If you liked the movie even without the surround, you sure will be blown away when you see it with proper surround and proper, or even higher dB audio level. Where I saw it, it was surround and audio as loud as it gets, but I still was hungry for higher dBs especially for "Karazy Kiya Re" and a few other songs. Because of people like me and for films like Dhoom-2, Jurasic Park, Terminator series etc, local authorities have regulations regarding how high audio can get and for how long (to guard against hearing loss). I think, allowed is 130 dB (even 135 dB for a few seconds) for total of 10 min or so (in short bursts) in 2 hrs, 120 dB for 30-40 min, etc etc. But, I don't think our theatre reached 130 or even 125 dB. 120 dB may be, but there was plenty of bass.

With proper audio, special effects do come alive and it's a totally different experience. I saw this difference in Don when I saw it a second time (in DD) as the first screening was front speakers only.

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BTW, out of Toronto Ottawa Montreal, it's Silver City in Ottawa where it's in Dolby Digital, Silver City Brampton where 99% chance that it's Dolby Digital. All other theatres AMCs and Albions aren't equipped with DD. AMCs can play DD but Front Speakers only. Surprisingly, Dhoom-2 is not playing in Montreal (Umrao Jaan still is).

Got it at Planet M in Bombay. Can't listen to it in full res till I'm back home again.

(Spoilers shall follow; so, if you're averse to that type of stuff, avert your eyes now:)

Dhoom 2 is a film that I can most accurately describe as a mixed bag. When it shines, it's fucking phenomenal: The action, the music, the performances, the overall grip the movie casts upon you. Sadly, though, when it's bad, it takes great measures to illustrate just how terrible a film can be. So, which goes first in this review: the good, or the bad? Whichever I mention second will likely be thought to be the more prominent feature of the movie, and, as such, I just can't decide. I guess I'll have to flip a coin...

A movie like Dhoom 2 requires its audience to do one thing: leave its brains, and all things associated with "logic," at the door. We're not supposed to sit in the hall and question how any particular stunt is particularly pluasible, or roll our eyes at the sheer improbabilities of such things. To pull off the task of not letting our brains kick in, the movie demands that its actors and actresses be compelling, attractive, and appropriate for the genre. Luckily, Dhoom 2 has at least one such ace up its sleeve.

Hrithik Roshan is a performer who I find is a "director's actor." He's not Amitabh Bachchan, who's beyond magnificent no matter what the circumstances, and he's not Salman Khan, who probably couldn't pull a performance out of his ass to save an orphanage on Christmas Eve. In Dhoom 2, I find that Roshan delivers his best work since Koi... Mil Gaya (far topping his over-appreciated [though not bad] performance in this year's sequel to the picture, Krrish). We know he can dance, yet he goes to significant lengths to remind us; we know he's versatile, yet he bothers to tack another feather in his cap; we know he's athletic, yet he manages to pull off some truly impressive stunts with the grace and mobility of a long-trained stunt-man. Be it as an old queen, a decrepit janitor, or a suave thief, Roshan exudes talent throughout Dhoom 2, always excellent, yet never so hammy as to try to "force" the film to be his own. John Abraham did well enough in the first movie, but, if there is to be a "Dhoom 3" (and, if financial success is to determine the likelihood, then I'd bet that there will be), I'd rather see Roshan back than Abraham (though this possibility seems improbable, considering the sickening stupidity of this venture's finalé... more on that later).

Aishwarya Rai, who's acting usually ranges from "bad" to "good," manages to be excellent in Dhoom 2. She's lost some weight, gotten an all-over (except, oddly, around her eyes) tan, and played a part that some might think she's almost getting too old for. Again, however, she does a fantastic job, and comes up with a performance less commendable only than Hrithik's. I admit, from her first ten minutes on screen, I thought I'd be able to stomach neither her nor her character: I imagined both would be shallow eye candy, present to utter the most banal, contrived lines that the "sexy girl" usually does, and vanish from scenes at the most convenient moments. Fortunately, both Rai and her character have much more depth than this, and, by the end of the film, I was sincerely glad that Sanjay Gadhvi had incorporated the perhaps-soon-become-a-global-icon into his project.

