Dhadkan (2000)

Director:

Dharmesh Darshan

Writers:

Dharmesh Darshan (dialogue)
Naseem Mukri (dialogue)

Release Date:

11 August 2000 (India)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Never break a heart...

Plot:

Wealthy Anjali falls in love with poor Dev, both want to get married, but Anjali's family objects and instead get her married to equally wealthy Ram...

Plot Keywords:

Love | Stepfamily | Marriage | Loss Of Mother

Awards:

3 wins & 26 nominations

Cast

Akshay Kumar	...	Ram
Shilpa Shetty	...	Anjali
Sunil Shetty	...	Dev
Mahima Chaudhry	...	Sheetal Varma (as Mahima Choudhary)
Sharmila Tagore	...	Dev's mother (Special Appearance)
Sushma Seth	...	Ram's stepmother
Parmeet Sethi	...	Bob
Manjeet Kullar
Neeraj Vora	...	Babban Miyan
Nilofar		(as Nilofer)
Kiran Kumar	...	Anjali's father
Naseem Mukri
Anjana Mumtaz	...	Anjali's mother
Kader Khan	...	Singer (Special Appearance)
Anupam Kher	...	Sheetal's father (Special Appearence)

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Color:

Color

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital

Certification:

UK:U

Filming Locations:

Film City, Goregaon, Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Company:

United Seven Combines

Trivia:

'Arbaaz Khan' was signed to act the role of Dev.

Goofs:

Continuity: Actress Navneet Nishan is initially shown as Ram's step-sister. However, she only appears briefly during the wedding song sequence after which another actress portrays the role of Ram's step-sister.

Cheesy and badly overdone film that somehow works...

I somehow started enjoying this film after some time but never really understood the need for the overly melodramatic script and the corny writing. I do like Bollywood for its unrestrained emotions but it is greatly overdone in this one. Not that I expected much from Dharmesh Darshan who's done some incredibly stupid films, but the dialogues were so damn cheap. Sunil's love confessions to Shilpa, high ton speeches, arguments with Shilpa's father, and his mother's sudden death are pure and old platitude. On top of that, all of a sudden he returns as one of the richest men in the city. What nonsense! His overacting does not help. He is hamming all through. But then comes the goodness himself, Akshay Kumar, whose overly generous attitude and morning prayers are similarly too cliché to be true, but you can't but sympathise his optimistic and peaceful Ram. You somehow start feeling inevitably charmed and excited by the film's proceedings and the Akshay-Shilpa romance.

Akshay's often kitschy dialogues surprisingly don't make him look peculiar. On the contrary, he is convincing and seems to be a simple guy and a loving husband. There's something genuinely sincere and crafted about his performance that works. There is also a lovely appearance by the young hottie Mahima who is charming and beautiful in her relatively insignificant role. The film, however, is quite Shilpa's film, and she is strikingly compelling throughout the film. But if there is something that makes Dhadkan unforgettable, it's the music. All the songs without exception are melodious, beautiful and well pictured. "Dil Ne Yeh Kaha", "Na Na Karte", shot beautifully in the backdrop of stunning green fields, are very romantic and present the different sides of Akshay and Shilpa's relationship, and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's "Dulhe Ka Sehra" is splendid, with a great appearance by Kader Khan. Dhadkan is not an extraordinary film, but it strangely manages to convince you despite the awfully ancient and unrealistic drama.