Dhumas

Story: Under the guise of development, a powerful politician in rural Maharashtra is hell-bent on taking over the farmers’ land to build a mall ahead of the state elections. His nefarious plans are foiled by local rebel.

Review: Shivaji Doltade’s directorial, Dhumas, highlights how farmers and villagers suffer when politicians use them for their selfish ambitions. The story has its soul in the right place, but drifts away from its focus on numerous occasions, like when random song and dance numbers and sudden romantic scenes pop up in-between. The film has so many sub-stories going on simultaneously that it confuses the viewer.
A powerful politician Dadasaheb (Bharat Ganeshpure) makes tall promises of developing his constituency, ahead of the elections. The truth is that he is hell-bent on taking over the farmers’ land to build a mall worth crores in the name of development. His nefarious plans of looting the farmers are foiled by a local rebel named Indra (Gopichand Padalkar). With the help of Balasaheb (Uttamrao Jankar), Indra rises in the political circuit and they take on Dadasaheb and his goons. In between this, the love story of Dadasaheb’s son Tejsinh (Vishal Nikam) and Pradnya (Krutika Gaikwad) is thrown in.
Known for his comic roles, Bharat Ganeshpure convincingly plays the antagonist. However, Gopichand Padalkar, who plays the protagonist, fails to make a mark. Youngsters Vishal and Krutika are sincere, but their roles are limited.
The action scenes are good, but the south film inspiration becomes a bit too much when bad guys go flying off during fight sequences. If you are fans of the maar-dhaad masala entertainer, this one might interest you.