Dhoom

A gang on motorcycles robs banks in Mumbai and vanishes within seconds. To crack it, the police officer Jai brings in Ali, a mechanic obsessed with bikes. Against them is a calm, methodical, very fast thief. The film is not interested in heist construction. It is interested in speed: the chases are the main material and the motorcycle is turned into something close to a character. The form is an example of the new approach Yash Raj Films was trying at the time: shorter running time, fewer songs, the tempo of Western action cinema. It worked commercially and became a franchise, with the sequels ranking among India's biggest box office productions. Sanjay Gadhvi directed. Abhishek Bachchan plays the policeman, Uday Chopra the mechanic and John Abraham the thief. The most discussed thing about it was that the villain is drawn as more attractive than the hero. Who it is for: viewers who like Indian action cinema and motorcycle chases. Who it is not for: anyone wanting depth of character. The story is thin and the women are almost purely decorative.