2015.