‘Dhadak 2,’ directed by Shazia Iqbal, was released on 1st August in theatres and stars Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri, Vipin Sharma, Zakir Hussain, and Saurabh Sachdeva.
Intentions are noble, but impact feels blunted
‘Dhadak 2’ is a well-meaning film. It picks up a story that continues to remain relevant in Indian society—of caste-based discrimination, systemic inequality, and the fragile ideal of inter-caste love. There is sincerity in its voice and honesty in the way it’s shot. You can see the makers are trying to say something important.
And yet, the film doesn’t quite land. It lacks the intensity and grittiness that made the original ‘Pariyerum ’Perumal’—the Tamil film it’s based on—such a punch to the gut. The pieces are all in place, but they never quite click together. There’s an emotional distance that keeps the film from being as powerful as it aims to be.
A story that stays specific, but doesn’t open up
The plot revolves around Neelesh (Siddhant Chaturvedi), a law student who gets into college through the reservation quota owing to his caste background. His presence in the college, however, is treated as an anomaly. It’s as if he’s the only one there through reservation—a portrayal that feels oddly limited.
The film remains specific to Neelesh’s experience but never allows the issue to broaden out and feel more universal. He falls for his classmate Vidhi (Triptii Dimri), and the first half largely focuses on their budding romance.
It’s stretched and at times feels like it belongs in a different film. While the core of the film demands a gritty, realistic approach, it keeps drifting into melodrama and aesthetic softness, which dilutes the urgency.
When it clicks, it grabs you
The real weight of the story starts to show only in the second half. The suicide of Shekhar, Neelesh’s senior and the leader of a student body representing marginalised students, shifts the tone and stakes.
It’s here that the film becomes sharper, more sure of what it wants to say. Unfortunately, this clarity doesn’t last long. There’s an entire subplot featuring a psychopathic killer targeting lower-caste students—played by Saurabh Sachdeva—that feels jarringly out of place.
His presence is more metaphorical than real, but it ends up being confusing and disconnected from the core narrative. He appears in a few sequences, phantom-like, but the track adds nothing and only takes away from the more grounded emotional core the film was starting to build.
Committed performances
Siddhant Chaturvedi is the film’s biggest strength. His performance as Neelesh is heartfelt and layered. He carries the pain, humiliation, and helplessness of his character without overplaying it. There’s a lived-in truth to the way he handles Neelesh’s quiet rage and vulnerability. Triptii Dimri brings a natural presence to her role, but her character is underwritten and doesn’t give her much to work with.
Their chemistry, which is supposed to drive the first half, is at best functional and never sparks. Zakir Hussain, as the college principal, is restrained and effective, though one wishes he had more to do.
Vipin Sharma, playing Neelesh’s father, is brilliant in a brief role—his scenes carry real emotional weight. The biggest letdown is how underutilised Saurabh Sachdeva is. His arc never finds solid footing in the film.
A film with a heart, but not enough fire
Beyond caste, the film attempts to touch upon other issues like feminism and class divide, but those threads remain at the surface level. They’re there, but never fully explored. Still, there are moments that stand out. The humiliation of Neelesh’s father by Ronnie and his friends, the heartbreak of his dog Birju being killed, and a brief scene of Shekhar silently patting the dog—all of them land. These are moments that feel real, that stay with you.
The film’s heart is clearly in the right place, and the effort to tell a story that matters is undeniable. But that same heart is let down by a lack of narrative consistency and tonal focus. The grittiness that is so essential to stories like these is only seen in flashes—never sustained.
‘Dhadak 2’ wants to burn slow and deep, but too often it flickers, unsure whether to be a love story or a social commentary.
Rating: 3/5
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