Dhadak Film Review – No Land for Young Love

Steering a love story through the milieu of a cast-obsessed society and getting it right is never easy. More often than not, directors end up floundering with this challenging proposition. So it comes as no surprise that the Jhanvi Kapoor-Ishaan Khattar starrer is well below par. As if to add salt to the wounds, many are comparing it (and rightly so, as it is a Hindi remake) to its superior progenitor, Sairat.

Dhadak Film Review

Why does it all go so awry for this tragic drama? To be honest, Dhadak struggles right from the word go. Not only there isn’t much experience on board between Jhanvi Kapoor (on debut here) and Ishaan Khattar (merely a film old), but now they face the arduous task of measuring up to the artistic demands of their respective characters. A shoddily written script doesn’t make it any easier for the actors. A more thought-provoking and affecting narrative might have alleviated the acting woes. As it is, the film keeps stumbling and never recovers.

A story revolving around a young love under the clout of casteism fades from your memory faster than it should. For one, to invest in the trials of the main characters, the audience needs to connect with them. There is nothing in the first half to draw the viewer into the story and care for the protagonists. The crucial emotional connection between the audience and the onscreen characters never comes to fruition. Too many of the film’s characters are just caricatures that represent either one or the other attitude prevalent in a forbiddingly repressive society. Beyond that, there isn’t any indication that the filmmakers have made any genuine effort in creating more soulful characters that might have resonated with the viewers.

When Parthavi (Jhanvi Kapoor) hailing from an upper-class family elopes with her lover, Madhukar (Ishaan Khattar) who is from a lower class, leaving behind their hometown of Udaipur that has become increasingly unsafe, their adventure takes them to Kolkatta via Mumbai and Nagpur. For their journey to be exciting, it needed more edginess. Somewhere around the midpoint, you hope that it all falls into place for the film. Believing that Dhadak might get anywhere close to a rewarding watch soon falls apart when we get to the latter half of the film. Not only is the end utterly predictable well before it befalls upon the audience, but it is also thoroughly devoid of any genuine emotions.

Parthavi’s father (Ashutosh Rana) and brother (Godaan Kumar) fail to exert the kind of unrelenting menace that they ought to under the given scenario, which leaves the movie’s finale entirely out of sync with the rest of the film. In fact, they seem to be missing from the action for most of the second half. If the director intended to merely have a shock ending rather than sewing a rich narrative through gripping characters and a gradual build-up of dread, he was always staring down a barrel.

So, is there anything redeeming about Dhadak? Well, you can watch it for the peppy number, Zingaat, and the vistas of Udaipur (mainly in the first half of the film) that are a feast for the eyes. As for the acting, a few side actors make an impression, but that is too little to lessen the film’s miseries.

If you are planning to watch Dhadak, it might be a good idea to go with wafer-thin expectations. It barely grazes the territory of either an entertaining or an impactful movie watching experience.

Dhadak film review rates Dhadak (2 / 5)

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