 Nitin Bankar (Akshay) is a frustrated driver cum house help of a
rude rich lady, Archana (Archana Puran Singh) in Singapore. His best
pal, Ram Mishra (Shetty) who is a courier delivery man is not happy
either. Both have rich girl friends, Anjali (Katrina) and Manpreet
(Sameera) respectively. In an attempt to get rich quick and marry them,
both Ram and Nitin devise a plan to kidnap Archana’s pet possession,
her doggy Mulchand. 
But their kidnapping plan goes awry and leads to
many misunderstandings. To add more chaos, Manpreet’s wedding
preparations to a shady businessman Chaddha’s (Paresh Rawal) son begins
in the same hotel where Nitin and Ram are hiding after their kidnapping
fiasco. Confusion and misunderstandings multiply ten fold when a
contract killer, Kala (Johnny Lever), his underworld don boss Maamu
(Asrani), Anjali, Anjali’s father (Tinnu Anand), Indian Ambassador
(Vikram Gokhale), a bar dancer (Neha Dhupia) and Policeman (Sharat
Saxena) too land up in the same hotel. What happens after Nitin
accidentally gets locked in Chaddha’s hotel room cup board is what the
rest of the film all about.
If you have ventured into the cinema hall expecting a repeat of Hera
Pheri considering it’s the same team of director Priyadarshan along
with his trio of Akki-Sunil-Rawal then you will be in for a major
disappointment. In fact Rawal doesn’t share a single frame with Akshay
and Sunil all throughout the movie. But at the same time one needs to
appreciate Priyadarshan for being plot centric than falling for the
populist trap of getting them together. However, he takes a lot of time
to establish his characters in the initial reels. Once the entire cast
is assembled in the hotel, then the film picks up speed. The second
half is lot better than the first one despite Akshay and Sunil taking a
back seat. It is almost like watching Malamaal Weekly where character
artists take center stage and even successfully pull it off. The climax
however with the water tank bursting and a Tsunami of sorts coming
inside the huge star hotel, though extremely well shot was not needed.
It is like the same old Priyadarshan climax where everyone is running
behind everyone but this time in a flooded hotel. You also wonder why
Priyadarshan makes almost his every character speak loudly while
delivering their dialogues. The sequences that have you literally
rolling on the floor with laughter are – Akshay’s monologue about his
drudgery filled life working under his lady boss, Johnny Lever’s
chloroform marathon, Sunil Shetty catching waiter Rajpal Yadav sneaking
drinks, the dog napping sequences and Vikram Gokhale caught in a mess
with philandering allegations. Pritam’s music doesn’t impress barring
the ill timed Paisa Paisa song.
Akshay Kumar is at his home pitch in any Priyadarshan comedy and he
is in top form yet again. But we do miss him in action when he gets
locked in the cupboard for a good 30 minutes. Sunil Shetty gives him
terrific support. Paresh Rawal is mostly relegated to screeching at the
top of his voice. Manoj Joshi though screechy as well, impresses more.
Both the girls Katrina and Sameera have nothing much to do. Its
actually Neha Dhupia who not only looks super hot throughout the film
but leaves you mega impressed with her no holds barred act. Archana
Puran Singh and Aditi Gowitrikar look ultra glam and deliver the goods
as well. Shakti Kapoor, Asrani, Tinnu Anand and Sharat Saxena lend good
support. However its Rajpal Yadav and Johnny Lever who leave you
laughing your guts out with their antics the most.
De Dana Dan is no Hera Pheri but has its howlarious moments.
However, with a running time of 2 hours and 45 minutes it over stays
its visit for a comedy. Check it out if you are willing to suspend your
belief and keep your brains aside for that long.
Rating: 2.5 out of 5*
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Katrina Kaif,
Sameera Reddy, Manoj Joshi, Rajpal Yadav, Vikram Gokhale, Johnny Lever
and Neha Dhupia
Director: Priyadarshan
Sampurn Media
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