Uday Chopra has a relatively small part in Dhoom 2 (he had quite a bit more to do and say in the first one), yet he's still fun to watch when he's on screen. His "Riggs" to Abhishek's "Murtaugh" works well this time around, too, and, "Circuit" though he's not, Chopra makes his side-kick part one that audiences should remember (I think I shall).

The music is simply sublime, Aishwarya getting perhaps my favorite song this year, "Crazy Kiya," and making it something to remember, with her slick, sultry dance moves sprinkled throughout. The re-mixed "Dhoom Machale" (to which the film's opening credits roll) is almost as good, and the worst song of the film (pictured on Abhishek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu, and Uday Chopra) isn't really something to bitch home about, either. The background score is as fitting and thrilling in Dhoom 2 as it was in 2004's Dhoom, meaning that the aural experience of the film, alone, is almost worth the price of admission to the theater.

OK, so, now, the bad? Well...

Abhishek Bachchan isn't exactly "bad," but he's far from good. He whips out more sarcastic quips than he did last time (in much the spirit, but with little of the success, that did Amitabh's "Jai" in the classic, Sholay), grows an ever-thickening beard throughout the film, and even dances as well as he can in an entire song. Nonetheless, to date, Yuva remains the only film in which I find Abhishek Bachchan to do work that is truly appreciable, and it's clear that Dhoom 2 is not a film owned by its protagonist. Again, it's not that Bachchan's "bad," exactly, but that he's nothing more than "adaquate." A better actor, though, might have made for a better film, and thus I began my "bad" list with Abhishek, the last bad "bad" aspect of Dhoom 2.

Bipasha Basu is an odd performance for me to comment on, as I feel she could easily belong on the list of "good" or "bad." She has a double role, and the first really does belong here. It's the same terrivle part, played the same horrible way, that Bipasha's done in almost all her films at this point. A sophisticated, sultry woman, with wooden expressions and little body language, who's there just to fill a mandatory role. Add to this that she shares little to no chemistry with Abhishek, and that she's forced to utter some of the stupidest lines I've ever heard (e.g. [paraphrasing], "Yeh duniya ka sabse hushyar, aur sabse 'cool,' chor hai"), and she ends up being an aspect of Dhoom 2 that I just can't help but not be fond of. "Role #2," however, small though it is, is just great. In it, Basu shows that she can not only fit her type-cast part from Jism and [/u]Ajnabee[/u], but that of a Juhi-Chawla bubbly "fun girl," as well. In the role, she's funny, charming, and a pleasure to watch, and I hope I get to see her do a few more "frivolous" parts such as this, hereafter.

Things, thus far, seem not-so-bad, right? Well... the truly atrocious: The ending. About fifteen minutes before the film is to be over, it almost feels as though director Sanjay Gadhvi threw his hands up into the air, realized that the movie was almost over and not all the awesome action sequences had yet been incorporated, and decided to go ahead and throw them altogether as some sort of über action-montage. Things happen, and they happen, fast, but I'm never quite sure why the hell they're happening, or even how they make sense. In one part, a helicopter drops the two heroes off on one side of a tunnel, then mysteriously winds up on the other side, acting is a rather ridiculous obstacle. In another, the chase stops, then picks up again, for absolutely no tangible reason. Until the museum, the movie makes sense and feels good; but, as soon as the heist is complete, the film stops, the action begins, and the confusion of the viewer ensues.

The "dénoument," then, tries to trump the stupidity even of the thrills leading up to it. To kill it, both the thieves "get away." I quote the words as they don't so much "escape," as they are allowed to walk away by an Abhishek who looks to have spent the past six months strapped to a bong. He's happy, hairy, and authentically uninterested in what he's been doing for the past two-plus hours, and his actions make for a very un-impressive conclusion. Dhoom's final moments were exciting, though visually a bit too "inspired by" moments from the Matrix films; Dhoom 2 is arguably "original," yet thoroughly uninspired, in its conclusive minutes. Given the choice, I'd take something similar to something I've seen before quite over something I wish had never been recorded to celluloid at all.

