# Total Dhamaal
**Total Dhamaal** (टोटल धमाल) is a 2019 Indian Hindi-language adventure comedy film directed and co-produced by [Indra Kumar](https://www.edgepedia.org/indra-kumar), the third installment of the Dhamaal film series. It follows several groups of greedy characters racing to find a hidden stash of money, and it was released in Indian cinemas on 22 February 2019.[1](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/news/2019/Jan/21/total-dhamaal-will-be-better-than-the-last-film-indra-kumar-9705.html) • [2](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/total-dhamaal/box-office/) Despite largely negative reviews, it was a box-office hit, earning about ₹1.54 billion (₹154 crore) net in India.[2](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/total-dhamaal/box-office/) • [3](https://thereviewmonk.com/movie/total-dhamaal/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Release | 22 February 2019, Hindi-language, India[1](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/news/2019/Jan/21/total-dhamaal-will-be-better-than-the-last-film-indra-kumar-9705.html) |
| Director | Indra Kumar, who also co-produced with Fox Star Studios, Ajay Devgn Ffilms, and Pen India Limited[1](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/news/2019/Jan/21/total-dhamaal-will-be-better-than-the-last-film-indra-kumar-9705.html) |
| Franchise position | Third installment of the Dhamaal series, following Dhamaal (2007) and Double Dhamaal (2011)[1](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/news/2019/Jan/21/total-dhamaal-will-be-better-than-the-last-film-indra-kumar-9705.html) |
| India net gross | ₹1.542 billion (₹154.23 crore) lifetime; opening day ₹165 million (₹16.50 crore), opening weekend ₹624 million (₹62.40 crore)[2](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/total-dhamaal/box-office/) |
| Worldwide gross | ₹2.283 billion (₹228.27 crore), including ₹461.8 million (₹46.18 crore; 6.50 million USD) overseas[2](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/total-dhamaal/box-office/) |
| Verdict | Hit, per both Bollywood Hungama and Box Office India[2](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/total-dhamaal/box-office/) • [4](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie-story.php?movieid=5607) |
| Critical reception | 30% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer from 10 reviews; 43% audience score[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/total_dhamaal) |
| Runtime | 129 minutes per Box Office India; 127 minutes per the Australian classification record[4](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie-story.php?movieid=5607) • [6](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/total-dhamaal) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and cast
The story centers on a hidden booty that sets several groups against each other. Guddu ([Ajay Devgn](https://www.edgepedia.org/ajay-devgn)), a small-time crook, is double-crossed by his colleague Pintu ([Manoj Pahwa](https://www.edgepedia.org/manoj-pahwa)) after they get hold of an illegal booty; by the time Guddu and his sidekick Johnny (Sanjay Mishra) trace Pintu, the information has already reached three other groups. These are Avinash ([Anil Kapoor](https://www.edgepedia.org/anil-kapoor)) and Bindu (Madhuri Dixit), a bickering couple about to be divorced; Lallan (Riteish Deshmukh) and Jhingur (Pitobash Tripathy), two fire officers turned offenders; and the siblings Aditya (Arshad Warsi) and Manav (Javed Jaffrey). All refuse Guddu's offer to split the money, and the race to reach the booty first begins.[4](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie-story.php?movieid=5607) JustWatch's synopsis places the hidden booty of ₹500 million (₹50 crores) in a zoo in Janakpur, with a cunning police commissioner among the chasers.[7](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/total-dhamaal)
The ensemble also included [Sonakshi Sinha](https://www.edgepedia.org/sonakshi-sinha) in a special appearance, [Johnny Lever](https://www.edgepedia.org/johnny-lever), Boman Irani, Esha Gupta, and [Mahesh Manjrekar](https://www.edgepedia.org/mahesh-manjrekar).[1](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/news/2019/Jan/21/total-dhamaal-will-be-better-than-the-last-film-indra-kumar-9705.html) • [8](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/previews/total-dhamaal/articleshow/67755955.cms) Sanjay Dutt, who played Kabir Nayak in the previous two films, did not appear; Indra Kumar said his dates could not be worked out and the character was omitted.[1](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/news/2019/Jan/21/total-dhamaal-will-be-better-than-the-last-film-indra-kumar-9705.html)
