‘Dhadak’ Fails to Rise up to Its Original’s Might

Janhvi’s perfectly-curled, mascara-laiden eyelashes never give in to the doomed fate the lovers are destined for.

With Dhadak as Sairat’s official remake, the comparisons are going to be inevitable.

(Photo: Erum Gour/The Quint)

Camera: Shiv Kumar Maurya

Editor: Prashant Chauhan

Video Producer: Chandni Sharma

There is something irresistible about the first flush of young love. There is an innocence and a youthful rebelliousness that make you take on the whole world for the sake of that one special person. Nagraj Manjule brilliantly married this heady feeling with staggering cast and class realities of our times in the Marathi superhit film Sairat.

With Dhadak as its official remake, the comparisons are going to be inevitable and so, it must be stated – if you have seen and obviously loved Sairat, Dhadak will not even come close to the emotionally compelling narrative and the gut-wrenching climax of the original.

It simply isn’t on the same wavelength as Sairat, and probably wasn’t even intended to be.

Which is why Janhvi Kapoor’s perfectly-curled, mascara-laiden eyelashes never give in to the doomed fate the lovers are destined for.

Director Shashank Khaitan sets the story in Udaipur, where Parthavi (Janhvi Kapoor) and Madhu (Ishaan Khatter) fall in love, oblivious to the cruel repercussions that threaten to shatter their little dream.

In the song and dance sequences Janhvi is great, as for the emotionally charged ones she is still a work in progress. Ishaan, on the other hand, is never less than astonishingly convincing as the well-meaning, slightly overwhelmed young lover. Parthavi’s father played by Ashutosh Rana is a ruthless politician, who exercises his clout to send Madhu to jail and lock up Parthavi at home.

There are hardships and emotional turmoil and tender moments of intimacy but through it all Janhvi’s mascara remains Vogue-worthy! This obsession with perfect aestheticism is fine and very much in sync with the Karan Johar worldview but somehow it lessens our emotional investment in the proceedings.

The plot structure is similar to that of the original but some of the details have been tweaked, like instead of Hyderabad the lovers now take asylum in Kolkata.

The biggest twist, however, is in the climax! If you haven’t seen Sairat, you might be gripped, but if you have, Dhadak sadly won’t tug at your heartstrings in the same way.

Still, Dhadak does a fairly decent job as a launch pad for Janhvi and Ishaan in the commercial Bollywood sphere. Also, you will enjoy it more if you are a “Sairat virgin”.

2.5 Quints out of 5!