Badrinath Ki Dulhania

Shashank Khaitan is here with the second installment of "Dulhaniya" franchise: "Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya"

So, what did we expect from the film? We expected a romantic comedy with several melodramatic moments, foot tapping music in beautiful locations with meticulous dance sequences, the charming chemistry between the lead actors and finally the bride goes with the groom.

We all know what are we going to see, it has everything mentioned above however, it delivers something new, it integrates social issues like dowry, objectification of women, equal rights with subtle humor. It successfully culminates a path for feminism in the most authentic way and delivers a good social message.

On the other hand, it is your usual romantic comedy set in Jhansi (Uttar Pradesh), Kota (Rajasthan) and Singapore. However, it fails to showcase the rural locales and milieus, the weddings are profligate and sets are luxurious, we can comprehend that it was produced by Karan Johar.

Shashank has done a fantastic job in direction, the characters are embodied by the lead actors, even Varun managed to pull off some emotional sequences, Alia is effortless and Sahil Vaid is on top form.

The film works perfectly in the first half, however; it loses the narrative flair in the second half as the film drags. The cinematography is brilliant but the editing in the second half could have been crisper.

Overall, it is a lovely movie filled with light-heart humor, good dialogues, amazing performances and a punch on relevant social stigmas.