Be
forewarned.
De
Dana
Dan
is
the
most
bizarre
film
from
the
maharaja
of
laughathons,
Priyadarshan.
Not
even
in
your
wildest
dream
you'd
think
that
Priyadarshan
would
place
almost
an
entire
film
in
a
hotel
and
have
its
entire
cast,
comprising
of
26
[or
is
it
27?]
characters,
most
of
them
weirdos,
interacting
with
each
other.
Brings
back
memories
of
Blame
It
On
The
Bellboy?
May
be!
But
Priyadarshan
needs
to
be
credited
for
pulling
it
off.
There
are
times
when
you
laugh
hysterically
at
the
most
outlandish
jokes
and
situations.
There
are
times
when
a
raised
eyebrow
or
a
wide-open
jaw
makes
you
break
into
a
guffaw.
Be
cautioned.
De
Dana
Dan
is
a
loud
film,
with
each
and
every
character
screaming
on
top
of
his/her
voice,
with
the
characters
shouting,
running,
even
floating
and
swimming
in
the
end.
But
what
do
you
expect
in
a
Priyadarshan
film
that
has
a
title
like
De
Dana
Dan?
The
promos
never
promised
path-breaking
or
thought-provoking
cinema
that
would
give
birth
to
debates
and
discussions.
So
why
look
for
logic
in
this
one?
De
Dana
Dan
makes
no
qualms
of
narrating
a
story
you
haven't
heard
before.
Here,
the
story
is
non-existent
and
it's
left
on
Priyadarshan
to
mix-n-match
those
two
dozen
characters
and
keep
the
momentum
alive
for
the
next
2.45
hours.
De
Dana
Dan
promises
laughter
and
entertainment
and
sticks
to
its
promise.
This
one's
not
for
the
hard-nosed
types,
but
for
those
who
worship
escapist
cinema.
Who
want
to
chuckle,
giggle
and
chortle
at
those
mindless
jokes.
In
short,
De
Dana
Dan
is
a
pure
dhamaal
entertainer!
Nitin
[Akshay
Kumar]
is
a
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.
He
desperately
wants
to
become
rich
and
marry
the
love
of
his
life,
Anjali
[Katrina
Kaif],
who
supports
him
financially.
Ram
[Suniel
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
[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
[Paresh
Rawal],
a
shrewd
businessman,
who's
looking
for
ways
to
multiply
his
income
and
avoid
his
debtors.
He
decides
the
best
way
would
be
to
marry
his
son
[Chunky
Pandey]
off
to
a
girl
whose
parents
can
give
him
a
large
dowry.
He
is
introduced
to
Manpreet's
parents
at
a
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
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
awry
and
both
hide
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
[Asrani],
a
hired
assassin
[Johny
Lever],
a
ACB
police
inspector
[Sharat
Saxena],
a
club
dancer
[Neha
Dhupia],
an
ambassador
[Vikram
Gokhale],
a
young
frustrated
double
crossing
wife
[Aditi
Govitrikar],
a
letch
[Shakti
Kapoor],
a
drunken
waiter
[Rajpal
Yadav]
and
a
dead
body
nobody
wants
to
check
into
the
hotel.
De
Dana
Dan
is
atypical
Priyadarshan
film
that
has
the
unmistakable
stamp
all
over
it.
But,
at
the
same
time,
De
Dana
Dan
is
erratic
and
uneven
-
energetic
at
times,
lethargic
at
places.
Also,
the
culmination
to
the
film
is
very
similar
to
the
director's
earlier
works,
with
the
entire
cast
running
helter-skelter.
On
the
flip
side,
you
miss
Akshay's
presence
in
the
second
hour.
He
disappears
[gets
locked
in
a
cupboard]
for
at
least
20
minutes
and
the
focus,
hence,
shifts
to
the
other
characters.
His
fans
will
miss
his
presence,
for
sure.
Besides,
the
film
tends
to
get
very
lengthy
towards
the
second
half
and
overtly
verbose
too.
Director
Priyadarshan
is
synonymous
with
comedies
and
the
ace
storyteller
promises
laughter
in
abundance.
Handling
so
many
characters,
plus
making
a
film
on
mistaken
identities
could
be
very
tough,
but
the
director
gets
it
right.
Pritam's
music
is
alright,
while
the
RDB
track,
'Paisa',
is
the
pick
of
the
lot.
Salim-Sulaiman's
background
score
is
energetic.
K.
Ahambaram's
cinematography
is
alright.
The
review
would
be
incomplete
if
one
ignored
the
dialogue
writer's
[Jay
Master]
contribution
to
the
film.
The
lines
are
laced
with
wit
and
soaked
in
humour
and
bring
the
house
down
on
several
occasions.
De
Dana
Dan
has
so
many
characters
that
it
gets
difficult
to
pinpoint
or
single
out
any
one
actor.
Akshay
is
at
his
best
in
a
Priyadarshan
film
and
De
Dana
Dan
proves
it.
Suniel
is
natural
to
the
core.
Paresh
is
incredible;
he
pitches
in
a
superb
act.
Katrina
and
Sameera
don't
have
much
to
do.
Amongst
the
plethora
of
actors,
Johny
Lever,
Neha
Dhupia,
Manoj
Joshi,
Asrani,
Vikram
Gokhale
and
Archana
Puransingh
deserve
special
mention.
On
the
whole,
De
Dana
Dan
is
targeted
at
the
masses
and
it
delivers
laughter
in
abundance.
Leave
your
brains
behind
to
enjoy
this
madcap
entertainer!