Dhadkan

This was one of the nicest movies in a while. Im not a great Sunil Shetty fan, but he was amazing in a role it seems was made for him. The story was basic, yet another bollywood love triangle, with a twist this time. Instead of the old, the new prevails. Not only is Sunil good, but the rest of the cast performs as well. Shilpa Shetty was solid, and Akshay...well, what can i say, im a fan, so im bound to be biast! He looked fantastic. I loved the softer side to his character, it contrasting so startlingly with Sunil's character.

However, where there are ups, there has to be downs. i have to say that there are a lot of unanswered questions in the story.

* How does Sunil become rich? * What exactly does he do to bring Ram to an almost bankrupt state, and * How does her fall in love with Mahima's character so quickly? Rebound? Her father doesn't look to pleased with the news of Dev as a prospective son-in-law...Why?

Unanswered, and a bit frustrating. But the bad outweighs the good. A must see if you love romance mixed with emotion. O! and if you're an Akshay fan of course!

I somehow started enjoying this film after some time but never really understood the need for the overly melodramatic script and the corny writing. I do like Bollywood for its unrestrained emotions but it is greatly overdone in this one. Not that I expected much from Dharmesh Darshan who's done some incredibly stupid films, but the dialogues were so damn cheap. Sunil's love confessions to Shilpa, high ton speeches, arguments with Shilpa's father, and his mother's sudden death are pure and old platitude. On top of that, all of a sudden he returns as one of the richest men in the city. What nonsense! His overacting does not help. He is hamming all through. But then comes the goodness himself, Akshay Kumar, whose overly generous attitude and morning prayers are similarly too cliché to be true, but you can't but sympathise with his optimistic and peaceful Ram. You somehow start feeling inevitably charmed and excited by the film's proceedings and the Akshay-Shilpa romance.

Akshay's often kitschy dialogues surprisingly don't make him look peculiar. On the contrary, he is convincing and seems to be a simple guy and a loving husband. There's something genuinely sincere and crafted about his performance that works. There is also a lovely appearance by the young hottie Mahima who is charming and beautiful in her relatively insignificant role. The film, however, is quite Shilpa's film, and she is strikingly compelling throughout the film. But if there is something that makes Dhadkan unforgettable, it's the music. All the songs without exception are melodious, beautiful and well pictured. "Dil Ne Yeh Kaha", "Na Na Karte", shot beautifully in the backdrop of stunning green fields, are very romantic and present the different sides of Akshay and Shilpa's relationship, and Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's "Dulhe Ka Sehra" is splendid, with a great appearance by Kader Khan. Dhadkan is not an extraordinary film, but it strangely manages to convince you despite the awfully ancient and unrealistic drama.

I enjoyed the melodious background song (Dhadkan-Dhadkan). I also love the song with the three of them together. I love the classy dance that Mahima Choudhary does. As far as the acting, Akshay Kumar does not have the reserve talent to emote. Shilpa Shetty and Mahima are the talented bunch with Shilpa Shetty being the more talented and versatile. After I saw "Rishtey" which I enjoyed watching her and Anil Kapoor in some good comedy after a long time.She looks absolutely ravishing in the Wedding scene, and the scene itself is very poignant and tastefully done. The movie was enjoyable forgiven the fact that all Hindi Movies are laced with cliches that are patented creations of the Script writers that bring as much twist to a story as a hurricane in Hawai.

wow! this film was certainly one of the best ones ive seen in recent times. though the story was similar to last year's grand hum dil de chuke sanam, dhadkan is still a memorable film. the film is helped a lot by a clever script, well-choreographed songs, well-written lyrics, and a deep-rooted emotion that no other film has grabbed in recent memory. this movie is also a major weepfest, with absolutely no comic relief (but thats not a bad thing--its nice to see a movie with no annoying comic relief!)

my advice is.. go watch this movie! allow yourself to be swept off your feet for the entire duration of the film, allow yourself to laugh, to cry, to marvel at the excellent dialogues, and the flawless performance of sunil shetty.

my only problem with the film is that the ending is too "bollywood"! they could have improved the ending a lot.. anyways, still a great movie to watch..

I hate it when movies that have the potential to be great end up to be messed up only because the director makes some stupid careless. That is pretty much the case with 'Dhadkan'. What was most irritating is that Darshan has left plenty of 'bloopers' and the writing is horrendous and banal. Dev's mom's sudden heart attack was such an old cliché. Despite a few good dialogues, most of them are bad, corny and ancient. The ending is forced and to an extent nonsensical. Though, having seen 'Lootere', 'Raja Hindustani' and 'Haan Maine Bhi Pyar Kiya Hai', 'Dhadkan' is way better than anything Darshan has made before and after.

But for me, 'Dhadkan' wasn't entirely a complete waste of time and I can rewatch it (keeping the remote ready to fast-forward the bad scenes) for a few reasons: the songs and performances. All the songs were beautifully picturized. My favourite visualizations were both versions of 'Dil Ne Yeh Kaha Hai' (it has some very good acting moments by Akshay and Shilpa), 'Aksar Iss Duniya Mein' (beautifully choreographed and a graceful Mahima Chaudhry), 'Na Na Karte' (romance in Zurich and Venice) and of course 'Dulhe ka Sehra' (wonderful lyrics and the late Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's powerful voice pretty much sum up a wedding).

Sunil Shetty does mostly an okay job but does tend to ham in several scenes. A restrained Akshay Kumar is brilliant as the down to earth and optimistic Ram. The enigmatic gorgeous Mahima Chaudhry superbly stands out in a smaller role. But, 'Dhadkan' belongs to Shilpa Shetty. She finally gets a movie that centres round her character and Shetty effortlessly carries it. The supporting cast are mere clichés and caricatures. Kader Khan makes a surprising appearance.

'Dhadkan' is mainly watchable for the performances of Shilpa Shetty, Akshay Kumar and Mahima, Nadeem Shravan's music and nice outdoor locations (if you're still not used to seeing them in Hindi films). And for these factors it has repeat value if I'm given full authority of the remote control.