Dhadak 2 Review: Siddhant Chaturvedi, Triptii Dimri’s Film On Casteism Lingers Longer Than We’d Expect!
Triptii Dimri and Siddhant Chaturvedi starrer Dhadak 2 is also a remake.
3 / 5
If you come out of a theatre feeling a range of emotions yet numb, then the film has done something right. Such was my state of mind when I walked out after watching Siddhant Chaturvedi and Triptii Dimri starrer Dhadak 2, written and directed by Shazia Iqbal. Just like Dhadak was an adaptation, the spiritual sequel is also a remake of the Tamil film Pariyerum Perumal (2018). Dhadak 2 deals with themes like casteism, love, and honour killing. The film has its heart in the right place; in many scenes, it delivers the impact that it intends to, but like every film, Dhadak 2 can also be a bumpy ride. Keep reading to decide whether it’s worth your time!
Story
Dhadak 2 is a story about Vidhi (Triptii Dimri) and Neelesh (Siddhant Chaturvedi) who meet briefly at a wedding. Later, the two again cross paths at National Law College as BA LLB students. They develop a good friendship in no time, and eventually fall in love. However, Vidhi’s family doesn’t approve of Neelesh since he is from a Dalit family. The film majorly revolves around caste oppression, identity crisis and the fight against the casteist and classist mindset. Vidhi and Neelesh’s love story is a part of it. There is also a character Shankar (Saurabh Sachdeva) who voluntarily takes up the task of killing young people as a part of “cleansing the society” and make it look like a s*icide. However, towards the end, Neelesh fights back against all the harassment that he was made to go through, and for this, he also finds Vidhi by his side.
Strong Points
Performances
Siddharth Chaturvedi as Neelesh BA LLB delivers an emotionally charged performance. Neelesh is a simple, shy boy who doesn’t want to get into the politics of the college, rather study hard to become a lawyer. However, circumstances change him and force him to take a strong stand for himself. This gradual transition of the character is effortlessly pulled off by Siddhant Chaturvedi. The actor gives some really memorable shots in this film, especially some moment with the anger-filled eyes, or when he broke down completely after being beaten by a group of boys, and of course, the monologue in the end. The actor has done a praiseworthy job!
Triptii Dimri as Vidhi is charming, sweet and just the rebel that somewhere lies in every woman of today. While the character takes some time to figure out whatever is happening with Neelesh (since coming from a privileged family, it’s hard to believe that casteist mindset still exists), she turns into a ball of fire after noticing the wrongdoings against Neelesh. While Triptii Dimri is delight throughout the film, she did blow my mind with one scene in the end. Quite impactful!
All the supporting characters in the film played by Saurabh Sachdeva, Zakir Hussain, Diksha Joshi, Vipin Sharma and Saad Bilgrami among others have done a phenomenal job in making Dhadak 2 an impressive watch. Saurabh Sachdeva is very convincing as the murderer Shankar who thinks he was not a bad person, and was just doing “good” for the society.
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The Subtle Commentary
Dhadak 2 makes some strong comments and opinions on caste system, reservation, oppression, gender roles and why sometimes fighting back is the only option one is left with. Like the film has several scenes where the importance of reservation is stressed upon. Through the character of Neelesh, the film also argues that years of oppression and casteism will not eradicate just by changing one’s fate, sometimes, voicing against the oppressors is also the way forward. Dhadak 2 does not strive to become another preachy movie about the above-discussed themes, however, it creates an environment of such sort that delivers the message itself. In the end, Neelesh confronts, Vidhi’s family for making him go through the endless torture, however, words still remain unheard when Vidhi’s uncle brings a gun to kill Neelesh. While the others try to stop him, Vidhi just shouts at the top of her voice and everything goes silent. The scene definitely holds a lot of impact for me.
What Doesn’t Work?
Dhadak 2 feels a bit too stretched in some moments, and follows a very familiar pattern of storytelling. We are no stranger to such a story, and have seen them before, it’s only some bit and moments that Dhadak 2 disassociate itself from being an ordinary story. Some scenes were unnecessarily dragged to evoke emotions, and the film could do without it.
Another annoying aspect about the film was Siddhant Chaturvedi’s makeover. For the character of Neelesh, the actor was made to look darker. This is a constant issue with Bollywood films, and we have seen it happen before too!
Dhadak 2 does not have a very memorable music album unlike Dhadak. This film can be considered a musical, however, I hardly paid attention to the songs playing in the background!
Verdict
Dhadak 2 reminds you that caste system very much exists in big cities. We are somewhat living in the bubble of believing that such oppression no longer exists, and therefore Vidhi’s character plays an important role to make us see ourselves in her. The film moves you in bits and moments, and so much so, that the impact stays for a little long. The first half and the second half of the film are both balanced, in terms of spacing out, but yes, the pace of this film is an issue. It will hit the theatres on August 1, and if you ask me, then this film deserves a watch!
First Published: August 01, 2025 1:01 AM
