This Dulhaniya Brightens up Women's Week

Why must there be a villain in a film?Why can't a tenth pass traditional boy from a conservative family marry a girl who is against dowry?Why must the best and the only meaningful dialogue of the film be reserved for the last scene?

These are questions the audience is asking after watching the second instalment of the Dulhaniya series starring the young and promising pair of Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt, released on the festive occasion of Holi.

But such questions become meaningless from the time the two meet in a marriage ceremony because such meetings have become almost a cliche for Indian audiences.There is no other word like Chemistry to describe the feeling of just seeing the two of them together in whatever situation, however adverse the conditions.They are simply made for each other.

The setting of the film in a city like Jhansi may seem an unlikely choice.But if Kanpur can be a choice for so many Bollywood hits why not Jhansi, one may ask after this Dulhaniya.

The hero in this case is one of the most unlikely candidates for such a heroic role in a typical Bollywood film.But that is the challenge for Dharma productions and they have proved that they can produce a master piece from dust.

The fun element from the film turns serious when everything is working out perfectly according to plan and the marriage of Alia and her sister is about to be accomplished we see Alia walking away.

That changes the narrative completely.It is after the interval that the film calls for some serious introspection.The greedy and conservative father challenging his son Varun to bring back the runaway bride so that he can punish her publicly.

The father of Alia refusing to take a call from her that she has taken up a job as an air hostess earning 1.5 lac per month because it is against the family norms.

And Varun refusing to accept that a girl can have her own mind while Alia systematically and consciously tries to chart out the course of her own life.

It is this growth that makes the film worth a watch. The director also uses this occasion to take the viewers to the picturesque Singapore which also puts in sharp contrast the uncouth behaviour of Varun and his friend from downtown Jhansi against the colleagues of Alia as she trains for her job. Of course,the theme of the whole film revolves around the song and dance it makes of the whole issue of an arranged marriage, which basically involves a heavy dose of dowry and all that goes with it.

This is supposed to be the message but it becomes redundant as it actually comes as a statutory warning right at the beginning of the film saying that it does not endorse anything like dowry.

But thankfully the fans of this young and lovey dovey pair of Varun and Alia introduced by Karan Johar for the first time, seem to be enjoying the song and dance more seriously than the so called message.

That is how the film should be seen - as a colourful, cheerful and positive film about love and what it can do to a character who has never dared to speak out his mind before his dominating father.

By the time he speaks out his mind it is the last reel of the film.And there too he needs the support of Alia to be able to clearly declare his future course of action- take it or leave it.

Happy Women's Day and Happy Holi.