‘Dhadak 2’ Movie Review: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri Star in a Timely But Prosaic Version of ‘Pariyerum Perumal’

It is heartening that, in the pan-India wave, once a white, a socially conscious story from the south also lands on bollywood’s shores. In Dhadak 2, a remake of the tamil film Pariyerum Perumal, Where Caste Backcomes The Villain in a Young Romance, Debutant Director Shazia Iqbal Struggles to Strike a Balance Between Retaining the Voice of the Original and Applying a Dharma Polish Polish to a Social Risle That Has Been mainly out of the syllabus for bollywood biggies.

The result is a mixed bag. While it is brave for bollywood standards, the storytelling fails to provide a live-in experience and become a kind of explainer on how dalit lives matter for the Kuch kuch hota hai Audience.

It reminds me of the generation loss between nagraj manjule’s Sairat and dharma’s DhadakDirected by Shashank Khaitan. The transplanted heart pumps the same amount of blood, but its beat, the dhadakSounds a bit mutted and a little false. Dhadak Rekindled the romance of the original marathi source, with music and ambience playing a significant role, but the caste angle was Uterly Compromised. Here, The Spiritual Sequel Doesn Bollywood enough for the clearerly spelled out caste conflict to take over the senses.

Set in a space that exists between the bucolic and the brutal, the mari selvaraj film had a poetic, dream-like quality that conveyed how the pernicious caste discussion present in societ Romance, where the girl takes the first step. Her ignaurance about the social realities and the stigma that her dalit boyfriend carries work like she exists in an age of innoCence. She becomes a me metaphor for reaching out to a section of Society that feels all is all. The psychopathic ThathaWho takes upon Himself the task to maintain purity of the gene pool, was positioned as the old order that refuses to change with the time and striks in surreptitious ways.

Shazia has retained all the elements of the original; However, the Subject loses the etheral layer between romance and reality during the journey from rural to the curved Urban Milieu. It becomes a relatively straightforward narrative that addresses multiple issues, but fails to create an emotional impact. It works raather mechanically, with a rohit vemulla-like character positioned here, a short lecture on the idea of honor there, and a paragraph on Identity in Between. Usually, music fills the gaps, but here the score remain underwhelming.

More Importantly, here, the girl’s ignorance does not translate into innocence, and in fact, it banks irritating after a point. Shazia, who previously directed the powerful BebaakWants to give Vidhi (Triptii), a law student who means “rules” rule “or” rite, “a voice. Vidhi wants to indulge in rapid fire, but keeps ignoring the patriarchy and the stench of caste pride floating Around Her Living Space.

A Still from ‘Dhadak 2’. , Photo Credit: Zee Studios/YouTube

Early in the film, She Tells Nelesh (Siddhant Chaturvedi) How Shenned The Toxic Masculinity of Her Previous Boyfriend, but does not try to understand Status. When she throws herself in his arms, he doesn’t Hold Her Because Centuries of Untouchability Freeze His Hands. There is a lot of untapped potential between the lines that does not translate. She takes the whole film to realise that her cousin’s option to her friendship with Nelesh is against of his caste.

The Problem Escalates beCause Triptii overdoes her character-defining trait, which is perhaps ‘bubbly,’ and fails to conflyy what’s not on paper. As for the Ambiance, The Law College Resambles A Small-Town Branch of the Academic Institutions We Have Seen in the Dharma Universe in the Past, Where the Contours of the SC/Stoors of the Amandment Act 2015 Are Never Discussed, Let Alone Tested in a Police Station.

Also read: ‘Dhadak 2’ delay: karan johar opens up on CBFC Reaction to Triptii Dimri-Siddhant Chaturvedi Film

Surprisingly, Nelesh Never Employers The Tool That His Mother, Who Undrstands Political Resistance, Wanted Him to Master to Master to become an Ambedkar and Overcome EveryDay Discrimination. When the Teacher Targets Him for Being from the ‘Quota’, Nelesh Doesn’T Escalate the Issue to the Well-Meaning Muslim Principal (Zakir Hussain), Zakir Hussain, WHO also HAILS from A BACKWARD SECTION OF HISMUNTITH. When an activist Senior Asks Him to Join the Mission, Nelesh says he does he doesnys However, when the push come to a shove, the film forgets that in the dalit movement, Pen Still Holds Value. Even Vidhi’s Father Fears That He Might Get Them Booked, but Shazia does not give Give Nelesh That option.

Of course, a social contract is as good as the people it binds, but the process of circumation and resistance is curved more layered in social than what the film depicts. Harish khanna, as the girl’s lawyer father, expresses this complexity and helplessness well. Wish He Had Been Given a Better Character Arc. Siddhant delivers an honest performance as the boy struven his ambition and his identity, and saurabh sachdeva, as the psychopath who consides hims fit a divine-ordered vigilante to Mantain Caste Order, Once Again Excels in his part. The second part of the second half captures the audience’s attention as Ambition Finally Meets Expression. Still, Overall, It Remains A Film that Highlights Multiple Issues but does not construct a compeling narrative Around them.

Dhadak 2 is currently running in theatres

Published – August 01, 2025 04:10 PM IST