Dhaka, July 13 -- When Dhadak premiered in July 2018, it was widely seen as a glossy, sanitized remake of the Marathi classic Sairat, mostly remembered for launching star kids Janhvi Kapoor and Ishaan Khatter. But five years on, with Dhadak 2 on the horizon, the film is earning a second look-not as a flawless work, but as a bold one.

Karan Johar's Dhadak, directed by Shashank Khaitan, cloaked its caste-based love story in chiffon, lake views, and catchy music. But beneath the polish was a narrative about casteism, honour killings, and societal rot that rarely makes its way into mainstream Bollywood romance. In doing so, it became something of a Trojan horse, quietly confronting audiences in multiplexes with themes typically confined to p...