Dhadak Movie Review: Ishaan Khatter - Janhvi Kapoor's Romantic Saga is a Watered-Down, Pointless Remake of Sairat

When Karan Johar announced the idea of remaking Sairat, I groaned. And I am sure, so have many people who had seen and loved Sairat. But Mr Johar was determined to remake the movie for some reason, and now this Friday, we have Dhadak in our theatres. Directed by Shashank Khaitan, the movie stars Ishaan Khatter and Janhvi Kapoor (making her debut) in the lead. So yeah, here's our review of Dhadak -

Madhu (Ishaan Khatter) is in love with Parthavi (Janhvi Kapoor), the daughter of a highly influential politician (Ashutosh Rana) in Udaipur. Despite the difference in their status and caste, Parthavi also reciprocrates his feelings. After a couple of colourful songs, things take a serious turn when Parthavi's family catches them during an intimate moment. The girl's father tries to get Madhu and his friends arrested, but Parthavi manages to flee with him from the place. After much struggle, the lovers land in Kolkata where they begin to piece their lives together and realise that the path to the union is not filled with rose petals.

I made a mistake. I had watched Sairat. More than once. And loved it every damn time. We have had seen movies where star-crossed lovers meet a tragic end. But what makes Sairat so special is how natural the romance between Archi and Parshya felt and how Nagaraj Manjule used the caste politics subtly to provide an undercurrent of tension to the love story.

However, Dhadak is a different beast. A beast that lacks a soul and has no purpose to exist, apart from launching two star-kids in the nepotism-plagued Bollywood. Yes, it has a colourful body thanks to the beautiful locales of Udaipur and the mesmerising environs of Kolkata. But no amount of pretty frames and decent performances can make up for a lack of purpose.

Sample this - one of the most iconic scenes in Sairat was the water-hole sequence. In Dhadak, the well is replaced by a pond, where all the boys and girls come to bath, and where Madhu and Parthavi have their first romantic encounter. The only issue is, Udaipur is known as the City of Lakes, so it makes no sense why they throng that particular pond. Moreover, we are clueless why Parthavi's palatial mansion doesn't have a single swimming pool.

Every emotion, be it the humour or sentiment is amplified 'X' times for the sake of dramatisation but nothing leaves a strong impression. A political rivalry that was subtly hinted in Sairat, ends up gobbling quite some screentime. For the makers of Dhadak may be thinking the Hindi audiences are not smart enough to grasp the idea unless it is shoved in their faces. While Parshya's friends in Sairat were adorable and the friendship feels smooth, Madhu's friends end up being unwanted, underdeveloped sidekicks (the actor who played his vertically challenged friend was irritating).

It has often been alleged that Karan Johar can't understand poverty and Dhadak shows you why. The hero's fisherfolk family in Sairat gets an upgrade in Dhadak, where they are shown running a restaurant. Gone are the slums and the shanty where the couple takes solace after their elopement, and in their place is a decent looking lodge room. The heroine doesn't work in a bottling company; instead, she is a call center executive at Just Dial (don't get me started on the in-the-face advertising. A table-fan's name was so prominently displayed that I really don't know what it was advertising - the brand or the director's surname). The villainy of the girl's father has to be pointed out with ominous BG score and menacing grimaces. Caste divide (even though mentioned a couple of times) pave way for the hurt egos of Parthavi's father thanks to a botched political campaign.

These cosmetic changes lend so much artificiality to the narrative, like the choreographed steps of "Zingaat." So instead of getting engaged in the couple's struggles, we instead feel alienated by the proceedings, especially in the second half.

And there is that climax. If you have seen Sairat, you know how gut-wrenching the conclusion was. Thankfully, Johar and co. don't aim for a happy ending. Instead, they add a twist here that might surprise you at first. Then later, it feels more like an annoying ploy to play with the expectations of people who watched the original movie; in short, Dhadak's 'Gotcha' moment!

Sorry, but it is difficult to review Dhadak without the obvious comparing to Sairat. People say that it would be unfair to the remake, but then that's the point. By remaking a much-loved movie, you are inadvertently inviting comparisons and by that sense, Dhadak fails big time.

However, the movie is not without its glowing positives. Khatter's Madhu and Kapoor's Parthavi can never be Parshya and Archi, but the lead pair shares a breezy, wonderful chemistry. After a fine debut in Beyond The Clouds, Ishaan Khatter continues to exude confidence as the lovable, insecure Madhukar. The scene where he breaks down on the phone, talking to his father is the highlight of his performance.

Janhvi was very inconsistent in the first half of the movie, as the director tried to portray her more as a diva rather than a rich girl from a small town. However, she comes on her own in the second half, even though her Rajasthani accent appears and disappears at will. Give her some time and a better movie, and Janhvi can end up surprising you with a smoother performance. Also, what's with the overdone makeup on her face, in every goddamn scene?

The cinematography by Vishnu Rao is excellent. Music composers Ajay-Atul may have rehashed their own Sairat tunes, but still, the songs are pleasant to hear. Finally, while Shashank Khaitan the writer, disappoints big time, the director in him has not done a bad job per se.

Yay!

- Ishaan Khatter's incredible performance

- His chemistry with Janhvi (who isn't bad, but needs some more polishing)

- The music

- The Visuals

Nay!

- A watered-down screenplay

- Filled with Bollywood tropes and cliches

- A couple of annoying secondary characters

- Doesn't justify its existence

- Climatic twist that feels more annoying than shocking

Final Thoughts

As expected, Dhadak is a watered down version of Sairat, that fails to do any kind of justice to the original. For fans with a palate for Dharma movies, it might be a decent watch. However, all Sairat fans will be sharpening their pitchforks once the screening is over.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 20, 2018 01:46 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).