Dhamaka

About the film

Dhamaka (transl. Blast) is a 2021 Indian Hindi-language thriller film written and directed by Ram Madhvani. An official remake of the 2013 film The Terror Live, the film stars Kartik Aaryan as a journalist who receives a threat after exclusively interviewing a terrorist, who threatens to blow up the Bandra Worli Sea Link in Mumbai. Mrunal Thakur and Amruta Subhash co-star in prominent roles.

The adaptation was first pitched by Sunir Kheterpal of Azure Entertainment along with the producers of the original film. After Kheterpal dropped the project, Screwvala acquired the rights for the adaptation with Madhvani helming the project. An official announcement was made in November 2020, production began in December 2020 in Mumbai, and was completed within ten days. The post-production works began simultaneously and were completed within four months, with pending visual effects and graphics process, which were resumed after the COVID-19 lockdown due to the second wave of the pandemic, in September 2021. The cinematography is handled by Manu Anand and edited by Monisha Baldawa and Amit Karia. The music and background score is composed by Vishal Khurana K.

Plot

Arjun Pathak was once a top news anchor, but gets demoted due to his behavior. Pulled from primetime TV news and recently divorced, he is now the jaded and bitter host of a current affairs radio program. One day during his morning show, Arjun receives a peculiar phone call threatening to blow up the Bandra-Worli Sea Link, a major bridge visible from Arjun's studio building. He takes it as a prank call but watches in shock as the caller follows through and detonates explosives that cause the bridge to collapse, killing innocent people and trapping others.

Realising this could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to make his comeback as a newscaster, Arjun doesn't call the police. Instead, he sets up a makeshift television studio from his radio station, and negotiates with his former boss, the ratings-obsessed news producer, Ankita Malaskar, to get his position back. He strikes a dangerous deal with the terrorist to exclusively broadcast their phone conversations in real-time, as the whole nation watches.

The newsroom erupts in chaos as Arjun, Ankita, the police, other broadcasters and the government all exploit terrorism for their own agenda. The only exception is Soumya, Arjun's ex-wife, a reporter who volunteers to report from the site of the terrorist attack. As the live show progresses, Arjun gradually realises how little control he has over the situation. The terrorist, who claims to be Raghubeer Mhata, a 50-something construction worker who lost three of his co-workers in a senseless industrial accident while fixing the bridge, says the families of the victims weren't compensated and demands a public apology from Minister Jaydev Patil. With several people remaining on the bridge, the terrorist threatens a second explosion. He also reveals to Arjun alone that he put a bomb in the anchor's earphone, and that if Patil doesn't apologise, the bomb will explode in his ear, live on air.

Production

A remake of the Korean film The Terror Live (2013) was announced by Lionsgate Films and Global Gate Entertainment in collaboration with Sunir Kheterpal's Azure Entertainment in May 2018, along with other international projects. However, in a turn of developments, Kheterpal opted out of the project and it was later pitched by Ronnie Screwvala of RSVP Movies, with Ram Madhvani directing the film. Madhvani initially planned to present the feature as a female-centric film, referencing his previous works: Neerja (2016) and the web series Aarya (2020). He initially wrote the script with Taapsee Pannu in mind, but could not approach her for the film, and later Kriti Sanon was also considered for the project, who also refused the offer without giving a convincing reason.

He then dropped the idea, changing the narrative to a male-centric project and narrated the script to Kartik Aaryan accepting his part in the film, as it was his first serious role after a number of comical and romantic characters. The film featured Aaryan as the main lead, essaying the role of a news reporter named Arjun Pathak, who runs against time to save the city. Yami Gautam was initially reported to play the character of Arjun's wife, but she opted out of the film citing date clashes and was replaced by Mrunal Thakur. The film was officially announced on Aaryan's 30th birthday, i.e., 22 November 2020, also revealing the film's title as Dhamaka.

Principal photography began on 14 December 2020 in Mumbai. On 24 December 2020, it was announced that the makers wrapped the shooting of the film within 10 days. The director Madhvani had designed a detailed storyboard and ensured the team was prepped to avoid prolonged shoot schedules. 90% of the shooting was held indoors at a set erected at Renaissance Hotel in Powai, Mumbai, and the hotel was booked by the production unit, composed of more than 300 people. Adhering to the COVID-19 safety protocols, no outsiders were allowed inside the hotel and the entire unit was asked to stay put during the period, thus creating a bio-bubble of sorts.

Soundtrack

The soundtrack and score for the film are composed by Vishal Khurana K, who previously collaborated with Ram Madhvani in Neerja (2016) and the streaming television series Aarya (2020). The film featured only one song titled "Khoya Paaya" which was sung by Amit Trivedi and Delraaz Bunshah and written by Puneet Sharma. A promotional video song of the track, shot by Ravi Varman and directed by Bejoy Nambiar, was released on 31 October 2021, where the film's team attended the sets of Bigg Boss 15 for promotional purposes. On 12 November 2021, Zee Music Company released the full album which also had a female version of this track crooned by Jasleen Royal, spanning the duration of the album to 6 minutes.

Key details