Shazia Iqbal Emerges as This Year’s Most Credible Voice with Dhadak 2, Joining the Ranks of Masaan and Newton Directors

In a year where mainstream Hindi cinema continues to play it safe, Shazia Iqbal’s debut feature Dhadak 2 stands out as a bold outlier. Tackling caste, identity, and social resistance through a raw, uncompromising lens, the film draws rare comparisons to other socially engaged films like Masaan and Newton.

Shazia Iqbal: from Bebaak to a socially charged feature

Shazia Iqbal’s journey into filmmaking began with the short Bebaak, a biting critique of women’s oppression that earned acclaim on the festival circuit. With Dhadak 2, she steps into mainstream Bollywood under the Dharma Productions banner, adapting Mari Selvaraj’s Pariyerum Perumal into Hindi while retaining its socio-political core. Rather than sugarcoating caste narratives, she infuses her film with unapologetic honesty.

Love, Identity and Resistance in Dhadak 2

Dhadak 2 follows Neelesh (Siddhant Chaturvedi), a Dalit law student navigating elite academia, and Vidhi (Triptii Dimri), an upper-caste woman reckoning with her privilege. Triptii Dimri shared, “She makes you feel empowered” when describing Vidhi’s transformation and stance within her own patriarchal household. Scenes featuring caste slurs, neighborhood landmarks like Bhim Nagar, and explicit resistance symbols create an environment that refuses invisibility.

Despite the first half being deliberate in its romance build‑up, the narrative pivots sharply into political engagement in the latter half. Gallows humour, graphic power dynamics, and campus protests including a tribute to Rohith Vemula through a student leader suicide subplot, drive the emotional core forward.

Filmmakers’ praise elevates Dhadak 2 into acclaimed cinematic territory

Acclaimed filmmaker Anurag Kashyap hailed Dhadak 2 as a return to the socially conscious mainstream cinema of directors like Raj Kapoor, Bimal Roy, Guru Dutt and others, saying the film represents “what mainstream cinema was meant to be”. He added that it is “extremely brave and powerful,” noting its universal resonance—even his driver “wept at the end of it”.

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