There are a few other, much more, minor quibbles, as well: I think some of the moments between Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai go on for too long. The Russian Roulette, the basketball: they're parts that I find get a bit too "romantic" and "emotional," and I just wish they were trimmed a bit. I confess, though, that there's nothing "wrong" with them, and that this is just the result of my general personal unwillingness to watch anything of this sort for more than a few seconds (I guess I just can't sit through it). Another thing, I don't get how a guy can stay under-water for upward of five minutes of humorous banter, just prior to emerging on a jet-ski to save the day. (How does the jet-ski even stay under for that long?) How does another go through the parachute of a villain to cling to his back? These are small things, though, and they really don't mean much in the face of the glaring insipidity of the movie's final fifteen or so minutes.

Overall, Dhoom 2 is a fun, high-octane film that betters its predecessor in some areas, and succumbs to it in others. Hrithik is better than John, and Aishwarya is better than Esha (Deol), but the ending of Dhoom is just so much less... stupid.

I agree that people too often under-estimate the difference that sound makes in a movie. When I saw Don (2006), I got the distinct impression that the audio was being fed only through the front ("behind-the-screen") speakers, and many parts were just never so loud as I felt they should have been. A movie's two parts: picture and sound. If things look good, but the audio isn't sucking you into the film's world, then the experience will be inferior and incomplete. Now, I wouldn't go so far as your crazy ass might ( ) and demand decibel levels higher than 130 to be maintained for minutes at a time, but I do wish that a movie theater would go the the lengths of enduring a proper (and pleasant) experience for its patrons. Dhoom 2 had great sound, and I agree that "Crazy Kiya" made full use of it, and just wouldn't have been the same if I'd heard it they way I heard Don. Here's to hoping that they get [u/]Babul[/u] right...

Found an interesting link, listing cinema halls of Delhi, new and old.

http://www.delhi-india.net/recreation/cinemas.html

It's interesting to see that not too many cinemas are equipped with Dolby Digital or DTS. Many cinemas proudly claim to be STEREO. I wonder if most people even know what they are missing when they watch action films like Dhoom, Don, James Bond etc. If they knew the difference, they won't see these action heavy films in these non DD/ DTS theatres when the film is also showing in DD/ DTS theatre in the city.

Even for non-action films good sound/ surround sound makes a difference. For example, sound wise I liked Umrao Jaan screening in DD better than Don screened front speakers only.



I know, many people don't like very loud sound but there are instances where loud sounds are required. If a film is THX and screened in THX, THX certification takes care of the proper sound levels. Neither too loud to be damaging to ears nor too low to loose impact of a scene. Also, that proper clean amplification is available. Achieving high volumes without required power makes sound annoying and perhaps the reason for people dislike for loud sounds. Actually, even theatres like to keep the volume low to protect their sound system. Specially when attendant is not always sitting besides the projector (multiplexes). Often I have seen, in the first or trial screening volume is set a bit low, to check if any outbursts of high level exist in the film, and in later showings it goes up according to what a theatre considers it safe for their system.

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BTW, in the theatre where I saw Dhoom-2, there was a new shipment of huge speakers, over 20-25 inches, in humongous boxes, marked as "Rear Speaker". Present rear speakers in that theatre are not as big and still it rocks (is THX already). It sure will get better when the new ones get installed.

Dude forget about it as half of the desi Janta do not even care about the quality of the movie let alone the sound. Give them VHS format in the form of a DVD and they will be really happy and will say that they watched a movie on DVD.
The other day I was watching a movie at my friends house, he has a nice theater room with bose home theater, epson projector and a good screen and know what they were watching Trishul on an Eros dvd and no one even complained about the shitty print. So it all boils down to the fact that people (mainly desi janta) just want to watch the movie and they don't care about the sound and picture quality.
Charge them $3 and show them a pirated copy of the movie and they will be really happy to watch.
(Hum logon ko... samajh sako to..Samjho dilbar jaani)

I took a quick look at the list of Delhi Cinema halls and the listed features and just so you know a lot of the information given regarding sound is incorrect. Quite a few theaters that have Dolby Digital/DTS do not have the same listed in their respective details and also atleast a few theaters mentioned to have 'stereo' sound actually have Dolby Digital/DTS sound. Actually any even half decent theater of Delhi has had Dolby Digital and/or DTS sound for a long time now. The overall quality of the sound on the other hand is a totally different issue with even some of the multiplexes having absolutely crappy sound.

