It is not often that you see the notion of caste and its atrocities being explored in mainstream Hindi cinema. The one name that comes to our mind is filmmaker Anubhav Sinha’s Ayushmann Khurrana starrer Article 15 (2019). Now, director Shazia Iqbal’s Dhadak 2 enters the rare list. It is hugely different from the Khurrana starrer despite addressing the same subject.

Dhadak 2 is the official Hindi remake of the 2018 Tamil hit Pariyerum Perumal. It takes place in a semi-urban city in India. The story revolves around Neelesh Ahirwar (Siddhant Chaturvedi). He hails from the lower caste and lives under challenging economic conditions with his parents. He is eager to rise above poverty by becoming a lawyer. He gets admission in a reputed law college in the city under reservation.

Neelesh’s family and people from his vicinity regularly face atrocities because of their caste. But he somehow wishes to ignore such realities and focus on becoming a lawyer. That’s why he doesn’t take part in political activities carried out by people belonging to his caste in his college.

Neelesh meets the bubbly Vidhisha Bharadwaj aka Vidhi (Triptii Dimri) as his classmate. They click instantly and fall in love. However, as she is from the upper caste, her family becomes strongly against any kind of relationship between the two. The biggest thorn in Neelesh’s path is Vidhi’s cousin Rounak aka Ronnie (Saad Bilgrami), who studies in the same class.

On the surface, the basic tale of Dhadak 2 might appear similar to countless Hindi or even Indian films. A guy and girl from different worlds falling in love and facing opposition is a theme done to death. But the treatment of that theme has been quite fresh here, especially with the reverse gender roles.

But when looked deeper, Dhadak 2 is far more than just a love story. It not only explores the dirty reality of caste in today’s so-called modern India but also boldly portrays atrocities committed on the lower castes by the upper castes. This turns out to be a wake-up call for those who have been living in a bubble and proclaiming that casteism isn’t practiced in India any more.

There is a scene where Neelesh recalls a disturbing past incident to Vidhi where he and his family faced atrocity and humiliation because of their caste and social status. Vidhi says that she didn’t know such things still happen in non-rural areas. To this, Neelesh says, “We don’t know all this happens, unless it happens with us.” This sentence sums up the film and its necessity.

After a successful build up, Dhadak 2 keeps the momentum alive and ends with a powerful and overwhelming climax.

But the narrative also faces a few issues. The film could have ended before 146 minutes. But the biggest negative here is the culmination of the student leader track. Although it seems inspired from a real event, it adds on to the length and doesn’t offer much to the film. Also, despite facing humiliation for his caste, Neelesh not feeling anything for those fighting for the fight for equality among members of his community is a bit difficult to digest.

The performances are one of the strongest plus points. Siddhant Chaturvedi had played a lower caste character who faces humiliation for his lower status in the web show Inside Edge. But his character and performance are entirely different here. The way Neelesh goes through various atrocities and humiliation make you feel for him. He also rises in scenes where he appears confident and heroic.

Triptii Dimri perfectly fits the strong character of Vidhi and comes up with an impressive act. She is especially noteworthy in the climax. Saad Bilgrami shines as the antagonist. You love to hate him. Saurabh Sachdeva and Vipin Sharma are appealing despite limited screen time. Zakir Hussain provides a mature act as the college principal.

Priyank Tiwari as the Dalit leader Satish is instantly likeable but, as pointed above, his track doesn’t end well. Harish Khanna, Abhay Joshi and Deeksha Joshi, as Vidhi’s father, uncle and elder sister respectively, chip in with good supporting acts.

Overall: Dhadak 2 is a hard-hitting love story that shows the mirror to those who are under the impression that casteism and caste-based atrocities don’t take place in India any more.

Rating: 3.5 out of 5

Director: Shazia Iqbal

Producers: Dharma Productions, Zee Studios and Cloud 9 Pictures

Writers: Rahul Badwelkar and Shazia Iqbal (adapted screenplay and dialogues)

Cast: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri, Saad Bilgrami