Starring Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt in the lead, this is the second movie in the 'dulhaniya' series- a Hindi romantic comedy film series written and directed by Shashank Khaitan and produced by Karan Johar. An essential Bollywood romance transcending all social and geographical boundaries, this is a love story that transpires as the lead characters tackle patriarchy and oppression of women. This is refreshing love story that promises to touch on these subjects without being too preachy. Since this is a festive (Holi) release, the film also keeps its promise of being extremely entertaining, given its quirky dialogues. Vaidehi (Alia) deals with the million dollar question of career vs love, one that a lot of women today are riddled with while we see that Badri's (Varun) father is extremely conservative and oppressive. We see how society pressures a girl's family to get her married. The film also touches on the issue of dowry, and we see how Badri struggles on his journey of boy-to-a-man. Set in Jhansi and Kota, these issues are as relevant today as before. In the end we see a very drunk (read: boldness inspired by whiskey) proclaiming that it's 2017 and women do not need to sit at home, they can go out and make a life for themselves as well. We see Badri and Vaidehi get married and spend 2 years apart as Vaidehi makes a career for herself and then set up a business for herself as she comes back to Jhansi to live with her husband. All is all, the film is beautiful put together and is thoroughly entertaining to watch. The portrayal of Vaidehi and Badri has been done extremely well by the lead actors. They are both very convincing in each of their roles.
One important issue that the movie completely overlooked is stalking and hooliganism. We can all agree that in real life, especially in our country, stalking women and eve teasing is a real issue that plagues thousands of women on a daily basis. While I would have preferred that this particular issue to not be glamorized on the silver screen, but who knows maybe that's the next issue our dulhaniya will take on.
One important issue that the movie completely overlooked is stalking and hooliganism. We can all agree that in real life, especially in our country, stalking women and eve teasing is a real issue that plagues thousands of women on a daily basis. While I would have preferred that this particular issue to not be glamorized on the silver screen, but who knows maybe that's the next issue our dulhaniya will take on.