With ‘Dhamaal 4’ nearing its release, Jaaved Jafferi discusses why pre-release jitters have never been a part of his experience, how ‘Dhamaal’ went from an average box office draw to a cult franchise and why, in his opinion, the original film was let down by poor marketing rather than the content itself. In each installment of the comedy series, the actor has played the endearing character Manav.
Javed to Jaffer : No one imagined ‘Dhamaal’ as a franchise
Speaking to India Today, Jafferi expressed full confidence in the film, saying that he believes audiences want exactly the kind of light-hearted entertainment it delivers. Interestingly, he revealed that no one associated with the first film had ever imagined that Dhamaal would become a franchise. He said: “When we started, nobody thought of it as a franchise. It was just a fun and unique movie. The first one didn’t do great at the box office. It was fine, but then it became a cult. Then they said, “Let’s do a second.” That was good too, not much, but he got his money back and made a bit of a profit.”
Jaaved Jafferi to the ever-changing cast of the franchise
He talks about how the cast of the franchise kept changing with each new film. “Then they decided to do the third one. Sanjay Dutt it was no longer there, so they added Madhuri DixitAnil Kapoor and Ajay Devgn. In this one, Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit are absent, but Ajay is back. Ritesh, Arshad and I are the constants, and to an extent Sanjay Mishra too, though even he has changed character.”
Jaaved Jafferi when he started building franchises in India
He also believes that the deliberate approach to building franchises only took hold in India sometime after 2010. He added, “No one thought of films as franchises back then. Today, projects are made with the idea that they can be turned into franchises, be it movies or web series with multiple seasons. And story arcs over multiple seasons. It’s essentially the same format as movies, just longer.”
Jaaved Jafferi compares ‘Dhamaal’ to Star Wars and Hollywood franchises
Shifting the focus to Hollywood, he considers Star Wars the ultimate example of franchise building. “In the West, you had Rocky, Star Wars, The Godfather. But if you look at squeezing the most juice out of a property, Star Wars did it better. It expanded into The Mandalorian and so many other stories. Then came The Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and the Marvel Universe.” Back in India, Jafferi credits Dhamaal with driving the franchise trend. “In India, if I’m not mistaken, Dhamaal was the first film franchise. I may be wrong, but I think so. Welcome came later, Golmaal came later. Even action franchises like Tiger, War and Drishyam are much later. As a film franchise, I think Dhamaal started this trend.”
Jaaved Jafferi on the marketing disappointment of the first film
Although the franchise is enjoying huge popularity now, the actor admits that the team was let down when the first film underperformed on release. “Yes, we were disappointed because I personally felt it was marketed poorly.” Using an analogy to make his point, he explains, “You can’t say I want to sell a Nike shoe but market it as Nirma. It’s a completely different target audience and a completely different way of presenting it.“I feel that the unconventional nature of the film was not conveyed in the right way. “I felt there was some kind of miscommunication in the marketing because the film was very unique for its time. There were no heroines in the film. There was only one song, and that came at the end as part of the post-climax celebration. It wasn’t a promotional song.” Reflecting on it now, he says the cast never doubted they had created something special. “We were disappointed because I thought it was fantastic. We loved it while we made it. We knew it was something unique. But like I said, I think it was marketed badly.”
Jaaved Jafferi: ‘I’m never nervous’ about ‘Dhamaal 4’
On the subject of ‘Dhamaal 4’, he said, “I’m never nervous. I don’t get nervous about these things. We’ve done our best. We put it on. It depends on the people.” According to the actor, the pressure of a film’s success feels different when an actor is solely responsible for carrying it. “I think the people who get nervous are the people who put the money in. And to some extent, when you’re the star of a solo film, there’s a weight on your shoulders because so much of your career depends on whether it’s a hit or a flop. But this is an ensemble cast; it’s not just one person who wears it. Ajay Devgn is technically the biggest name we have, but it’s still an ensemble cast.” Jafferi believes Dhamaal 4’s biggest strength lies in its ability to help people forget their worries for a couple of hours. “It’s something we really enjoy doing and it’s a world we enjoy. I think it’s a laugh riot, a funny comedy that leaves your brain behind. It’s de-stressing. Especially today, when there is so much violence not only in movies, but even in the real world, movies like this or comic book shows somehow become a stress reliever. So we are comfortable. Hopefully, people like it. I haven’t seen the movie, but I think it will work. It’s good, clean, family comedy.”
Jaaaved Jafferi for being one of the franchise’s only constants
Since “Dhamaal” is now among Bollywood’s longest-running comedy franchises, it might seem like the actors would feel pressured to live up to its legacy. Jafferi, however, sees it in a different light. He said, “Technically speaking, Arshad and I have been the only constant characters throughout the series. Ritesh has been there in all four films, but he changed characters from the third. In the first and second films, he was an aspiring detective. In the third, it became this kind of Bihari scam. So Arshad and I are the only two constants across the four films.”
Jaaved Jafferi compares the format of Dhamaal to the classic comedy series
He drew a comparison between the franchise and the classic film series that simply put familiar characters on new adventures each time. “I just feel like in the 60s and 70s, there were these formats with the same characters put in different situations. There was the Carry On series — Carry On Doctor, Carry On Nurse, Carry On Up the Jungle. Those formats have been around forever. ‘Dhamaal’, very uniquely, has always been a hunt for money or treasure. This time it’s buried treasure that’s 100 years old or whatever. So basically it’s a journey from point A to point B, and all the punches, gags and sketches happen along the way. It’s like a mix of a movie and a sketch show where the sketches keep taking you from point A to point B. Of course, there are emotional moments as well, but always within the parameters of a fun family comedy.”