Whenever I see Surekha Sikri and Neena Gupta onscreen, irrespective of the story, it becomes imperative for me to watch that movie, at least there parts in it. Badhai Ho is no different. It has both of them and a subject close to my heart [nothing personal] and above all a sensitive subject with well blending Ayushmann Khurrana and not Akshay Kumar with his OTT acts. Read more to know more...

I am liking the way mainstream cinema is shaping up these days. We have movies like Vicky Donor, Subh Mangal, Dangal, Batti Gul Meter Chalu among others that dare to touch sensitive yet important causes and raises the questions without being extremely preachy or being a dull art craft.

Badhaai Ho is one such movie.

Years back there was a Pakistani Serial about to be telecasted on Zee's Zindagi TV that had a similar question as a subject. I too was asked a question- What will you do if you learn that your mother is pregnant?

My answer was and still is - Is she happy about it and whether it would be conducive for her health or no?

And that should be everyone's worry AF and not - Log kya Kahenge!

The Movie

The trailer gives you all the hint of the storyline.

I would rather tell you what I liked in the film and why it is a good cinema and makes a good watch.

First of all, the setting. I liked real to life setting with water coolers stacked over the table, the railway peon carrying a box of mangoes for the TT boss and how the family treats over the mangoes on their dining table.

Secondly, the screenplay and dialogues are delights to watch. The movie does not fall in loop of long narration but comes to the point very quickly and reasonably, building all the character sketches. The dialects are fun. The movie has a lot of Haryanavi Marwadi and I so loved the chastity of it. It was spoken as if it was owned. Unlike a lot of films including the recently released Dhadak where the dialect looked quite superimposed.

The actors were the actors and the characters, each distinct of their own and looked as they should look like. There wasn't any single character playing OTT and that was the beauty of the film. 

The heroes of this films are the usual suspects- Surekha Sikri, Gajraj Rao, and Neena Gupta. The most delightful is Surekha Sikri. By God, I was reminded of my own Nani.

Bachche bina "Sexy" ke nahi hote was a cheesy line but when she says, it sounded the creamiest. There were other scenes, in fact, all the scenes where Surekha Sikri was present and have mouthed even a line was worthy to watch on a repeat basis.

One of the favorite scenes was the bidaai scene when she chides the bride [her grand daughter] right before her words get muted by band noise. You should look at the ease and smoothness she mouths all of them. She indeed is a legendary actor that we ever had! She reminds you of the fond appearances that once Leela Mishra and Dina Pathak used to have on screen.

Neena Gupta, one of my most favorite actors on the big screen [especially] is as powerful as ever. Her expressions, her small-small actions were so natural that you start believing that she truly is the character she played.

Kudos to her and Gajraj Rao for a very subtle, yet highly entertaining performance. 

Ayushman Khurrana is at his usual best. Unfortunately, this film was not about him but yet he lives his part as gracefully, as Sania Malhotra playing the role of Rene. Another grounded performance there.

She gave me major Pinaz Massani Vibes, the female ghazal singer of the yore. 

Sheeba Chadda who played her mother was at her usual best too. For me, these character actors are the heroes of the film and are always a delight to watch than the main leads. Same goes with the characters played by two other very talented actor- Alka X2 [Alka Amin and Alka Badola]

The vibes, the feel, the setting and the story telling everything was so natural that if you are someone who is from that belt or familiar, will totally appalud it for.

The title song, am sure would have already found its place in the upcoming wedding season.

Numerounity Verdict: Go ahead and watch this film. And yes, appreciate the romance between your parents and encourage them if it is not there. And do carry loads of yummy, crunchy popcorns.

And if you are a die-hard romantic like me, watch out for the potery at the rainy evening scene. What a class!

“The most beautiful in the world is, of course, the world itself.” – Wallace Stevens

The world has more than what we think. The world is more than what we know.

Let's get to know the world, not by following a mere bucket list but going all out and embrace what comes, in the way or out of the way.

How?

Simply, by traveling unchained, with or without any bucket list.

But what do you expect?

Simply, expect the unexpected!

And The Guru Dronmarg lake at Sikkim is something beyond what you expected the world's highest lake to be!

Seeing is believing. Here's a glimpse-


Here's the beautiful Dronmarg lake.

I do not make Bucket list but follow the blind list that I have been following. 

You know where was the real fun? The real fun was in the whole journey, where we charted into an unknown land, zooming into the sky, close to the sun

Unexpected Friendship

Of all the places, we never expected to find friendship at the remote Lachung Valley in the Orange County resort. Thank You Ramya and Karthik for being part of our beautiful memories of this trip together. A lot of our good pics are courtesy of the very talented couple.

Unexpected Flavor

Fun was finding that small tea and Maggi joint near the army area and cozying up near the fire and sipping sugary tea yet finding best joy in the world.

Fun was not finding any ladies toilet on the way and when we found one, it was laden with ice. Haha. I did not pee that day from 4am in the morning until the 3pm approx in the noon. There was a certain strength that helped me sail on.

Fun was taking a trip knowing that it is highly weather sensitive and can be closed owing to the snowing or any security reason anytime, even if you are almost half the way.

Fun was seeing the livestock, grazing happily over the mountain without any caste or creed.



Yet we followed our hearts and marched on. And that's why I love the world. Cause the world loves me back!

Everyone almost fell asleep on the way, sleep eluded me. For I was busy imagining figurines on the hills and melting ice. It reminded me of our existence. I want to live to my fullest before I start melting. 

