Dhadak (2018) - Cut Short Review


Cast: Ishaan Khatter, Jhanvi Kapoor, Ashutosh Rana, Ankit Bisht, Shridhar Watsar, Kshitij Kumar, Aditya Kumar, Aishwarya Narkar, Kharaj Mukherjee, Mustaqueem, Godaan Kumar, Shalini Kapoor, Vishwanath Chatterjee, Hempushpak Arora, Janhavi Dave, Ishika Gagneja, Balaji Gauri, Manish Singh Verma
Direction: Shashank Khaitan  
Production: Zee Studios, Dharma Productions
Music: Ajay-Atul
Background Score: John Stewart Eduri
Genre: Romance, Drama
Language: Hindi 
Version: 2D
Runtime: 2 hrs 18 mins 
Censor Certificate: U/A 

Plot - Madhukar Bhagla (Ishaan Khatter) and Parthavi Singh (Jhanvi Kapoor) loves each other. These two people belong to different castes. Parthavi's father 'Ratan Singh' (Ashutosh Rana) is a local politician in Udaipur. After knowing about their love, he tries to separate his daughter from Madhukar through his influence. So, they both elope from Udaipur.  What happens next forms the crux of the story. 

           'Dhadak' is an official remake of highly appreciated Marathi film 'Sairat', which released in the year 2016. Jhanvi Kapoor, the daughter of late actress 'Sridevi' marks her bollywood debut through this film. 

Note - As I haven't watched 'Sairat', my review about 'Dhadak' doesn't have any comparison with the original version. 

Performance of the Star Cast Ishaan Khatter delivers a very naturalistic performance. He scores very well in both romantic and emotional sequences. Jhanvi Kapoor makes a good debut in Kollywood by giving a decent performance. She justifies her character neatly. Still, she faces some issues to emote. The chemistry between Ishaan and Jhanvi looks so superb. Ashutosh Rana plays a negative shade in this film. He gives his usual best performance. Ankit Bisht and Shridhar Watsar comes as friends of Ishaan in the film. They have done their supporting character roles very well. Shridhar Watsar scores well in some humour portions. All the other actors have given their best support to the film. 

Technical Works - Vishnu Rao's cinematography adds beauty to this romantic drama. He has captured the entire Udaipur in such an attractive way. Monisha R.Baldawa's editing looks good and neat. But, in some portions, her editing could have been better. Ajay-Atul has really composed superb romantic tracks in the film. 'Dhadak (Title Track)' and 'Zingaat' songs are my favourite.  John Stewart Eduri's background score conveys the beauty of love in the required portions. 

Director's Involvement with the Script - Director Shashank Khaitan is known for two superhit films 'Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania' and 'Badrinath Ki Dulhania'. Even though the storyline is very usual, his presentation looks good. From the beginning to end, he doesn't make the audience bored with the romantic subject. He gives importance to the romance wherever necessary. In between, he makes the audience to laugh with some situational humour content. He grabs the attention of the audience in most of the scenes. But, the interest of the audience gets slows down in few portions. 

Screenplay Execution - In the first half, the film begins with a good start. The screenplay goes in a good flow with all cliches of romance between the pair. In between, humour portions entertains us. After 'Zingaat' song, the screeenplay takes a serious track. The interval block is not bad. In the second half, the film focuses on their struggle to lead a successful life. The screenplay pace is slow only. Towards the climax, the film maintains a decent flow. The climax is highly expected one, just because of the disclaimer in the beginning. So, the impact is not much stronger. Still, it ends in a shocking way with a good message. 

Main Negatives of the Film - The predictability factor is the biggest issue. As the storyline is very simple, the screenplay moves in a predictable flow only. This is the reason for our interest to go low in few portions. The second half looks slightly dragging, which gives us a feel of lengthier duration. This makes way for lagging issue to occur in between. The emotional connect could have been better. Other than that, the film doesn't look boring. 

Verdict 
            'Dhadak' is a good and decent romantic drama from Shashank Khaitan, in which his presentation doesn't make this usual subject bored. The romance between Ishaan and Jhanvi looks cute. The director tries to convey a good message, which could have been more stronger. Still, he convinces the audience without much disappointments. So, this film deserves 'worth watchable once' for the decent performance of the star cast and also for the good message. Watch the film with low expectations. 

Cut Short Rating - 7.4/10



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