De Dana Dan is a Hindi-language slapstick comedy film released in 2009. Directed by Priyadarshan and produced by Ganesh Jain and Ratan Jain under the Venus Worldwide Entertainment banner, the film features an ensemble cast led by Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Katrina Kaif and Sameera Reddy. It belongs to the cycle of multi-starrer comedies Priyadarshan directed during the 2000s, several of which were adaptations of Malayalam films.
| Title | De Dana Dan |
|---|---|
| Director | Priyadarshan |
| Producers | Ganesh Jain, Ratan Jain |
| Production company | Venus Worldwide Entertainment |
| Language | Hindi |
| Genre | Comedy |
| Year of release | 2009 |
| Lead cast | Akshay Kumar, Sunil Shetty, Paresh Rawal, Katrina Kaif, Sameera Reddy |
The narrative revolves around Nitin Bankar, a long-suffering personal servant working under a domineering employer, who hatches a plan to stage a fake kidnapping of her pet dog in order to claim ransom money and marry his girlfriend. The scheme spirals out of control as multiple sets of characters, suitcases and misunderstandings converge in a Mumbai hotel, leading to a farcical chain of events typical of Priyadarshan's comedy style.
Like several of Priyadarshan's Hindi comedies of the period, De Dana Dan uses an ensemble structure, multiple parallel plots and an extended climactic sequence built around mistaken identities. Significant portions of the film were shot in Mumbai and in international locations, with sequences filmed in Singapore for the second half of the story.
The soundtrack was composed by Pritam, with lyrics by Irshad Kamil, Sameer and others. The album includes the title track "Paisa Paisa" and the romantic number "Rishte Naate", among other songs that received airplay around the time of the release.
The film opened in cinemas in late November 2009. It performed moderately at the box office and drew mixed reviews, with critics noting the broad humour, the length of the film and the elaborate climactic set-piece. It later found a wider audience through television and streaming, where it remains one of the better-recognised titles in the Akshay Kumar–Priyadarshan comedy partnership.
Within Hindi commercial cinema, De Dana Dan is often grouped with Priyadarshan's earlier comedies such as Hera Pheri, Hungama, Garam Masala, Bhagam Bhag and Bhool Bhulaiyaa. Together, these films defined a particular template of multi-character farce that influenced mainstream Bollywood comedy in the 2000s.