### Franchise context
The Dhamaal series began with *Dhamaal* (2007), loosely based on the 1963 Hollywood comedy *It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World*, followed by *Double Dhamaal* (2011) and *Total Dhamaal* (2019).[15](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAtYhUk_kpA) • [16](https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/dhamaal-4-wraps-shoot-ajay-devgn-arshad-warsi-and-riteish-deshmukh-film-to-release-on-eid-2026-101757151062199.html) A fourth film, *Dhamaal 4*, wrapped shooting with Ajay Devgn, Arshad Warsi, and [Riteish Deshmukh](https://www.edgepedia.org/riteish-deshmukh) and was set for an Eid 2026 release; the [Central Board of Film Certification](https://www.edgepedia.org/central-board-of-film-certification) certified it UA 13+ with a length of 143.0 minutes.[16](https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/dhamaal-4-wraps-shoot-ajay-devgn-arshad-warsi-and-riteish-deshmukh-film-to-release-on-eid-2026-101757151062199.html) • [17](https://cbfcindia.gov.in/cbfcAdmin/search-result.php?recid=Q0EwMTEwMDYyMDI2MDAzMzI%3D) In retrospective rankings, Rediff judged Total Dhamaal a definite step up from its predecessor within the franchise, while still placing the 2007 original first.[18](https://www.rediff.com/movies/special/the-dhamaal-movies-ranked/20260714.htm) As of recent checks, Total Dhamaal streams in India on JioHotstar free with ads.[7](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/total-dhamaal)
## Production and music
Indra Kumar returned to the franchise after eight years. At the January 2019 trailer launch in Mumbai he acknowledged that [Double Dhamaal](https://www.edgepedia.org/double-dhamaal) (2011) had not matched audience expectations and said the new film was made to correct that.[1](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/news/2019/Jan/21/total-dhamaal-will-be-better-than-the-last-film-indra-kumar-9705.html) The film marked Anil Kapoor and [Madhuri Dixit](https://www.edgepedia.org/madhuri-dixit)'s first screen reunion in 19 years by Kapoor's account, and Dixit's first film with Ajay Devgn since *Yeh Raaste Hain Pyaar Ke* (2001).[1](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/news/2019/Jan/21/total-dhamaal-will-be-better-than-the-last-film-indra-kumar-9705.html)
The music was composed by Gourov Roshin, who recreated the songs "Paisa Yeh Paisa" (from *Karz*) and "Mungda" (from *Inkaar*) for the soundtrack.[1](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/news/2019/Jan/21/total-dhamaal-will-be-better-than-the-last-film-indra-kumar-9705.html) • [19](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/total-dhamaal/songs/) During promotion, Indra Kumar said Kapoor and Dixit performed a waterfall jump of around 300 feet themselves, without stunt doubles.[9](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/total-dhamaal-trailer-ajay-devgn-and-madhuri-dixit-take-you-on-a-crazy-ride-1435635-2019-01-21)
## Box office
**Opening run.** The film opened at ₹165 million (₹16.50 crore) net on Friday 22 February 2019, rose to ₹204 million (₹20.40 crore) on Saturday and ₹255 million (₹25.50 crore) on Sunday, for an opening weekend of ₹624 million (₹62.40 crore) and a first week of ₹945.5 million (₹94.55 crore).[2](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/total-dhamaal/box-office/) Box Office India's figures differ slightly, recording a first day of ₹159.1 million (₹15.91 crore), a first weekend of ₹607.5 million (₹60.75 crore), and a first week of ₹922.4 million (₹92.24 crore) on 3,750 screens.[4](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie-story.php?movieid=5607)
**Lifetime totals.** Collections fell sharply after the opening week, with week 2 down 59.76 percent to ₹380.5 million (₹38.05 crore) and week 3 down a further 65.55 percent to ₹131.1 million (₹13.11 crore); the run ended at ₹1.542 billion (₹154.23 crore) net in India after eight weeks.[2](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/total-dhamaal/box-office/) Bollywood Hungama reports ₹1.821 billion (₹182.09 crore) India gross and ₹461.8 million (₹46.18 crore) overseas, for a worldwide total of ₹2.283 billion (₹228.27 crore).[2](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/total-dhamaal/box-office/) Box Office India instead lists an India gross of ₹1.807 billion (₹180.68 crore), overseas gross of $6,530,000, worldwide gross of ₹2.272 billion (₹227.20 crore), a budget of ₹1.13 billion (₹113 crore), and about 12.6 million (1.26 crore; 12.56 million) footfalls, with a Hit verdict.[4](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie-story.php?movieid=5607) Sacnilk's tally puts India net at ₹1.557 billion (₹155.67 crore).[10](https://www.sacnilk.com/movie/Total_Dhamaal?hl=en)
Territorially, Mumbai led with ₹528.7 million (₹52.87 crore), followed by Delhi-U.P. with ₹258.2 million (₹25.82 crore) and East Punjab with ₹120.3 million (₹12.03 crore); among cinema chains, PVR collected ₹245.1 million (₹24.51 crore) and INOX ₹223 million (₹22.30 crore).[2](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/total-dhamaal/box-office/) The film was among the Hindi releases credited with growing [Hindi cinema](https://www.edgepedia.org/hindi-cinema)'s share of India's 2019 gross box office.[11](https://grubstreet.ca/ckfinder/userfiles/files/batafotuxax.pdf)