If the best travel experience is expected out of The Blind list, let it arrive. For joy is all about receiving surprises unexpected,  

Why You Should Read this Review

I know it quite some moons since the movie released, talked about and gone to oblivion.

A lot of you would have seen the movie and while a few would have not. This post is for all of you. This is not atypical paid review but there is more in this article than just the review. Hardcore Sairat fans may not like to read this especially if they have seen Dhadak and not liked the film.

But, what the heck, it will be a 5 minutes read and we can exchange opinions. [Blogs are written for that right?] 

What Made me Watch Dhadak In spite of Negative Reviews

I have not seen Sairat but honor killing is a phenomenon that stands tall in my list of most hated anti-social practices.

Watching movies on honor killing is not on my agenda as I know the gravity of the matter and being helpless, powerless towards the cause, the on-screen re-recreation only disturbs me further. I had no intention to watch Sairat either.

I was drawn towards Dhadak as it is the debut of the daughter of one of the most loved Indian actress- The Late Sridevi. The promos looked good to me and the title song quite an enchanting. I was keen to watch this film and almost confirmed with my darling sister- Ria.

Towards the release date, I heard many reviews of the film including one post the releases. Needless to say, all of them have ripped off this movie. I asked my husband if he can accompany me for this film, several times but his repeated refusal further demotivated me to watch this film and by this time, Ria too had gone back to her hostel.

Notwithstanding my fervor to watch the debut film of Jahnvi Sridevi Kapoor, that had portrayed Udaipur [a city that I wanted to re-visit and see more], I agreed to take a USB copy from the friend and watch on my laptop. The bad print [another reason why you shouldn't watch a copy] and a lure to spend the day with husband made me shut this movie after 15 minutes and delete it from the system. [I was a hopeless romantic person too].

I almost scrapped the idea of watching this film and all the reviews added to my decision.

And then the movie was released on Amazon Prime and pointless to say today is that one fine day I decided to watch the film from where I left.

Dhadak is a Hindi remake of the popular Marathi Film Sairat where two star-crossed lover portrays the bitter reality of honor killing, still prevalent in digital India.

I have not seen Sairat for the obvious reason and maybe that's why I am not willing to write of Dhadak.

Dhadak is a simple story of a strong headed Parthavi [ a very beautiful yet fierce daughter of a powerful restauranteur and aspiring politician] and a humble Madhukar [ a sweet and love-smitten son of another restauranteur family who strongly opposes inter-caste marriages].

They both study in the same college and start liking each other. They were about to discover the love and relishing their innocent moments when they were caught by Parthavi's corrupt father who wanted to kill Madhukar and his friends. Seeing her request to let go of them falling flat on her father and brother's ears, Parthavi threatens to kill herself and runs away with Madhukar to save them. 

And from where the real love story starts. The story travels from Udaipur to Mumbai to Nagpur and then hilts at beautiful Kolkata, shown the way as it is. In the conducive environment with adequate support, the lovers overcome the so-called practicalities of life, disapproving all the theories that go against the very foundation of love.

It is our knowledge of the probable ending [another reason why I want to watch films on my gut feeling that the ornamented reviews] that may loosen the overall impact of the film esp the climax. Yet the film manages to leave some necessary imprints on viewers.

It at least left on me, and if you are a sensitive viewer, you too would leave feeling dejected and carrying the impact with you. Dejected not with the film but the reality.

And I believe it is a good exercise for all the youth to go through this cinematic expression, even if they have missed watching Sairat.

The beginning of the film especially the dream sequence was absolute a sore. If the beginning could be avoided, the film was indeed a good watch. The pool, college, and fort sequences wherein Jahnvi and Ishaan get to know each other will indeed appeal youngsters, as the second half appealed to a more mature audience.

Songs are hummable but except Jhingaat and Title song, others failed to register as much. Performances overall are good including the addlebrained Roop Singh emotional-less brother of Jahnvi who runs on his father's strings.

I liked the second half more than the first half especially the rut wherein the lead characters go through the disembodiment of their well-structured lifestyle, struggling in an unknown city to find a livelihood, a lover's tiff in view of the harshness of life but soon winning it all over with their love and efforts. The reunion scene on the banks of Hooghly and the cloth washing were some of my favorites

Overall, the movie is worth a watch. And it is indeed a one-time watch [I found this film more realistic than Sui-Dhaga] If only, honor killing as reality cease to exist.

Honestly, the film is better than what different reviews have portrayed it to be. Like in all things in life, go with open mind and heart. Entertain or enlighten, decide yourself.

Sorry, the thinker and woman in me could not help but pen this out

Love is beautiful but its beauty often kneels down in extreme and continuous rejections. In such cases, rejections from the society backed by non-backing of the family that matters. A lot of love stories die hopelessly against the rejection from the society, making the lovers suppress it so much that instead of being the ambassadors they turn traitors against this beautiful feeling. Love is indeed a beautiful feeling that makes life worthy and even beautiful. The modern lovers have learned to get practical but unfortunately, the essence of true love appears more when we are more dreamy than practical. 

Let people fall in love. Instead of pulling them back, support them and show them the way. Rejections, oppositions, and harshness may solve your purpose but will leave a forever void that cannot be filled ever, leaving the personalities disabled forever, even in the most abled-bodies.

Honor killing in real and speech should be condemned.

Numerounity.