Dhadkan

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Dhadkan
Directed by Dharmesh Darshan
Produced by Ratan Jain
Written by Dharmesh Darshan
Naseem Mukri
Raj Sinha
Starring Akshay Kumar
Shilpa Shetty
Sunil Shetty
Mahima Chaudhry
Sharmila Tagore
Music by Nadeem-Shravan
Cinematography W.B. Rao
Editing by Bharat Singh
Release date(s) 11 August 2000
Running time 171 mins
Country India
Language Hindi
IMDb profile

Dhadkan (Hindi: धड़कन, Urdu: دھڑکن) (English: Heartbeat) is a Bollywood movie which deals with the love triangle of Akshay Kumar, Shilpa Shetty and Sunil Shetty. Sunil Shetty won a Filmfare Best Villain Award for his performance.

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[edit] Synopsis

Dhadkan is about two guys vying for the love of the same girl. Anjali (Shilpa Shetty) is a rich girl who hails from a well- to-do family. Her father Mr. Singhal (Kiran Kumar) is a renowned businessman and has great many dreams for his daughter. But Anjali is in love with Dev (Sunil Shetty) who is not even half as rich as she is.

Dev too loves Anjali but at the same time he is also aware of his financial shortcomings. While on one hand he dreams of tying the knot with her on the other he has to struggle hard to make the ends meet.

When Anjali puts forward to her parents the proposal of marrying Dev she is rebuked and meets an outright refusal. More than that, she is emotionally blackmailed by her parents to marry another man. Not knowing what to do Anjali finally gives in to her parent’s wishes and marries Ram (Akshay Kumar) who her parents believe will be a perfect match for her.

Ram is a man of great ideals—a man who believes in giving the rightful place to his wife and respects her sensibilities. But, despite these qualities he is unable to win Anjali’s love and their marriage remains short of becoming consummate. Moreover, she even contrives a plan against Ram but later on repents after seeing the magnanimity of her husband’s heart in forgiving and accepting her.

For the first time Anjali sees that her parents were probably right in thinking of Ram as a perfect match for her, and she gives in to be an ideal wife. But then suddenly comes a bolt out of the blue—Dev , her lover. Now Anjali finds herself on the crossroads where she has to choose between her husband and her lover. [1]

[edit] Cast

[2]

[edit] Crew

[edit] Review

DHADKAN is a modern-day love story that talks about the lengths an obsessed lover can go to, to win his love. His obsession knows no limits; winning back his love is all that matters.

DHADKAN is an intense love story and director Dharmesh Darshan has handled it with the sensitivity it deserves. The initial few reels make the base for a love triangle. Sunil and Shilpa parting ways, Shilpa and Akshay's marriage and the turbulent times their marital life faces � Dharmesh Darshan comes to the point straightaway, not meandering on various tracks at all. The re-emergence of Sunil Shetty at the interval is a turning point and one eagerly looks forward to the second half of the film.

The second half has its share of strengths and weaknesses. The intense sequences between Sunil and Shilpa have been handled with maturity, but the screenplay leaves several questions unanswered, like:

  • From a humble beginning to a millionaire overnight, Sunil's rags-to-riches story has not been explained at all;
  • Sunil's partnership with Mahima and how they got to know each other, also remains a mystery;
  • The power games indulged by Sunil in reducing Akshay to a pauper, could've been simplified for the common man to decipher;
  • For a man who is obsessed with Shilpa, his willingness to marry Mahima in the end seems a bit far-fetched too. Was he planning to enter into a relationship (with Mahima) on a rebound, is the feeling the viewer gets at the end.

The ending also leaves the viewer confused. Anpam Kher is introduced as Mahima's father and when she talks about her plans of marrying Sunil, Anupam gives a not-too-happy look at the mention of Sunil's name. But a minute later, the film ends abruptly.

Moreover, the goings-on get so grim towards the latter part of the film that the viewer yearns for respite from the goings-on. But there are hardly any light moments to balance the tense ones. Also, a few characters in the story tend to get loud and theatrical at times. The Sushma Seth � Manjeet Kullar track, which looks straight out of 'Cindrella', should've been controlled for a better impact. Ditto for Naseem Mukri, who goes overboard in the second half of the film.

Yet, despite the flaws, one has to acknowledge the fact that Dharmesh Darshan succeeds in melting the heart at several places. The entire marriage song-sequence in the initial reels, prior to it the scenes involving Sharmila Tagore, Sunil's portions in the second half, clearly indicate that the director knows his job well. He relies more on close-ups to capture expressions, which is the hallmark of a seasoned technician.

Nadeem-Shravan's music is another asset. The film has haunting tunes and the ones that linger in your memory are 'Dil Ne Yeh Kaha Hain Dil Se', 'Aksar Is Duniya Mein' and 'Dulhe Ka Sehra Suhana Lagta Hain', rendered by the late Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, which is undoubtedly the best song of the film � lyrically as well as impactwise.

The only song that throws a spanner in the smooth sailing of the film is 'Na Na Karte Pyar', which conveys Shilpa's feelings for her husband. However, Shilpa's change of heart would've had a better impact had it been revealed as part of a scene, with dialogues, rather than this song.

W.B. Rao's cinematography is top class yet again. The film is rich in visuals and the outcome is splendid. The background music (Surender Sodhi) is very effective. Dialogues are first-rate. They sound fresh to the ears and elevate the emotional scenes considerably.

And now to the performances! The life of the enterprise is undoubtedly Shilpa Shetty, who looks good, delivers her lines effectively and emotes with utmost conviction. DHADKAN should catapult her to the big league instantly and she should concentrate more on roles of substance henceforth.

Akshay Kumar shows vast improvement as an actor. He is very controlled and handles this difficult role with sincerity. Sunil Shetty scores yet again! His role has shades of grey and he handles this complex role with flourish. An actress of Mahima Chaudhary's calibre deserved a better role. Her characterisation is not well defined. She is wasted in an inconsequential role.

Sharmila Tagore leaves an impression in a brief role. Kiran Kumar is superb as Shilpa's doting father. Anjana Mumtaz is equally nice. Sushma Seth tends to get loud at places.

On the whole, DHADKAN is targeted at the gentry, not the masses, which will restrict its prospects to a major extent. Trimming the film in the second half is a must.

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[edit] Awards

Filmfare Awards

Nominated

[4]


International Indian Film Academy Awards

Nominated

[5]

Screen Awards

Won

  • Best Publicity Design - Himanshu Nanda ,Rahul Nanda

Nominated

[6]



[edit] External links

Languages