'I want to know what Mari Selvaraj, Pa Ranjith think of Dhadak 2'

HAZIA Iqbal's debut feature, Dhadak 2, the Hindi remake of Mari Selvaraj's much-acclaimed Tamil film, Pariyerum Perumal, has been in the eye of the storm.

- NAMRATA JOSHI

From her reinterpretation of the original as a love story to seeing it from the gender lens, from the casting of Siddhant Chaturvedi as the Dalit protagonist, Nilesh, to his supposed brownfacing. On the eve of the release of the film, Shazia takes on the criticism and talks about issues of identity, caste, gender, politics, censorship, romance, working with Karan Johar's Dharma Productions, and more, in a no-holds-barred interaction.

Excerpts

Your film is a love story and it comes at a time when love seems to be working at the box office. Does it make things easier for you, or does it put you under pressure?

Saiyaara just happened 10 days ago, and I think that any film and, of course, something closer to the genre is helpful for us also to perform better at the box office. There was a culture of going to the theatre rather than wondering whose film should make ₹100 crore. Everyone's film should. Everyone is working hard to make them. It's great that Saiyaara has come and disrupted the box office.

What would your definition of love be, and how much of that seeps into Dhadak 2?

I grew up watching films in the '90s. That was the time when love stories were the most popular genre. Some people have been attacking us online, saying Pariyerum Perumal wasn't a love story, and we are ruining the original. But what is wrong with taking a love story route? Love story is not a banal genre where two people come together and sing songs. The common route has been to deal with the rich and poor divide. It is safer to deal with class, but there can be several layers around it. I want those to reflect in the films that I make.

You have chosen to remake a Tamil film that has been very acclaimed and you will be judged against it. What made you opt for it?