Whoever said comedy is a serious business was probably talking about the people making comedy in Bollywood. Because the level of absurdity being served up in the name of humor these days is almost admirable. dhamaal 4 is the latest addition to that growing list.

Directed by Indra Kumar, the fourth installment of the beloved comedy franchise is based on the one formula it knows best: a treasure hunt. The cast remains largely intact. Ajay Devgan leads the group as Guddu, joined by Sanjay Mishra, Arshad Warsi, Riteish Deshmukh and Jaaved Jaffrey. The new cast includes Anjali Anand, Ravi Kishan, Sanjeeda Shaikh, Esha Gupta (who appears in barely four scenes) and two children. Unfortunately, none of them add much to the plot which feels as elusive as the treasure everyone is chasing.

The story begins with a pirate (Kishan) who is searching for long lost wealth. Word spreads, more people join the race, misunderstandings increase, the stakes get higher and chaos ensues. On paper, it sounds like a classic blast. In execution, it feels like watching people search for something the audience has already given up on: laughter.

The film offers all kinds of comedy in the hope that something happens. is a jungle comedy with AI-generated animals Lifting heavy items. It attempts to frame body shaming as humor, where a plus-sized character exists almost exclusively as a gag. There’s meta humor throughout, with the film constantly breaking the fourth wall to remind you that everyone is in on the joke. Problem? There is no one.

In fact, if you manage to take a nap before the interval, consider yourself lucky. You won’t forget much and no one around you is likely to complain.

The plot is so simple that a six-year-old’s comic book seems more inventive. But that’s still not the film’s biggest problem. The real issue is how artificial everything looks. The entire expanse resembles AI-generated scenes, not even the polished ones. They look like the first image an AI model comes up with, before you even realize you should refine the signal. It looks like the film has accepted that first draft and released it in theatres.

Remember the iconic ‘w’ from the original blast? This time the treasure is hidden behind a giant ‘M’. Appropriately, the distance between those two letters reflects the difference in quality between the first film and this one. But every sequel has taken away what made the franchise special dhamaal 4 This may be the lowest point ever.

There is still good chemistry between Ajay Devgan and Sanjay Mishra. Some of their exchanges work, mainly because they know comic timing better than the script. Watching them struggle through written scenes feels like adept chefs being asked to prepare a delicious meal with instant noodles.

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However, the biggest tragedy is Arshad Warsi and Javed Jaffrey. Their proto-human pairing is one of the most brilliant comic pairings of Hindi cinema, but the film doesn’t give them anything worthy of their talent. Instead of laughing with them, you start feeling protective of them.

Ravi Kishan’s villain serves no purpose except to prolong the runtime. His very presence reminds you that the film is not over yet.

Riteish and Anjali generate the occasional spark, but that’s because they are capable actors and not because the script gives them anything interesting to do. And every time you start to warm to her, the film returns to making fun of Anjali’s body. The humor feels old, lazy, and oddly proud of itself.

Visually, the cinematography doesn’t have much to defend. When almost every background looks digitally created and every frame feels synthetic, the camera has little to capture beyond green screens and missed opportunities.

Meanwhile, writing feels stuck In a version of Bollywood comedy that the audience has long loved. It makes you want to re-watch the original dhamaal, golmaal, dhol Or Welcome – Movies that perhaps understand an important truth: loud isn’t automatically funny.

In the end, the characters finally find the big ‘M’ they were looking for. However, you can spend the entire movie looking for a genuine laugh. And unlike treasure, you won’t find it.