Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya: Another DDLJ-inspired Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya?

Although it does have its moments, it still has a similar feel to it – the “I have seen it somewhere before” feel.

I am all for nostalgia. I am all for reviving things which have been lost to oblivion. That still does not mean you bring back Rana Navedul Hasan and make him Pakistan’s Test captain and then make him centre of your team’s imagery.

‘Tamma Tamma’ is not as old as Rana. It is, nonetheless, 27-years-old. The current generation has recently been fed with many a song from the 90s and 80s in almost every other movie. The most recent one being ‘Laila o Laila’ where Sunny Leone tries to save a sinking ship called Raees. However, Leone is no Zeenat Aman, just like Alia Bhatt is no Madhuri Dixit.

Rest assured, the recent ‘Tamma Tamma Again’ is no ‘Tamma Tamma’. Our generation, the old is gold millennial, still smile when they hear the song even after 27 years. This new generation will probably not even remember the revamped version in a couple of years. People are already beginning to forget ‘Kaala Chashma’ and it hasn’t even been eight months.

‘Tamma Tamma’ is incomplete without the chair dance sequence, anyway. Interestingly, this song is not the only remake in Badrinath Ki Dulhan. It also recreates Manna De’s classic ‘Chalat Musafir Moh Liya Re’, which was already used in Dabangg 2 as ‘Paande Ji Seeti’. The less I say about ruining a Manna De song, the better it is.

Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya is the second instalment of Dharma Productions’ newly created franchise, Ki Dulhaniya. For some reason, every time I think of Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya or Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya, I can’t help but think of the Pakistani Ayegi Baraat series which included Annie Ki Baraat, Takkay Ki Baraat and Dolly Ki Baarat. Riding on humour, brilliant performances and carefully woven relationships, the Baarat series was quite a success in Pakistan. Whether Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya be able to reiterate this level of excellence in its execution is yet to be seen. However, if Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya is the benchmark, then it has a long way to go.

Varun Dhawan is yet another attempt from Bollywood to cover the gap left by Govinda rom-coms. Shahid Kapoor and Ranbir Kapoor have also tried and failed. However, in comparison, Dhawan has a better chance at it simply due to his lineage. Judging by his performance in the trailer, he seems to have a natural flair at comedy, as he looks comfortable in his role and glides on with his comic timing.

It is said that Alia Bhatt is the best actress of her generation, and there is no denying it. Her chemistry with Dhawan seems to be on-point in the trailer. Movies like this production are brought to life with the help of side-kicks, a good supporting cast and a good relationship with the main leads – Ashutosh Rana in Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya, for example. Even though the trailer of Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya does not show much of the supporting cast, it therefore remains to be seen whether they will be adding meat to the story.

Furthermore, Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya had a single-minded objective – to re-introduce the new generation to the iconic and classic Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge (DDLJ). A basic plot, at times even dialogue, references spoken out loud and more, all seem reminiscent of DDLJ. Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya, on the other hand, does not seem to follow a single template. It does, however, still have a similar feel to it – the “I have seen it somewhere before” feel. It does have its moments though. So it all comes down to what you expect from the movie after having seen Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya. You don’t expect Citizen Kane, do you?

Am I really looking forward to watching it though? Not really. Will I watch it? If the reviews are good, yes. But mainly because of Alia Bhatt’s performance, which I am sure will be good.