Dhadak – Movie Review

Language : Hindi.
Release : July 2018
Cast : Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khatter, Ashutosh Rana, Ankit Bisht and Shridhar Watsar
Directed By : Shashank Khaitan.
Written By : Nagraj Manjule.
Music By : Ajay-Atul,  John Stewart Eduri(Background).
Genre : Tragedy, Drama.

A typical Bollywood style execution of a wonderful masterpiece but in their quest for commercial gains moves the narrative with minor hiccups.  

One of the famous and successful Indian director, A.R. Murugadoss, once mentioned that it’s no easy job to overwrite a drawing. It takes enormous skill and concentration to overwrite precisely over the drawing and even the slightest lapse would lead to complete failure of the whole efforts. This was just a metaphor for a remakes. Usually a successful movie would be remade in various other languages. As it’s a success formula, the narrative had already been experimented, producers would readily invest in those movies. However sometimes there would be movies so close to perfection that even the slightest alteration in order to suit it for your target audience would have drastic consequences and leaves the audience in a sour taste. Dhadak in their quest to better perfection have unknowingly faltered their success.

The very first thing to strike our minds about Dhadak is that it is a remake of the blockbuster Sairat. I have a huge guilt feeling for not having watched the movie, be it in the theatres or much later on TV. But had I watched it, I would have always had the prejudice of comparing Dhadak to Sairat and in all likelihood diluting my experience of Dhadak and watching it as an open book was not only helpful but proved to be a wonderful experience. Dhadak is a rom com movie that narrates the plight of love birds in India and sticks to reality in showcasing it and finally smacks you with a moral. The narrative of the movie treads the path of all the popular rom coms of the late 80s and 90s, but done masterfully to suit the present generation and comes out successful to a great extent but that is exactly where the lethargy in the audiences kick in, who would have preferred if the movie had upped the pacing.

The movie industry in particular is sometimes considered to be a family run business. This is not just limited to Bollywood, but Kollywood, Sandalwood, Tollywood and every other industry. Although there might be a lot of advantages for the offspring of the celebrities who eventually step into the glamour world, it’s almost certain that each and every step that they take would be heavily scrutinised. This added by the fact that you are the daughter of the nation’s biggest superstar would garner a lot more eyeballs than  she can ever imagine. But Janhvi coming off the greatest tragedy in her life, has re-conquered the hearts that was left vacant by the demise of her charming mother, Sridevi. Having grown up not watching but living movies, her performance was nothing short of perfection, clearly knowing when to emote, when to react and when to be quite. Although comparisons are bound to be made, she ensures that she draws a completely different canvas of herself and draws the audiences in her direction with ease.

Parthavi : “Bari kothi nahi chaiye…mahne mara ghar chaiye. Apna ghar…”

Having already proved his mettle in Majid Madidi’s Beyond the Clouds, Ishan Khatter was the perfect choice for Madhukar, showcasing the naivete of a love-struck teenager willing to risk his life for the sake of love. The depth of the character might not have been written well, but his execution has a commendable aura over it. The stereotypical supporting cast ensure that their presence is always felt by shining in all their screen time, but are easily forgotten once they are out and their absence is never missed.

The real reason for the movie’s hype and its actual hero : the music by Ajay-Atul. None of the remakes of Sairat wanted to miss out on the chart toppers scored by them.  Be it the party favourite Zinghat or the melodious title track, all of them have been chart-busters in all languages and Hindi is no exception to the trend. The picturesque scenery of Udaipur need not be mentioned and have been captured in innumerable movies and Dhadak takes it one notch up both literally and figuratively. Technology making exemplary inroads into the film making world, it was about time to leverage them to your favour and Dhadak is a shining example for that.

In the end, Dhadak may have wanted to replicate a successful formula, but had to learn it the hard way that perfection is just a myth and attaining it just lies in the eyes of the beholder, however they have ensured in reaching their intended audience who would definitely have something to take back to their lives.

 

Audience POV

1. The perfect Launchpad for Janhvi and Ishaan with Shashank Khaitan’s commendable direction.
2. Brilliant background score and songs.

Critics POV

1. A rather  dull and elaborated narrative.
2. A movie made for the heart, but misses it greatly.