When Dhadak premiered in July 2018, it was widely seen as a glossy, sanitized remake of the Marathi classic Sairat, mostly remembered for launching star kids Janhvi Kapoor and Ishaan Khatter. But five years on, with Dhadak 2 on the horizon, the film is earning a second look—not as a flawless work, but as a bold one.
Karan Johar’s Dhadak, directed by Shashank Khaitan, cloaked its caste-based love story in chiffon, lake views, and catchy music. But beneath the polish was a narrative about casteism, honour killings, and societal rot that rarely makes its way into mainstream Bollywood romance. In doing so, it became something of a Trojan horse, quietly confronting audiences in multiplexes with themes typically confined to parallel cinema.
While the film softened the raw, grounded realism of Sairat, its unflinching ending—a young couple murdered in the name of honour—left viewers stunned. For many, it was their first encounter with the reality of caste violence. That abrupt, bloody conclusion pushed Dhadak out of the realm of glossy romance and into something far more urgent.
Critics at the time faulted the film for skirting around caste terminology and romanticizing tragedy. Yet it introduced difficult conversations to audiences who may have otherwise avoided them. In that sense, Dhadak quietly changed the conversation.
Karan Johar, known for opulent love stories and elite settings, took an unexpected risk in adapting a story so deeply rooted in India’s caste hierarchy. While the edges were dulled, the essence remained—and that matters.
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As for Janhvi Kapoor and Ishaan Khatter, the film allowed them to prove they were more than just products of privilege. Ishaan brought nervous sincerity to his role; Janhvi’s performance, though tentative, carried emotional weight.
Today, as Dhadak 2 promises to delve deeper into issues of identity and power, it’s worth acknowledging what the original achieved. It may not have matched Sairat in raw power, but it opened a space for caste-driven narratives in mainstream Hindi cinema.
Dhadak walked, so others could run.
Source: NDTV