## Reception
Critical consensus was largely negative. On Rotten Tomatoes the film scored 30 percent on the Tomatometer from 10 reviews and 43 percent from audiences.[5](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/total_dhamaal) A review aggregator tally of 13 rated reviews counted 2 positive, 2 mixed, and 9 negative, with poor writing and weak comedy the most cited failings; the pairing of Anil Kapoor and Madhuri Dixit was the element critics praised most consistently.[3](https://thereviewmonk.com/movie/total-dhamaal/) [Individual](https://www.edgepedia.org/individual) verdicts ranged from NDTV's 1/5, which called the film painfully unfunny, to BollywoodLife's 3/5, which found it entertaining and praised Dixit.[12](https://www.bollywood.com/movies/total-dhamaal/reviews/) Audience ratings ran higher than critics' scores: [BookMyShow](https://www.edgepedia.org/bookmyshow) users gave 7/10 from over 65,000 votes, and IMDb about 4.3 from roughly 9,400 ratings.[13](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/mau/total-dhamaal/ET00015976/user-reviews) • [7](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/total-dhamaal)
The film received a PG classification in Australia on 19 February 2019 for mild themes and coarse language, with a listed duration of 127 minutes.[6](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/total-dhamaal) It later received a 2020 Screen Award nomination for Best Comic Actor and won a 2020 Bollywood Business Award in "The 100 Crore Club" category.[14](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/total-dhamaal/2000065460)
## References
1. [Total Dhamaal will be better than the last film in the franchise: Indra Kumar, Cinema Express (21 January 2019)](https://www.cinemaexpress.com/stories/news/2019/Jan/21/total-dhamaal-will-be-better-than-the-last-film-indra-kumar-9705.html)
2. [Total Dhamaal Box Office Collection, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/total-dhamaal/box-office/)
3. [Total Dhamaal (2019) Movie Review, TheReviewMonk](https://thereviewmonk.com/movie/total-dhamaal/)
4. [Total Dhamaal, Box Office India](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/movie-story.php?movieid=5607)
5. [Total Dhamaal, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/total_dhamaal)
6. [TOTAL DHAMAAL, Australian Classification](https://www.classification.gov.au/titles/total-dhamaal)
7. [Total Dhamaal streaming, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/in/movie/total-dhamaal)
8. [Total Dhamaal preview, The Times of India (30 January 2019)](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/bollywood/previews/total-dhamaal/articleshow/67755955.cms)
9. [Total Dhamaal trailer: Ajay Devgn and Madhuri Dixit take you on a crazy ride, India Today (21 January 2019)](https://www.indiatoday.in/movies/bollywood/story/total-dhamaal-trailer-ajay-devgn-and-madhuri-dixit-take-you-on-a-crazy-ride-1435635-2019-01-21)
10. [Total Dhamaal (2019-02-22), Sacnilk](https://www.sacnilk.com/movie/Total_Dhamaal?hl=en)
11. [2019 Indian film box office report](https://grubstreet.ca/ckfinder/userfiles/files/batafotuxax.pdf)
12. [Total Dhamaal (2019) Critics Reviews, Bollywood.com](https://www.bollywood.com/movies/total-dhamaal/reviews/)
13. [Total Dhamaal User Reviews, BookMyShow](https://in.bookmyshow.com/movies/mau/total-dhamaal/ET00015976/user-reviews)
14. [Total Dhamaal, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/movies/total-dhamaal/2000065460)
15. [Total Dhamaal movie facts, YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AAtYhUk_kpA)
16. [Dhamaal 4 wraps shoot: Ajay Devgn, Arshad Warsi and Riteish Deshmukh film to release on Eid 2026, Hindustan Times](https://www.hindustantimes.com/entertainment/bollywood/dhamaal-4-wraps-shoot-ajay-devgn-arshad-warsi-and-riteish-deshmukh-film-to-release-on-eid-2026-101757151062199.html)
17. [CBFC film search result: DHAMAAL 4](https://cbfcindia.gov.in/cbfcAdmin/search-result.php?recid=Q0EwMTEwMDYyMDI2MDAzMzI%3D)
18. [The Dhamaal Movies, Ranked, Rediff.com](https://www.rediff.com/movies/special/the-dhamaal-movies-ranked/20260714.htm)
19. [Total Dhamaal Movie Music, Total Dhamaal Movie Songs, Download Latest Bollywood Songs Music - Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/movie/total-dhamaal/songs/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Hindi films of the 2010s › Hindi films of 2019*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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