Dhadak 2 review: An honest and brave remake that does it's best to stay true to its original Tamil film
Remaking a critically acclaimed and distressing Tamil film, such as Pariyerum Perumal (2018), in Hindi was a high-risk move. I was also suspicious of how the writer, director, and producer handled the Hindi adaptation of the Tamil film especially since Bollywood is notorious for watering down the main theme of the original films in order to appeal to a wider audience. To be honest, though, Shazia Iqbal's Dhadak 2 is a daring and honest remake that does its best to be faithful to the Tamil original and doesn't hold back from presenting the actual reality, which many privileged viewers may find difficult to accept the fact that it still exists and many would intentionally prefer to ignore.
Given the title, many might assume that, similar to Dhadak (2018), Dhadak 2 is primarily a romance drama with sporadic allusions to caste prejudice. Fortunately, this is not the case. A powerful anti-caste drama, Dhadak 2 highlights the harsh reality of casteism and the humiliation that young boys and girls in this generation still endure.
A fictitious tier 2 city in North India serves as the backdrop for the movie. Neelesh (Siddhant Chaturvedi), a member of a lower caste who feels inferior to everyone, is accepted into a law school; we will soon learn of another, equally significant reason for Neelesh's desire to practise law and become a lawer. Naturally, he is continually harassed and reminded of his place, particularly by upper-caste college students, with the exception of Vidhi (Tripti Dimrii). "Main yaha padhne aaya hun, ladhne nahi" (I'm here to study, not to fight) is Neelesh's response when the leader of the college's student union asks him to defend the rights of other lower-caste students.
Being from a Brahmin family, Vidhi is very outspoken and doesn't hesitate to approach Neelesh. Since Vidhi lives in her own bubble while he is aware of reality, he is first reluctant to engage with her. However, they quickly become close friends as she helps him learn English. This newfound camaraderie annoys Vidhi's cousin Ronnie (Saad Bilgrami), a fellow law student, so he chooses to show Neelesh his place. Vidhi is ignorant of the ways in which caste discrimination is intertwined into everyday, just like many affluent individuals, particularly those from large cities, who think that caste atrocities are a thing of the past. Although Vidhi is unaware of the scale of caste crimes occurring around her, she is not turned to a helpless victim who cannot speak up, which was my main issue about the Tamil film Pariyerum Perumal. Vidhi has her own, equally significant character traits: she believes in sticking up for women and speaking out against toxic masculinity. In one scene, we see how she doesn't mind questioning a man whose marriage has been arranged with her cousin.
Dhadak 2's first scene, in which a middle-aged man kills a young college-going student by tossing him from a terrace after noticing a boy's girlfriend leaving his hostel room, sets the tone for a dark and serious story. And this is exactly what happens in the film. There are hardly any light-hearted moments in the film. Shazia has managed to add some anxiety during couple of romantic scenes as they are from different caste.
With the exception of couple of scenes in the middle, Dhadak 2 maintains a steady dark tone throughout its two hours and twenty-five minutes of running time. Just like the very first scene of the film, in a another scene, a young girl is slain by her brother because she was seeing a boy from a different caste. But the most horrific thing about these two murders was how easily both families (and probably some influential upper caste people) were able to mislead media outlets. While the boy's murder was portrayed as an accident, the girl's murder was depicted as a suicide due to academic pressure. It really makes me question how many of the news reports of students taking their own lives due to pressure to do well in exams and failing them were suicides, or if most of them were really carefully thought out honour killings to preserve the family's reputation.
The film features six songs, and Shazia Iqbal has done an excellent job of incorporating these songs into the film; aside from the Bawariya song, all of the other songs contribute to the film's emotional depth. These five songs convey distinct emotions and depict the genuine sensitivity and emotional struggle of Neelesh and Nidhi, who are profoundly in love with one another.
Siddhant Chaturvedi's performance was sincere. When he must portray the annoyance of a young child in love who is also made aware of his position by others who feel they have the right to beat anyone they choose, he excels. He still looks natural while using needless brown skin makeup, expressing the feelings of a young man who is furious, depressed, disappointed, and powerless. Additionally, Tripti Dimrii does a fantastic job of illustrating the various facets of Vidhi and her character arc in the movie. When she is with Neelesh, she appears to be a sweet and affectionate young girl who is falling for a boy. However, after learning of the humiliation that Neelesh, his mother, and even his father have endured throughout their lives at the hands of upper-caste individuals, she begins to exhibit resilience against those who oppose her relationship with Neelesh, including her father and cousin.
As a very casteist college going boy who enjoys asserting his caste supremacy and feels that everyone from other castes is beneath him, Saad Bilgrami has given a very powerful performance. Despite having very little on-screen time, Saurabh Sachdeva portrays the crucial character of Shankar, who murders innocent people who fall in love with members of other castes. In the portrayal of a villain who takes joy in honour killing and views it as a divine deed, he excels. Anubha Fatehpuria, Zakir Hussain, Manjiri Pupala, Shashank Tiwari, and Vipin Sharma are among the other supporting actors who have performed their roles respectively.
The 30-second scene that follows the climax—you could even call it a mid-credit scene—is, in my opinion, the film's biggest flaw. That scene is completely unnecessary, and I'm not sure what the writer and director were even trying to communicate the audience with it. We basically observe an abrupt 180-degree shift in the mentality and attitude of a key character. This abrupt shift in attitude is difficult to believe given that particular character's animosity for everyone who disagrees with it. Most likely, Dharma Productions insisted on the filmmaker including that scene in the film because, until the end, Dhadak 2 is a very honest and brave remake with little compromises. But I took half a star off the rating for that 30-second clip alone.
Cast: Siddhanth Chaturvedi, Tripti Dimri, Saurabh Sachdeva, Saad Bilgrami, Vipin Sharma
Writers: Rahul Badwelkar, Shazia Iqbal, Mari Selvaraj
Director: Shazia Iqbal
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