Dhamaal 4: Jaaved Jafferi says first film was marketed wrong, became a cult later
As Dhamaal 4 heads for release, actor Jaaved Jafferi said the first film was marketed wrongly despite its uniqueness. In an exclusive interview, he said the franchise later found its audience.
As Dhamaal 4 gears up for release, actor Jaaved Jafferi spoke about why he never gets nervous before a release, the unexpected journey of Dhamaal from an average box-office performer to a cult franchise, and why he believes the first film was simply marketed the wrong way. The 62-year-old has played the lovable Manav across every instalment of the comedy franchise.
In an exclusive conversation with India Today, Jafferi said he has complete faith in the film and believes audiences are looking for exactly the kind of light-hearted entertainment it promises.
Interestingly, Jafferi reveals that nobody involved with the first film ever imagined Dhamaal would become a franchise. "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."
He recalls how the franchise gradually evolved with new additions to the cast.
"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."
How franchise thinking changed
Jafferi also believes the idea of consciously building franchises became common in India only after the 2010s. "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."
He adds, "With web series, writers started planning character trajectories and story arcs across multiple seasons. It's essentially the same format as films, just longer."
Looking at Hollywood, he points to Star Wars as the gold standard.
"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."
As for India, Jafferi feels Dhamaal deserves credit for pioneering the franchise model.
"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."
Why the first film disappointed the team
Despite the franchise's popularity today, the actor admits the team was disappointed when the original film didn't perform as expected upon release.
"Yeah, we were disappointed because I personally felt it was marketed wrong."
Explaining his point with an analogy, he says, "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 believes the film's unconventional nature wasn't communicated properly.
"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."
Looking back, he says the cast always knew they had made 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."
No nerves before release
Speaking about 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.”
The actor believes the pressure of a film's success is 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 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."
For Jaffery, the biggest draw of Dhamaal 4 is its ability to make 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."
The constants in the franchise
With Dhamaal now among Bollywood's longest-running comedy franchises, one would assume the actors feel the pressure of living up to the series' legacy. Jafferi, however, looks at it differently.
The actor 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."
He compared the franchise to classic film series where familiar characters were simply dropped into fresh adventures. "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."
Jaaved added, "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."
Dhamaal 4 is set to release on April 10.
As Dhamaal 4 gears up for release, actor Jaaved Jafferi spoke about why he never gets nervous before a release, the unexpected journey of Dhamaal from an average box-office performer to a cult franchise, and why he believes the first film was simply marketed the wrong way. The 62-year-old has played the lovable Manav across every instalment of the comedy franchise.
In an exclusive conversation with India Today, Jafferi said he has complete faith in the film and believes audiences are looking for exactly the kind of light-hearted entertainment it promises.
Interestingly, Jafferi reveals that nobody involved with the first film ever imagined Dhamaal would become a franchise. "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."
He recalls how the franchise gradually evolved with new additions to the cast.
"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."
How franchise thinking changed
Jafferi also believes the idea of consciously building franchises became common in India only after the 2010s. "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."
He adds, "With web series, writers started planning character trajectories and story arcs across multiple seasons. It's essentially the same format as films, just longer."
Looking at Hollywood, he points to Star Wars as the gold standard.
"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."
As for India, Jafferi feels Dhamaal deserves credit for pioneering the franchise model.
"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."
Why the first film disappointed the team
Despite the franchise's popularity today, the actor admits the team was disappointed when the original film didn't perform as expected upon release.
"Yeah, we were disappointed because I personally felt it was marketed wrong."
Explaining his point with an analogy, he says, "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 believes the film's unconventional nature wasn't communicated properly.
"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."
Looking back, he says the cast always knew they had made 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."
No nerves before release
Speaking about 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.”
The actor believes the pressure of a film's success is 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 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."
For Jaffery, the biggest draw of Dhamaal 4 is its ability to make 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."
The constants in the franchise
With Dhamaal now among Bollywood's longest-running comedy franchises, one would assume the actors feel the pressure of living up to the series' legacy. Jafferi, however, looks at it differently.
The actor 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."
He compared the franchise to classic film series where familiar characters were simply dropped into fresh adventures. "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."
Jaaved added, "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."
Dhamaal 4 is set to release on April 10.
