Jhansi, similarly, is seen through Badri’s palatial haveli (which looks plush and imposing), and multiple top-down shots of the town’s square. The other is shot near a temple adjoining a lake, where Badri is on a speedboat. In this case, a small park called Seven Wonders, pretty enough to look pretty on screen, where Khaitan shoots two outdoor scenes. Instead, it looks like any other Indian small town, whose defining marker is a public recreational space. Khaitan’s Kota is devoid of the sweat and desperation and din of IIT aspirants. The way Jhansi and Kota look, for instance. But there’s much in Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya’s first half that doesn’t work. Vaidehi, however, is much more believable, and it’s not surprising, given that she’s played by Bhatt, an actor known for setting high standards for herself. A good actor is, of course, supposed to transcend his own social milieu and, instead, effortlessly slip into his character, but Dhawan hasn’t attained that level of artistic talent. The small-town “ Hum”, replacing the big city “ Main”, doesn’t ring true when he speaks it. Badri’s a fascinating character, in theory, but Dhawan-whose on-screen roles, till now, have belonged to young, sophisticated, and rich India (and who is himself not different in real life)-struggles to live up to his part. They aren’t necessarily vicious misogynists, for they’re ready to engage in a dialogue, accept their mistakes, and, if possible, rectify them. People like Badri also have a tricky time negotiating the gender politics, because their sexism is a result of their upbringing and ignorance.
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Most of the times, it’s not considered a big deal, because money (and what it can afford: cars, properties, clothes) is visible, ideologies are not. A guy like Badri-uneducated and unsophisticated, rich and privileged-typifies a certain kind of India, where economic affluence has raced ahead of social consciousness. Vaidehi (Alia Bhatt), on the other hand, lives in Kota and aspires to be an airhostess. The film opens in Jhansi, home to the eponymous Badrinath (Varun Dhawan), the son of a rich contractor, who has only studied till 10 th grade. It certainly doesn’t, for the most part, in Shashank Khaitan’s Badrinath Ki Dulhania. The best of both worlds approach doesn’t usually work. You can either make your film pretty and escapist or regular and real. As a result, they’re less interested in recreating a space, more in appropriating it, or cherry picking bits that look visually appealing and cinematic. These films are shot on locations, so the geographical spaces are real, but the people dealing with them-directors, writers, production designers, even actors-belong to the world of movies or, as it were, certain upscale parts of Mumbai. The small towns of these films, more often than not, are less real, more imagined.
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And that’s so because these films are marked by disconnect: between the real and make-believe, between life and cinema. Bollywood filmmakers, backed by big production houses, setting their films in small-town India often run into roadblocks.