Dhadak is a guilty pleasure! Here’s why ?

Disclaimer: I haven’t watched, Sairat the famous Marathi film from which Dhadak has been inspired. My review is based on strictly viewing Dhadak as a standalone film.

As a 90’s kid, I’ve grown up watching what would be now classified as stereotypical formula films. The kind where boy-meet-girl, fall in love only to conceive and subsequently tackle forthcoming abomination to attain triumph. The films that concluded with a “happily-ever-after” steered ahead of the ones that didn’t. Love stories flourishing amidst the backdrop of societal struggles of caste and class had primarily characterized a sustained notion pertaining to Hindi films across the globe.

As we progressed to early 2000’s, love stories continued to thrive as the main-stay of Bollywood only change being; societal standards no longer played villain. Internal conflicts of the characters disbanded them for the course of the movie making way for a happily-ever-after as the epilogue. Subsequent endeavors to push the envelope occasionally culminated in coming-of-age narratives most of which escalated above the prevalent standards of mediocrity. And then there emerged a genre of remakes, franchise films, biopics targeted towards make hind -films more real! (If only reality could bring substance).

All this while I did miss the boy-loves-girl, family-plays-villain breed of tales modestly sailing in an unembellished fashion. The last time I remember watching a comparable mainstream Bollywood film was Ishaqzaade which released way back in 2011. Dhadak was therefore a respite. Deprived of a convoluted narrative, impenetrable layers to the characters kept it bereft of application of mind. Best described as passably consuming, favorably entertaining.

For those led to the assumption that Dhadak is a piece of what I often describe as “cinematic excellence”. REALITY CHECK. It is marred by a plethora of pitfalls, some of which are so blatant that it can leave viewers aghast. The story which has been borrowed from Sairat is lacquered with dollops of the prototypical “Dharma Productions” varnish. That’s not an entirely unnerving ordeal for it makes for a fairly amicable viewing experience. Though the climax is disconcerting in ways one fails to fathom, yet the abruptness at which the screenplay transposes into it doesn’t let you settle into the pain, sparing a prolonged trauma, which is the only silver lining. The typical character sketches are old-school, especially the girl’s father who is so obviously evil at the outset; it is comical. Much of the comic relief in the film is exploited on the incapacities of a vertically challenged guy playing the hero’s friend. Such an archetypal portrayal coming from Shashank Khaitan who took to remedying societal evils of gender disparity in Badrinath ki dulhaniya seems impermissible.

Largely the film’s onus lay on the performance of the leads and in her first ever outing Jhanvi fares averagely, unmistakably outshined by Ishaan who is both effortless and endearing. Beyond the Clouds, was a demonstration of his acting abilities, Dhadak is his foray into stardom. An exceptional talent, he has a long way ahead and nepotism is definitely not to blame. Jhanvi on the other hand is devilishly bourgeoise to get into the skin of a character that demands being raw. Much like her cousin Sonam Kapoor, her eyes emote skillfully, but her dialogue delivery is uninviting. Yet, the girl displays more potential than Alia Bhatt in Student of the Year. The lead pair’s chemistry isn’t bland if not sizzling and it takes a while before you ease into their story and settle into their struggle.

Dhadak’s screenplay is linear with a hero and a heroine whose chronicles are not entirely by way selection but largely circumstantial. Their vulnerabilities are characterized by their resentment sans  sugar coated romance as the grind gets grueling. In a steady departure from 90’s films about eloped couples, gender roles are not stereotyped. The agony witnessing the magnitude of their discomfort might not be gut-wrenching, but it manages to entice the viewers empathy. They repulse the life they’ve fallen into, yet the love is withheld from falling out of the widow amidst their constant attempts towards building a home out of a hopeless place.

Keeping the technicalities aside, the film has its heart in the right place. The fact that it is a no-brainer works the best for Dhadak.