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Dhadak 2
2025 Indian film by Shazia Iqbal From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Dhadak 2 (lit. 'Heartbeat 2') is a 2025 Indian Hindi-language romantic drama film written and directed by Shazia Iqbal and produced by Dharma Productions, Zee Studios and Cloud 9 Pictures.[3][4][5] A spiritual sequel to Dhadak (2018) and a remake of the Tamil film Pariyerum Perumal (2018),[6] it stars Siddhant Chaturvedi and Triptii Dimri in the lead roles.[7][8][9] Dhadak 2 was released theatrically on 1 August 2025.
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Plot
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The movie depicts the story of Nilesh, a law student from a marginalized community, who develops feelings for his classmate Vidhi, who comes from an upper-caste background. Members of Vidhi's family subject him to humiliation and harassment in an effort to defend their perceived honor.
Cast
- Siddhant Chaturvedi as Neelesh Ahirwar
- Triptii Dimri as Vidhi Bharadwaj
- Zakir Hussain as Principal Haider Ansari
- Saurabh Sachdeva as Shankar
- Deeksha Joshi as Nimisha
- Vipin Sharma as Mr. Ahirwar Neelesh's father
- Saad Bilgrami as Ronnie Bharadwaj
- Harish Khanna as Arvind Bharadwaj, Vidhi's father
- Priyank Tiwari as Shekhar
- Aditya Thakare as Vasu
- Abhay Joshi as Prakash Bharadwaj, Vidhi's uncle
- Anubha Fatehpura as Mrs. Ahirwar Neelesh's mother
- Manjari Pupala as Richa
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Production
Dhadak 2 began pre-production in April 2023, with Siddhant Chaturvedi and Triptii Dimri leading the cast under the production of Karan Johar. The film's official announcement was made on 15 May 2025, introducing the characters of Dimri and Chaturvedi in a musical teaser.[10][11] Principal photography began in November 2024.[12] Major parts of the film were shot in Bhopal and Sehore in Madhya Pradesh. Somaiya Vidyavihar University in Mumbai served as the backdrop for the college scenes in the film.[13]
Music
The music of the film is composed by Rochak Kohli, Tanishk Bagchi, Javed-Mohsin and Shreyas Puranik while the lyrics is written by Rashmi Virag, Siddharth–Garima, Gurpreet Saini and Ozil Dalal.[14]
The first single titled "Bas Ek Dhadak" was released on 16 July 2025.[15] The second single titled "Preet Re' was released on 21 July 2025.[16] The third single titled "Duniya Alag" was released on 28 July 2025.[17]
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Release
The film was initially scheduled for a theatrical release on 22 November 2024, but it was postponed multiple times—first to 21 February 2025 and then to 1 August 2025. All previous release dates were missed due to various delays, including issues related to CBFC clearance.[18][19] It was later released on 1 August 2025.[20]
Reception
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Box Office
Dhadak 2 has grossed ₹10.30 crore (US$1.2 million) till date.[2]
Critical Reception
Dhadak 2 received generally positive reviews from critics, with praise for the performances and the themes but some critics compared it unfavorably to the original. Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express rated the film 2.5 stars out of 5 and said that "This is a film which is clearly on the right side of many of the hot button issues we need to be pressing: casteism, classism, feminism, gender identities. While at it, you can see an awareness of the wrongs and injustices which have made, and continue to make headlines."[21] Rahul Desai of The Hollywood Reporter India commented that "Shazia Iqbal’s remake of Pariyerum Perumal is a brave and intuitive entry in the canon of anti-caste storytelling."[22] Divya Nair of Rediff.com awarded 4 stars out of 5 and noted that "After a long time, here's a film that does justice to the people whose stories are never heard or written about."[23] Writing for The Hindu, Anuj Kumar called the film a mixed bag mentioning,"In Dhadak 2, a remake of the Tamil film Pariyerum Perumal, where caste becomes the villain in a young romance, debutant director Shazia Iqbal struggles to strike a balance between retaining the voice of the original and applying a Dharma polish to a social reality that has been mainly out of the syllabus for Bollywood biggies."[24]
Nandini Ramnath writing for Scroll.in observed that "The Hindi adaptation would have done well to dispense with the overreach of some of its source material. While Dhadak 2 starkly reveals the manner in which casteism undermines the body, intellect and soul, the 146-minute movie piles on the misery for Neelesh, particularly in the heavy-going sections leading up to the climax."[25] Sana Farzeen of India Today rated 3/5 stars and said that Dhadak 2 has its heart in the right place and boasts compelling performances, but it stops short of becoming the powerful, unapologetic film it had the potential to be."[26] Rishabh Suri of Hindustan Times rated 2.5/5 stars writes in his review that "Dhadak 2 is a film that carries a powerful message but fumbles with its storytelling. It wants to speak about caste, oppression, and systemic injustice- and when it does, it hits the right notes. But it's weighed down by an uneven narrative and an overstretched runtime. This could have been a hard-hitting social drama. Instead, it settles for moments of brilliance buried under a ton of missed opportunities."[27]
Radhika Sharma of NDTV gave 3 stars out of 5 and said that "The Shazia Iqbal film calls a spade a spade, but the ending feels too good to be true."[28] Vinamra Mathur of Firstpost gave 3 stars out of 5 and observed that "Dhadak 2 may not change the scheme of things despite shedding light on the dark side of the nation. It also at times bites more than it can chew, with the screenplay juxtaposing horror and humour together."[29] Devesh Sharma of Filmfare rated it 4/5 stars and said that "This film isn't for the faint-hearted. It will make you uncomfortable, and that’s exactly the point. Because it should. As a society, we’ve learned to take caste discrimination in stride. We treat it like something that exists only in headlines, not in real life. Even when it happens right in front of us, we often choose to look away."[30] Writing for The Mint, Uday Bhatia mentioned,"Shazia Iqbal’s Dhadak 2, a Hindi remake of Pariyerum Perumal, takes a great deal from Mari Selvaraj’s superb 2018 Tamil film. I don’t remember this scene, though. It's a throwaway joke, but a telling one. Unlike most Hindi films about caste, which either tiptoe around the issue or are boringly instructional, Dhadak 2 can imagine how people who’ve seen oppression their whole lives might turn it into gallows humour."[31]
Subhash K Jha writing for News 24 gave 4.5 stars out of 5 and writes that "Dhadak 2 is an experience far beyond the original. This is not a remake. It is an intelligent emotional recreation which irons out the rough edges, makes the original characters sharper and more authentic, adds new ones, imbuing the end product with a vigorous glow."[32] Shachi Chaturvedi of News 18 rated it 3.5/5 stars and commented that "It is a compelling romantic thriller tackling caste issues in modern India. Don't miss it.[33] Critic of Bollywood Hungama gave it 3.5 stars out of 5 and said that Dhadak 2 makes an important comment on the caste system and works due to the subject, performances, hard-hitting scenes and powerful climax."[34] Lukesh Umak gave 4.2 stars and writes, "A Fierce, Poetic Love Story That Dares to Speak the Truth." [35]
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References
External links
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