Dhadak Movie Review: Fresh Faces, Great Chemistry

Indian filmmakers have exploited the plot formula of a poor boy falling in love with a rich girl and vice versa since decades, sometimes with unexpectedly good results. Nagraj Manjule’s Sairat, which released in 2016 and starred unknown faces from rural Maharashtra, went on to become a massive hit, courtesy its gritty realism and touching music...

Cut to 2018- Karan Johar remakes the same film with known star kids Janhvi Kapoor and Ishaan Khatter and picturesque Udaipur as the backdrop. However, does this experiment work? Read on...

Dhadak revolves around Madhukar (Ishaan), a boy from a lower caste, who falls for the feisty Parthavi (Janhvi), the daughter of local politician Ratan Singh Rathod (Ashutosh Rana). Needless to say, when Parthavi reciprocates his feelings, things get complicated for both of them after Ratan Singh discovers the affair and comes down heavily on the lovers. The two flee to Mumbai and finally to Kolkata to make a life for themselves, but will they be able to live happily ever after?

Ishaan, who made his debut as an actor with Beyond The Clouds, has a pleasant boyish charm to him, though he strongly resembles (or maybe apes) Shahid Kapoor in a few scenes. Nevertheless, there is a freshness to him that makes his character endearing. Janhvi Kapoor, despite the fact that there is something off about her dialogue delivery, manages to put in an above average performance, especially in the second half and the chemistry between the two is easy, natural and lovable.

Ashutosh Rana is quite caricaturish as a baddie and we expected something better from him while the rest of the cast is quite decent. Special mention must be made of Sridhar Watsar, who brings in the comic relief, even if he tends to go overboard at times. However, what got my goat was that almost all actors forget at times that they are supposed to talk with a Mewari accent and end up talking ‘shuddh Hindi’ suddenly, which was rather sloppy.

Director Shashank Khaitan, who had helmed films such as Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania and Badrinath Ki Dulhania, has done justice to the remake when it comes to portraying the innocence of true love and the dangers it has to face in a society that puts things like caste and religion above basic humanity. The last 15 minutes are admirably tense and will have you chewing our fingernails on the edge of your seats. I know that all those who have seen Sairat will dismiss this claim as there is nothing unpredictable about the climax, but you need to watch the film to know what I am talking about...

In conclusion, despite being a remake, Dhadak manages to stand on its own...