When Dhadak 2 was released in theatres earlier this year, it received praise from critics, but not much traction at the box office. After a somewhat respectable opening, the Siddhant Chaturvedi and Triptii Dimri-starrer slowed down at the ticket window, collecting just ₹29 crore. Many labelled the film a disaster even as viewers praised it. Last week, as it hit Netflix, the narrative changed. There was a flood of reactions online from people who watched it for the first time, and the romantic drama even managed to trend in the UK, of all places.

The film’s director, Shazia Iqbal, reflects on its journey in a no-holds-barred chat with Hindustan Times, where she talks about the box office performance, Dhadak 2’s revival on Netflix, and the challenge of staying political as an artist.

On the reaction to Dhadak 2 OTT release

Dhadak 2 has sparked many reactions online upon its release on Netflix, as it has now reached a wider audience. “I don’t have a lot of followers (on Instagram),” Shazia tells us. “Still, I have about 20 DMs per hour. And Siddhant called me last evening, and he said that this feels bigger than the theatrical release. And yes, it does feel like the reach is wider.”

Shazia admits that the film is reaching many viewers who did not have access to it earlier. “Our film was not distributed well, so people outside didn’t see it at all. People are watching it from different places, including the US, Mexico, and Japan. And it was in the top search list in the UK Netflix yesterday,” she says.

The heartbreak from Dhadak 2 being labelled a disaster

Shazia feels that Dhadak 2 suffered because of the narrative around it, as people began calling it a flop or box office disaster barely a day after its release. “I can tell you one thing: everyone who pretends or you know projects that ‘we know what works,’ that person is a complete fraud. They don’t know,” she says matter-of-factly.

Saiyaara released two weeks before Dhadak 2, and its success pushed the release of Son of Sardaar 2 ahead by a week, meaning Dhadak 2 had to clash with it, and also face comparisons with a rampaging Saiyaara. Shazia recalls, “We were completely in between big films. Honestly, I don’t think we have done badly business-wise. But if you go on the internet, they will say, ‘Oh, Dhadak 2 is a disaster, a flop’.”

The filmmaker says it broke her heart hearing all that, particularly since she intended the film to be a commercial entertainer. “Honestly, it is a little heartbreaking,” she says, adding, “The film was made in a very massy, commercial, entertaining tone. If I had made the same film with the thought of taking it to Berlin or Cannes (film festivals), I would have played differently with the tone. But the thing is, it’s extremely difficult to make a good film that is also mainstream. So we incorporated all the tropes and added songs, but did all that without taking anything away from the story.”

However, Shazia says she found solace in the words of some of her colleagues, who promised the film would get a new life upon its OTT release. “There are so many filmmakers who said that, ‘Man, we are surprised why the film didn’t run.’ So thankfully, even though it was a little heartbreaking that it didn’t run as much as we thought but OTT has given it a new life. Everyone said this film will rise again on OTT. Friends and film journalists told me it’s going to be a cult film eventually.”

On getting Dharma’s backing

Dhadak 2, a remake of the 2018 film Pariyerum Perumal, is about a Dalit man’s fight against casteism and institutionalised discrimination. But the film is also a love story. Its biggest win came much before it was released, when a major mainstream production house, Dharma Entertainment, backed it. “The fight of poor indie filmmakers like us is where to bring money from, and how to market the film,” says Shazia. “So if somebody like Dharma or Yash Raj or Red Chillies, all these bigger names who have their clout and money, they come behind filmmakers, it helps,” she adds.

The filmmaker says she receives a lot of messages from her independent filmmaker friends, inspired by this. They say, “‘You did this with a big production house. This doesn’t happen. It doesn’t happen that, you know. So this is a big change and we feel inspired.'”

Dhadak 2 is currently streaming on Netflix.