With ‘Dhamaal 4’ approaching its release, Jaaved Jafferi discussed why pre-release nerves have never been part of his experience, how ‘Dhamaal’ went from a middling box-office draw to a franchise with cult status, and why, in his view, the original film was let down by poor marketing rather than the content itself. Across every instalment of the comedy series, the actor has portrayed the endearing character Manav.
Jaaved Jafferi : Nobody imagined ‘Dhamaal’ as a franchise
Speaking to India Today, Jafferi expressed complete confidence in the film, saying he believes audiences are craving exactly the kind of light-hearted entertainment it offers. Interestingly, he revealed that no one associated with the first film had ever envisioned Dhamaal turning into a franchise. He said, “When we started, nobody thought of it as a franchise. It was just a one-off fun film. The first one didn’t do great at the box office. It was okay, but it became a cult later. Then they said, ‘Let’s make a second one.’ That also did okay, not huge, but it recovered its money and made a bit of profit.”
Jaaved Jafferi on the franchise’s ever-changing cast
He talks about how the franchise’s cast kept changing with each new film. “Then they decided to make the third one. Sanjay Dutt wasn’t there anymore, so they added Madhuri Dixit, Anil Kapoor and Ajay Devgn. In this one, Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit aren’t there, but Ajay is back. Ritesh, Arshad and I are the constants, and to some extent Sanjay Mishra too, although even he has switched characters.”
Jaaved Jafferi on when franchise-building began in India
He also feels that the deliberate approach of building franchises only took hold in India sometime after 2010. He added, “Nobody thought of films as franchises back then. Nowadays, projects are made keeping in mind that they can become franchises, whether it’s films or web series with multiple seasons. I think that whole thinking and business model came in post-2010, even before Covid. With web series, writers started planning character trajectories and story arcs across multiple seasons. It’s essentially the same format as films, just longer.”
Jaaved Jafferi compares ‘Dhamaal’ to Star Wars and Hollywood franchises
Shifting the focus to Hollywood, he holds up Star Wars as the ultimate example of building a franchise. “In the West, you had Rocky, Star Wars, The Godfather. But if you look at extracting the maximum juice out of a property, Star Wars did that best. It expanded into The Mandalorian and so many other stories. Then came Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter and the Marvel Universe.” Back home in India, Jafferi credits Dhamaal with having kickstarted the franchise trend. “In India, if I’m not mistaken, Dhamaal was the first movie 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 movie franchise, I think Dhamaal started that trend.”
Jaaved Jafferi on the disappointment over the first film’s marketing
Even though the franchise enjoys huge popularity now, the actor concedes the team was let down when the first film underperformed at release. “Yeah, we were disappointed because I personally felt it was marketed wrong.” Using an analogy to make his point, he explains, “You can’t say I want to sell a Nike shoe but market it like Nirma. It’s a completely different target audience and a completely different way of pitching it.” He feels the unconventional nature of the film wasn’t conveyed 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 just one song, and that came at the end as part of the celebration after the climax. It wasn’t a promotional song.” Reflecting on it now, he says the cast never doubted they’d created something special. “We were disappointed because I thought it was fantastic. We loved it while we were making it. We knew it was something unique. But as I said, I think it was just marketed wrong.”
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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 up. It’s up to the people.” According to the actor, the pressure of a film’s success feels different when one 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 a solo lead of a film, there’s a weight on your shoulders because a lot 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 carrying it. Ajay Devgn is technically the biggest name we have, but it’s still an ensemble cast.” Jafferi believes the biggest strength of Dhamaal 4 lies in its ability to help people forget their worries for a couple of hours. “It’s something we really enjoyed making, and it’s a world we enjoy. I think it’s a laugh riot, a leave-your-brains-behind kind of fun comedy. It’s de-stressing. Especially today, when there’s so much violence happening not just in cinema but even in the real world, films like this or comic shows become a de-stressor in some ways. So we’re comfortable. Hopefully, people will like it. I haven’t seen the film, but I feel it’ll work. It’s good, clean, family comedy.”
Jaaved Jafferi on being one of the franchise’s only constants
Given that ‘Dhamaal’ now ranks among Bollywood’s longest-running comedy franchises, it might seem like the actors would feel pressure to live up to its legacy. Jafferi, though, 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 switched characters from the third onwards. In the first and second films, he was a wannabe detective. In the third, he became this Bihari conman-ish guy. So Arshad and I are the only two constants through all four films.”
Jaaved Jafferi compares Dhamaal’s format to classic comedy series
He drew a comparison between the franchise and classic film series that simply placed familiar characters in new adventures each time. “I just feel, like in the ’60s and ’70s, there used to be these formats with the same characters put into different situations. There was the Carry On series — Carry On Doctor, Carry On Nurse, Carry On Up the Jungle. Those formats have existed forever. ‘Dhamaal’, very uniquely, has always been about a quest and a chase for either 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 film and a sketch show where the sketches keep leading you from Point A to Point B. Of course, there are emotional moments too, but always within the parameters of a family fun comedy.”
