Can Dhadak manage to be an impressive remake of Marathi blockbuster, Sairat? Can Janhvi Kapoor and Ishaan Khatter be a great Archi and Parshya? Dhadak has so much going against it, when it comes to expectations. But there is no denying that the movie is riding on a lot of buzz. Having a producer like Karan Johar, of course, helps. So Dhadak is out this Friday, but our in-house critic Sreeju Sudhakaran has managed to catch an early show. Here's what he has to about the first half of Dhadak

'It is a crime to even compare Dhadak with Sairat, even though the plot is similar. There's quite a lot of cosmetic changes but the soul is what makes these two movies so different - Dhadak lacks one. Anyway, unlike Sairat which was set in rural Maharashtra, Dhadak is set in Udaipur, Rajasthan. Janhvi is Parthavi while Ishaan is Madhukar. And since Karan Johar doesn't understand how poverty works, Madhukar's family gets a status upgrade. The first half is about how Madhukar and Parthavi fall for each other and how they love story takes a dangerous turn, when her high-caste powerful family catches them in an intimate moment.

Dhadak is colourful and all, but it is quite superficial. There are slight changes in the narrative, but the plot is all same. Except every drama, humour and emotion get amplified. 'Cos Bollywood, baby! Ishaan Khatter is confident but Janhvi is wildly inconsistent. The movie turns emotional near the interval, as the lovebirds elope from the girl's family."

There is still more to go in Dhadak, so check out our complete review of the film here.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 19, 2018 10:00 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).