Badrinath Ki Dulhania Movie Review

Shashank Khaitan, the complete outsider, made huge inroads into Dharma Productions and into Bollywood with his debut directorial Humpty Sharma ki Dulhania. That movie came out of nowhere, became a big surprise hit and more importantly was loved by the audience. Karan Johar thinks the ‘Dulhania’ franchise could be a money-spinner for him and thus has bankrolled the next film in the franchise Badrinath Ki Dulhania. The movie has no link to the first film in the series, except for its title. Will it continue the hit formula and entertain like the first film? Also, will it continue Varun Dhawan’s impressive success streak? Will Alia shine once again?

Story: Badrinath (Varun) is a lovable chap who lives in Jhansi. His father is a typical misogynist who doesn’t like women in the family to be working. Badri falls in love with Vaidehi (Alia). He coaxes her into falling in love with him but the problem arises when she wants to be an independent woman and Badri’s father doesn’t want her to work after marriage. We don’t want to reveal much about the story, but it also touches upon the abhorrent issue of dowry.

Screenplay and Direction: Shashank Khaitan gets the issues faced by small town India which the population in metroes often overlook. He tries to imbibe some novel forward thinking issues in his movie, and largely succeeds in bringing it across in an entertaining manner. The first half of Badrinath Ki Dulhania flows by, and there are no dull moments in the film. The second half doesn’t lag behind in the entertainment factor either. The balance of emotions, i.e funny moments and dramatic moments, is very smartly done with none of the two elements taking an upper hand. Shashank Khaitan succeeds in his job once again.

Technically, Badrinath Ki Dulhania feels like a real movie, because it has been largely shot on real locations in Kota and in Singapore. The costume design and the production design make the film authentic. The editing is sharp. The music of Badrinath Ki Dulhania, even if it doesn’t hit the zany heights of the first movie, it makes quite a mark. The title song, Aashiq Surrender Hua, Humsafar and Roke Na Time Naina all move the story forward in their way and also sound good.

Acting: Varun Dhawan shines and how. He owns Badrinath Ki Dulhania from start to finish, and lives the character of Badri. The role will endear him to a large section of the audience and should help him win over fans in droves at smaller cities and towns of India. He is charming, shows his acting range, without ever going out of character. He also gets the accent right.

Alia Bhatt is a firecracker and she once again proves that she is one of the finest female actors of our generation. She stands her ground and even though she doesn’t break new boundaries with her acting in Badrinath Ki Dulhania, she shines. Maybe she doesn’t even need to up her game because she is so far ahead of the competition now. Alia also manages to cry more naturally in front of the camera, which is a big plus in films like this. Sahil Vaid, who plays the lovable best friend of Badrinath, Somdev, is the actor who holds the movie together. His performance will not go unnoticed.

Conclusion: Badrinath Ki Dulhania is a movie which holds the standard set by Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania. It is entertaining, it gives out a social message, it has great performances from the two leads and it holds a nice page throughout the duration of the movie. If you liked the first part, you should definitely check out Badrinath Ki Dulhania. It doesn’t try to outdo or copy the original and that is what makes this sequel unique.

A special mention for Shashank Khaitan, who has become a director to watch out for.

Rating:

Pros:

• Varun and Alia’s chemistry
• The entertainment quotient is high in the movie
• The pace never slackens
• The music adds value to the film
• The clever implementation of social issues

Cons:

• None