I think in local theatre here Desi one where they insist DD all the way, they might most likely not have REAR speakers in rest of halls, beside one or two main! that explains lousy sound and crap!

Nice to know that Delhi cinemas are mostly up to date, at least in equipment. Of course, accoustics is another matter and for this reason, perhaps here in US/ Canada one theatre design is used for 10s or 100s of theatres in multiplexes. Once you know, what works accoustically, better use it for future theatres.

Actually, I'll be visiting Delhi some time next year and would like to catch up on theatrical screenings. But, I'd like to use the best screenings, audio wise and picture wise. Out of that link, Pitampura M2K theatre seems to give the best technical capabilities:


So Sanjay, what do you think of this theatre and which other theatres have good audio & picture. Thanks.

I and family went to see Dhoom-2 again as it was playing in good theatre and we all, specially kids, liked it. Second time around, we all liked it even more.

BTW, this time around I took my hand held audio dB meter (Tandy/ Radio Shack $ 40) with me to see what audio levels we're getting. (Used instant and actual values instead of ear sensitivity caliberated settings. Other setting would have given even lower values.)
Surprisingly I found the peak level to be 110 dB for no more than 1-2 seconds at a time a few times only. Mostly/ "at other times" it was below 90 dB (mostly 80 dB). Using other calib, it'd record 10 dB less. Still it was loud enough, specially due to subwoofer (bass) activity. I found/ realized that subwoofers/ bass levels do give big impact but they don't affect dB levels much. dB level is affected more by hi freq sounds.

Anyway, imagine Dhoom-2 or other films playing at 120-130 dB levels used for Hollywood THX films as oposed to 80-90 dB level in the screening that I saw. At those higher audio levels, Dhoom-2 would sound even more spectacular.

Nope, didn't get the 2nd wkend record. Registered a 48% drop to $ 510,000 for US Box Office collections.
http://www.boxofficemojo.com/weekend/chart/

I'd have thought collections to have stayed steady as seen in our local theatre that was more full on 2nd Sunday as compared to the opening Sunday.

I have never watched a movie at M2K but I would personally not depend too much on the specifications mentioned as I am quite sure they are misleading at best if not outright incorrect. M2K is not a major theater and is also not located in a very upmarket area thus I seriously doubt it being that great. Satyam cinema in my opinion is the best overall theater (multiplex) in and around Delhi. Satyam is currently located in two places, Patel Nagar and Janakpuri, while a third location is supposed to open sometime in the coming year at Nehru Place. Both the current Satyam locations have four screens each. Two screens are big while two are smaller. I only watch movies on the two larger screens at both locations. Wave cinemas in Noida is also a nice theater and has decent sound. The PVR chain is a mixed bag, with the older theaters not very good while the newer ones are nicer, for eg. PVR-Spice in Noida and PVR-Sahara in Gurgaon. Amongst the single screen theaters, Shiela and Chanakya are probably the best theaters. Adlabs is also decent but is currently only located in Ghaziabad. The Adlabs also has one IMAX screen. The multiplexes that you definately want to avoid are both DT Cinemas (City Center & Mega Mall) in Gurgaon; PVR-Saket, PVR-Naraina, PVR-Vikaspuri & PVR-Metropoliton Mall in Gurgaon.

Thanks for the info Sanjay.

BTW, just out of curosity, if any of these 60s 70s cinemas are still in operation ? And, if closed about when did they close operations (most likely in the VHS era) ? :

Sudershan
EROS (Gautam Nagar/ Lajpat Nagar)
Shalimar (aprox 3 KM from EROS)
Jagat
Moti, Jubilee and another one in Chandani Chowk area (all three within half a KM of Shish Ganj Gurudwara/ Fountain).
Rivoli
Regal
Kumar

It has been years since i even visited old Delhi (Chandni Chowk area), thus I cannot say for sure about the theaters there. But I think Moti is still operational while Jubilee and Novelty have closed down. Regal is still open but is in shambles from what I have read just recently while Rivoli has been taken over by PVR and has just recently been renovated as PVR-Rivoli. Eros too I think has closed down and there are plans to convert it into a mutiplex or shopping complex but is facing opposition in the courts from the residents in the area. As far as the other cinemas are concerned I really have no idea about their current status.

Thanks for the nostalgic info, Sanjay.