Saturday 21 July 2018

Dhadak : Movie Review


Dhadak helmed by Shashank Khaitan unfolds a tale about innocent love blossoming between vagaries & extremities of life making it a descent watch.  Dhadak being an official remake of 2016 Marathi blockbuster Sairat is bound to draw comparisons with Sairat. And, this is where craft of Shashank Khaitan comes into play. Mind you, it's a real challenging task to remake a blockbuster wherein you have to retain the essence, yet, present the same tale in a refreshing manner. In case of Dhadak, Khaitan has been ably aided by his leading stars i.e Ishaan & Janhvi whose palpable chemistry has lent a certain amount of credibility to Khaitan's canvas. Both Ishaan & Janhvi keep you invested in this simple tale of love and manage to entertain you. Dhadak is not only about celebration of young love but it also talks about pain attached with it. We might have developed as a nation, yet, the gulf between rich and poor is not able to transcend true love. The movie ably depicts that, though, we claim to be a progressed society yet we are bound in the shackles of caste, creed and money. Dhadak narrates the tale of a young couple who fall in love and their survival to live together defying the caste discrimination and societal hierarchy. 
                                                   
The credit for penning down the story of Dhadak goes to Nagraj Manjule (writer & director of Sairat) where as the screenplay of the movie has been penned down by Shashank Khaitan. Shashank has meticulously tweaked down the screenplay of Sairat while retaining the essence of the original. The best part about Shashank's screenplay is that he has kept it very relatable through which he keeps you invested in the blossoming love and the hardships of the movie's lead pair. The movie begins in Udaipur where love blossoms between Madhukar (Ishaan Khatter) and Parthvi Singh (Janhvi Kapoor). Madhukar belongs to lower strata of society where as Parthvi is daughter of a wealthy politician Ratan Singh (Ashutosh Rana). Though, Madhukar's father tries to persuade his son for keeping away from Parthvi but love struck Madhukar is unable to keep distance from her. So, one fine day when Parthvi's father catches both the lovers red handed, he connives with the local police and sends Madhukar along with his friends to police custody. A defiant Parthvi reaches the police station and manages to free Madhukar along with his friends. Hereafter, both the lovers elope to Kolkata to begin a new life. Will Madhurkar & Parthvi be able to start a afresh life, Will they be caught by Parthvi's father is what forms the rest of the story.
                                                             
The movie belongs to Ishaan Khatter who with his youthful exuberance and emoting skills simply bowls you over. His confidence and body language in the movie is so immaculate that it's difficult to believe that Dhadak is his just second outing. The effortless ease with which he slips into the character of a innocent lover and later his transformation as the movie progresses is commendable. Right from the scene where he sings English song to impress Parthvi to the penultimate scene where Parthvi's brother enters their home, Ishaan has expressed myriad of expressions which speak volumes about his acting prowess.

Janhvi has given her best to the character of Parthvi in the movie and it is her chemistry with Ishaan that has done wonders to the movie. She bowls you over with her beauty and radiance. Though, in the beginning it looks that Janhvi needs to improve on her emoting skills but she manages to make a powerful impact in second half of the movie especially the scene where is yearning for her family and calls up her mother.

The musical soundtrack of the movie has been composed by Ajay-Atul and they have charted out some great numbers. Right from the title track to "Pehli Baar" to "Zingaat", all the songs are soothing and melodious. The background score of the movie composed by John Stewart Eduri is apt enough and enhances the on-screen proceedings. The cinematographer of the movie is Vishnu Rao who has done a swell job at capturing visuals. His roving lens eye has captured the beauty of Udaipur and its lakes with aplomb. The movie has been edited by Monisha R Baldawa who has kept the run-time of the movie to 137 minutes.  The costume designers Manish Malhotra, Natascha Charak, Nikita Mohanty have done a fine job keeping characterizations in mind. A special mention of Nishi Singh who is the makeup artiste of Ishaan Khatter for her effective contribution in the movie. As a director, Shashank Khaitan ( who has earlier directed Humpty Sharma Ki dulhaniya, BadriNath ki dulhaniya) steps out of his comfort zone by helming this dark love story & does it with aplomb. He ably presents this naive romantic tale with capacious dramatics without hindering from the sensitivities of the subject. It's not a mean task to remake a hit movie and keep the audience engaged especially when they know the highs & lows of the movie but to his credit, Shahshank manages to keep your interest alive in the movie.     
                                                    
ROHIT SHARMA
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