The trailer of the latest Bollywood movie Dhadak, starring Janhvi Kapoor and Ishaan Khatter, was released today. The star-studded event contains many members of the Kapoor family backing Janhvi as she makes her debut in the movies. Dhadak is the Hindi remake of Nagraj Manjule’s Marathi film, Sairat. However, Dhadak faced criticism over nepotism in Bollywood.
Dhadak Trailer Launch Event
Karan Johar, the producer of the film, introduced the lead pair at the trailer launch event. Janhvi’s debut comes a few months after her mother Sridevi’s sudden death in February. It was an emotional moment for Janhvi Kapoor to start the promotions of her debut film. She says her mother, Sridevi, wanted her to be a part of the project. However, Janhvi’s family including her father Boney Kapoor, sister Khushi, uncles Anil Kapoor and Sanjay Kapoor, and cousins Harshvardhan Kapoor and Mohit Marwah were present at the event. Moreover, actor Neelima Azeem was there to support her son, Ishaan Khatter. Arjun Kapoor wished his sister Janhvi through his Instagram account. The younger daughter of Sridevi, Khushi Kapoor, breaks into tears at the event.
Dhadak Movie Production
Shashank Khaitan, who has directed Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania and Badrinath Ki Dulhania earlier, directed the film. It is based on the love story of an innocent couple separated by caste and social status, and their struggle to protect their love from societal pressure. After Sairat made box-office history as the first Marathi film to collect Rs 100 Crores, Karan Johar bought the rights of the film for a Bollywood remake.
Dhadak Trailer Audience Reaction
After the launch of the trailer, the audience took it to social media to criticize the trailer for several reasons. Some people criticized it for not showing the central conflict of the inter-caste love story and presenting it as another modern-day Romeo-Juliet adaptation. Many people called it lacking soul and losing the rawness of the original version at the expense of great production values, rich visuals, and good sets. The color palette used for the film is very much similar to that of Raanjhanaa. Dhadak has a story backdrop of Rajasthan. But the accent used in the film is nowhere near that of Rajasthan and is more like Haryanvi.
Some people called it the glamorized version of Sairat losing the rustic feel of the original without any real emotions. However, the performances received a mixed response from the audience with mostly positive feedback for Ishaan while many people criticized Janhvi. The chemistry between the lead pair is not as good as that of Sairat. Moreover, the Dhadak trailer has Ishaan and Janhvi all over it with little importance to the setting and plot. The regular audience of Bollywood movies who didn’t watch Sairat is happy with the trailer. However, those who watched it are clearly disappointed with the trailer.
Some people called for a boycott of the film as a protest against nepotism in Bollywood. Several others blamed Karan Johar for incessantly launching star kids in Bollywood. While the original film, Sairat which was released on April 29, 2016, too had newcomers Rinku Rajguru and Akash Thosar in lead roles. Their performances were appreciated by the audience and critics alike. Dhadak has huge sets, entertainment, and Dharma’s production values, but it is nowhere near Sairat. Dhadak will hit the big screen on July 20, 2018.
