Dhadak
Year: 2018
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Cast: Janhavi Kapoor, Ishaan Khatter

In 2016, writer-director Nagraj Manjule made Sairat, a Marathi movie that literally shook the audiences and the film industry. It was a bold yet tender love-story. It was not just a dime-a-dozen kind of formulaic rich girl-poor boy-elopement love-story. Its characters, the regional feel, the small-town romance, the post-elopement struggles and the undercurrents of casteism and feudalism were portrayed boldly yet tenderly and with complete authenticity. The performances, the storyline, the songs and the direction everything had gelled superbly to create an impactful film that was rooted in soil, had timeless themes and showed the society a mirror. Made at a budget of 4 crores, Sairat raked in more than 110 crores to make box-office history.

Now Karan Johar produces the Bollywood version with a young lead pair, which boasts of some famous filmy family connections. How does the experiment work?

What’s the plot?

It is Udaipur in Rajasthan. A rich politician’s daughter (Janhavi Kapoor) falls in love with a small hotelier’s son (Ishaan Khatter). Thanks to the class and the caste-difference, the youngsters’ budding romance hits a major roadblock. They elope and try to start a new life. Soon it is clear to them that the road they have taken is filled with obstacles they had never imagined. Doing small jobs, they try to make a living and start a family. But will their hurt, irate families ever accept them back in their fold?

What’s hot?

• The young romantic pair of Ishaan Khatter (Half-brother of Shahid Kapoor) and Janhavi Kapoor (Elder daughter of Sridevi) makes a promising debut. Their chemistry works.
• Some romantic and emotional scenes have turned out well.
• Ajay-Atul’s music recreates the iconic songs Zingaat and Yed Laagle in their Hindi avatars.
• The production values are excellent as expected.

What’s not?

• Shashank Khaitan’s direction lacks spark. The narrative loses grip at many places. The film’s pacing and appeal keep fluctuating.
• Young Janhavi Kapoor’s performance, especially her diction has many rough edges.
• The plot changes made to suit the Bollywood requirements leave the film devoid of many key moments. The climax (a major highlight of the original film!) is also changed and the new one somehow doesn’t leave you stunned.
• The side-characters (which were so good in the original) are not memorable.

Verdict

From the time it was announced that Karan Johar was producing a Hindi film based on Sairat, it was suspected that the raw, regional appeal of the original would be giving way to K-Jo’s Bollywoodian formulas. Dhadak just proves those suspicions right! It is just another formulaic, ‘filmy’ love-story.

If we compare it to Sairat, then Dhadak doesn’t match up at all with the original film’s authentic ethnic, romantic and tragic appeal. Even as a stand-alone film, it barely passes the muster as a one-time watch.

Sairat made its central characters Archi and Parsha immortal; I’d bet you won’t remember Dhadak’s central characters’ names for long!

Rating

2 stars