Siddhant Chaturvedi and Triptii Dimri-starrer Dhadak 2 released in theatres last month, earning critical acclaim for its portrayal of the marginalised community. However, the box office collection of the film remained underwhelming. Actor Vipin Sharma, who played Siddhant’s father in the film, shares his opinion why it happened.
Ask him if putting the audience in uncomfortable situations through the film affected the collection and he says, “It did in a way. Box office depends on various factors but there is some kind of reluctance to see the darker side of ourselves. We as human beings are not good at that. If you see something that challenges your whole perception of life, you are afraid of looking into it.”
The actor adds, “You could see that the audience was quite taken aback because it really shook their beliefs. It was a good reminder that all is not well all the time and I grew up in a very similar situation. I grew up in a slum, so I’m very familiar with these kinds of differences. Not everything is available to you and you are kept away from certain privileges in life. It’s foolish to say that marginalised people don’t exist, they do. And you could see that on the audience’s faces in theatres.”
However, he is happy with the love the film has got. “I get emotional sometimes because of the gestures that people do from a distance. They touch their hearts looking at me, and nobody can write that kind of a compliment. It connects soul to soul and I am fortunate that I got to experience that. That’s the power of cinema, it makes people feel one. No money, no claps can compare the silent acceptance through people’s hearts,” he says.
Vipin played a man in the film who cross-dresses to work as a dancer. He found the role interesting but challenging too. “I love dance, but I’m not a dancer. So, that was kind of interesting to see how it worked out. I had also just finished Monkey Man in which I played a transgender, so my worry initially was that I don’t want to do a similar kind of role. But then I realized that this is just one scene where he crossdresses; he’s not a cross dresser. He just loves dancing as a girl. I realised I’ll be able to explore another territory,” he insists.
The actor asserts that Dhadak 2 not getting much support from the industry reflects their lack of will to take chances on socially relevant films. “It has suddenly become a lot about money. I understand that money is a very important part as if people don’t go watch a film, how will you produce another one, But we have to take challenges as well. Hindi cinema is not taking challenges. Malayali cinema is doing that and they are making great cinema. Even Marathi industry is doing that, but somehow I don’t know why Hindi cinema has gotten into this whole money aspect quite a lot. There is no budget for actors like me and writers now. But I’m sure things will change,” he says.
