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Release date:
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March 10, 2017
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Director:
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Shashank Khaitan
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Cast:
Language:
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Alia Bhatt, Varun
Dhawan, Sahil Vaid, Sukmani Lamba, Swanand Kirkire, Yash Sinha, Shweta Basu,
Rituraj Singh, Gauahar Khan, Aparshakti Khurana, Gaurav Pandey
Hindi
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The expression “breaking
new ground” acquires new meaning in Badrinath
Ki Dulhania (BKD). For one, in a
film industry that has, over the years, reduced the number of female rape jokes
it cracks, this one goes the other way and presents us with an extended
joke on male rape.
I kid you not. Writer-director
Shashank Khaitan appears to have bought into the widely prevalent notion that
masculinity means the ability to ‘protect’ yourself, that no ‘real man’ would
ever be the victim of sexual violence, and therefore, that the possibility of
such violence is funny. And so, when a major male character in this film is
almost raped, the incident is turned into the centerpiece of BKD’s humour.
Watching that
passage made me sick to the stomach, especially because Khaitan’s insensitivity
stems, in all likelihood, from actual ignorance, as I assume is the case with
the audience in the hall where I watched this film, men and women who collapsed
into a collective heap of laughter at the possibility of a man’s ‘lootthi izzat’.
Congratulations on
scoring a goal, Mr Khaitan. In case you care enough though, do read up on male rape. It is a reality. It happens. It is not amusing.
This episode occurs
in the second half of producer Karan Johar’s Badrinath Ki Dulhania starring Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan. It
marks a low in a film replete with disturbing mixed messaging although it no
doubt wants to be remembered as a feminist venture taking a strong stand
against dowry and exhorting parents to free their daughters to follow their
dreams.
On the face of it, BKD is indeed anti-patriarchal. Sadly
though, it chooses to send out its message via a tricky tightrope walk. It is
as if Khaitan made a note to himself as he wrote the script: make sure you please
those darned feminists, but also make sure not to displease misogynists who
dominate film audiences. The tragedy of this situation is that Khaitan, without
question, does have a penchant for comedy, but chooses to use his talent irresponsibly.
Badrinath Ki Dulhania – a follow-up to
the 2014 hit Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania
with the same director, producer and lead artistes – is about a resident of
Jhansi called Badrinath Bansal (Varun Dhawan) who works as a recovery agent in
his father’s loan business. Badri’s brother Alok (Yash Sinha) was forced to
abandon his girlfriend and bring home a bride of his autocratic, dowry-hungry dad’s
choice. Badri does not want such misfortune to strike him, so when he falls for
Vaidehi Trivedi (Alia Bhatt) from Kota, he takes his destiny into his own
hands.
He assumes that
Vaidehi would be filled with gratitude at receiving a marriage proposal from
the handsome son of a wealthy family. What he does not bargain for is that this
feisty young woman has a mind and plans of her own. The story so far is
refreshingly different.
In fact, large
parts of BKD’s opening hour are
genuinely hilarious. Bhatt is full of beans as always, Dhawan is on a roll, and
the two play off each other well. Everyone and everything in the film are easy
on the eye. Besides, even as the film begins to betray its illiberal core, the
energy levels in the narrative are maintained by foot-tapping melodies and
lively choreography in a string of lavish, Johar-style song-and-dance routines.
Since BKD asks to be taken seriously though,
its desperate balancing act is even more glaring than it might otherwise have
been. Badrinath is extremely violent towards Vaidehi. He is violent towards his
closest buddy Somdev Mishra (Sahil Vaid). In both instances though, he makes it
clear – as does the film – that he is not responsible for his behaviour. Poor
helpless baby!
At every step of
the way, care is taken to ensure – through dialogues and by means of Dhawan’s
natural likeability – that Badri is never repulsive to us, however repugnant
his actions ought to be. You see, he roughs up Vaidehi because he loves her,
and he roughs up Som because that same love is turning him into a person even
he does not like. He says so himself. What is a bechara mard to do when he is in love, especially when the woman he
loves betrays him?
Ah yes, let us not
forget that last point: the script cleverly assigns one highly inconsiderate,
asshole-ish (pardon my language) deed to smart, independent, talented,
ambitious Vaidehi, so that any viewer getting uncomfortable with the position BKD takes on women’s rights is handed
enough material to be able to offer this defence of Badri, “Par ladki ne bhi toh galti ki (what the
girl did was wrong too).” You know the kind of remark we like to pass when we
hear that a husband hit his wife? That
kind.
This single deed by
Vaidehi is also ammunition in the filmmaker’s hands for any viewer who is
disturbed by BKD’s rose-tinted view
of Badri’s vileness. “He is cho cute, yaar.
Aur ladki ne bhi toh galti ki.”
And whaddyaknow, Vaidehi
herself never outrightly condemns Badri’s violence, explaining her continuing
kindness towards him in these words to a friend: “Kyunki galti hamari hai (because the fault is mine) and he alone is
bearing the consequences.” She claims the galti
is hers and seeks forgiveness again thereafter, and then again, that too in a
setting where, in the real world, a young woman would very likely have lost her
life.
It does not matter
that the entire cast of Badrinath Ki
Dulhania is charming, that the visuals are pretty, or that Aparshakti
Khurana and Gauahar Khan once again make an impression in tiny roles. What
matters is that BKD’s comical vein
and presentation are carefully designed to lull us into not noticing its innate
dishonesty and possible lack of awareness of harsh realities.
At the end of the
day, that is what Badrinath Ki Dulhania
is: a dishonest film, neither fully committed to the causes it apparently
espouses nor to its own closeted conservatism.
“Thhoda mard bano (Be
a man). Either teach her a lesson or let us
leave this place,” Som exhorts Badri in the midst of the hero’s revenge spree
against Vaidehi. Sweet Som, who we have begun to like by then and continue to
like because he is just such a nice guy and Sahil Vaid is such a gifted
actor. “Par ladki ne bhi
toh galti ki,” did you say?
Like Som, Badrinath Ki Dulhania is not what it
appears to be. It is sad to see an acclaimed, seemingly thinking actress like
Alia Bhatt lend herself to the games this film plays.
PS: The credits
list Bhatt after Dhawan, although they have equally important and substantial
roles in the film. Just saying.
Rating
(out of five stars): *
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CBFC Rating (India):
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UA
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Running time:
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139 minutes 25 seconds
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This
review has also been published on Firstpost:
Poster
courtesy: https://www.facebook.com/BKDMovieOfficial/
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