Dhamaal 4 Review: Ajay Devgn Cannot Save This Nostalgia Trap

Search volume for a Dhamaal 4 review is peaking as audiences try to decide if Indra Kumar's latest comedy is worth the multiplex ticket. The short answer is an absolute no. Despite a surprisingly energetic performance from Ajay Devgn, Dhamaal 4 is a loud and visually atrocious cash grab crippled by terrible CGI, AI-generated cameos, and dated slapstick comedy. If you are looking for the charm of the original film, you will not find it here. Save your hard-earned money and skip this theatrical release entirely. The Dhamaal franchise has always struggled with its identity. It transitioned from a fun comedy of errors inspired by It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World into a crass sequel, and later morphed into a CGI-heavy children's film with Total Dhamaal. The fourth installment merely tries to emulate the box office success of the third film without understanding why it worked. The plot once again revolves around a hidden treasure under a giant letter, triggering a tumultuous journey across land, water, and air for an ensemble cast. But a recognizable plot does not excuse what is essentially two hours and twenty-four minutes of incessant screaming.

Currently playing in theaters across India, with post-theatrical streaming rights secured by Amazon Prime Video for global diaspora audiences.

The Good: A Rare Spark In A Sea Of Noise

I worship the data, and the data says audiences will forgive a bad script if the star power holds up. Ajay Devgn has been accused of sleepwalking through recent roles with a monotone delivery. That is not the case here. He looks lively, heavily rested, and visibly engaged in the physical comedy. For the first half of the film, he sports sunglasses in almost every scene. Visual effects professionals confirm this trick helps artists avoid matching eye movements when applying global skin-lightening filters in post-production. Thankfully, the shades come off in the second half. Devgn finds genuine chemistry with Sanjay Mishra. The duo manages to extract the film's only real laughs. Mishra gets the best line in the film when he requests a make-believe ghost to open a door by saying, "ki tumhare hath lambe hai, kundi khol do." It is a direct and appreciated callback to Indra Kumar’s 1997 hit Ishq.

Anjali Anand also deserves a mention. Her character is severely underwritten, but she executes a massive "Hulk smash" action move that provides the best physical comedy beat of the entire runtime. When she is allowed to perform action instead of being the punchline, she completely steals the scene.

The Bad: AI Slop And Aggressive Product Placement

We need to talk about the AI. The film opens with a prologue detailing the history of the hidden treasure. Instead of shooting a scene, the makers use AI-generated avatars of Satish Kaushik and Jackie Shroff to narrate the backstory. It looks terrible. It screams laziness from a production house that clearly had the budget to film a practical sequence. When the film is not using artificial intelligence, it functions as a billboard. The product placements in Dhamaal 4 are so egregious they stop the plot entirely. Characters use the MG motors app to unlock cars. A MACFRESH cookware appliance is explicitly shown surviving a crocodile bite. The worst offender is Gopal Snacks. Esha Gupta plays a mother to two young children who nibble on the snacks with the logo perfectly angled toward the camera. In one bonding sequence with Ajay Devgn, Gupta literally stops the scene to declare she forgot the snacks, running back inside to retrieve a branded gift box. It is not cinema. It is a television commercial stretched to feature length. Then we reach the visual effects. The characters utilize over-the-top modes of transport to reach an island, relying heavily on green screens. This culminates in an action set piece where Ajay Devgn does a full split while riding two CGI dolphins. To make matters worse, the sequence is scored to Bella Ciao, the global anthem of political resistance. Watching a slapstick comedy use a freedom slogan while an actor rides poorly rendered sea mammals is a visual travesty.

The Ugly: Fat-Shaming And A Bizarre Moral Climax

Indra Kumar is directing a film for children in 2026 using the comedic sensibilities of 1995. The writing relies on the lowest hanging fruit available. Anjali Anand is a highly capable actor, recently shining in the web series Raat Jawaan Hai, but here she is reduced entirely to fat jokes. Her introduction shot is paired with a blow horn sound effect. In one deeply tasteless sequence, a male character is so horrified at the prospect of sharing a bed with her that he drugs her with sleeping pills. The film treats her mere existence as a visual gag, suggesting her sneezes can crumble the earth. Even the child actor playing Esha Gupta's son is ridiculed for his weight. The rest of the ensemble fares no better. Javed Jaffrey returns as Manav, but his entire arc consists of hitting his sister-in-law, played by Sanjeeda Shaikh. Riteish Deshmukh and Ravi Kishan shout all of their dialogue. Upendra Limaye, an exceptional talent, is reduced to playing another loud, typecast caricature. After spending two hours subjecting the audience to men getting stabbed in the rear with knives and fighting CGI octopuses, Dhamaal 4 forgets how to end. It abruptly shifts tone, congregating the entire cast to deliver a moral lecture. The director forces bizarre analogies comparing the characters' greed to the trials of Ram and Sita. It feels exactly like a primary school Hindi lesson tacked onto the end of a chaotic video game. It is frustrating to watch actors of this caliber waste their time on projects like this. If Ajay Devgn wants to revive franchises, he should look at Kaal or even Taarzan: The Wonder Car. Instead, we get this. And unfortunately, the final scene promises that Dhamaal 5 is already in the works.

Quick Facts: Dhamaal 4

• Release Date: July 10, 2026

• Platform: Theatrical (India and International) / Upcoming on Amazon Prime Video

• Director: Indra Kumar

• Runtime: 2 hours 24 minutes

• Top Cast: Ajay Devgn, Sanjay Mishra, Anjali Anand, Ravi Kishan, Riteish Deshmukh

• Status: In Theaters Now
  

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Dhamaal 4 worth watching? No, Dhamaal 4 is not worth watching in theaters. The film suffers from terrible CGI, lazy AI-generated prologue scenes, and dated comedy that relies heavily on fat-shaming rather than clever writing.

What is the Dhamaal 4 AI scene? The Dhamaal 4 AI scene occurs in the opening prologue of the film. The director uses AI-generated avatars of veteran actors Satish Kaushik and Jackie Shroff to narrate the backstory of the hidden treasure instead of filming a practical scene.

How is the Dhamaal 4 cast performance? The Dhamaal 4 cast performance is a mixed bag, with Ajay Devgn and Sanjay Mishra providing the only genuine moments of chemistry. The rest of the ensemble, including Riteish Deshmukh and Ravi Kishan, spend the majority of the runtime shouting their dialogue.

Will there be a Dhamaal 5? Yes, Dhamaal 5 is officially confirmed. The final post-credits scene of Dhamaal 4 explicitly promises that a fifth installment of the franchise is currently in development.

What happens in the Dhamaal 4 ending explained? In the Dhamaal 4 ending, the characters survive a CGI cave sequence and find the treasure, only to be subjected to a sudden moral lecture. The film Abruptly abandons its comedy to deliver a preachy message about greed using analogies of Ram and Sita.