Badrinath Ki Dulhania

“BADRINATH KI DULHANIA” is a breezy rom-com!

Helmed by charming performances from its lead pair, this second rom-com in the “Dulhania” franchise is consistently funny, well-paced and highlighted by a progressive message at its core. Filled with colour, music, dance and fun-filled drama, BADRINATH KI DULHANIA is a recommended watch, if entertainment is all you seek this weekend.

The story is about Badrinath Bansal (Varun Dhawan) from Jhansi and Vaidehi Trivedi (Alia Bhatt) from Kota, who belong to similar small towns, but have opposing views on gender and life in general. This leads to a clash of ideologies, despite both of them falling for each other.

This film marks the second instalment of a franchise that began with “Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania” (2014). Essentially a rom-com, the film touches upon the issue of patriarchy, which still exists in different forms in the Indian society. It starts off with an interesting concept of an Indian family’s Balance Sheet, where the birth of a boy creates an asset and a liability is created when a girl is born. This basic theme forms the backdrop of the otherwise formulaic romedy, that’s extremely engaging and frankly, quite funny. While the treatment of this core issue is quite surface-level, caricaturish and idealistic, I certainly believe it reaches a larger audience due to its lack of subtlety. The first half of the film is as breezy as it gets. The humour is consistent and the look and feel is top-class. The second half does feel a tad stretched, especially the air-hostess training bit, but a funny screenplay ensures it never tends towards boredom. Musically too, the film scores high.

The lead performances are totally endearing. Varun Dhawan adds another feather to his illustrious cap with a heartfelt rendition of the character of a desi UP boy from a rich family. His expressions are impeccable and so are his dialect and mannerisms. He totally steals your heart with this performance. Alia Bhatt is exemplary yet again. Shining bright in the role of an ambitious young girl, hailing from a middle-class family in a small town, she portrays the best version there could be of this on-screen character. Composed and charming, hers is a winning performance. All supporting actors do a good job, given the not-so-serious attitude of the film.

To sum up, BADRINATH KI DULHANIA is totally formulaic, but with a brisk, fun-filled screenplay and a likeable message, the film makes for an entertaining family outing this weekend.