shefali-59244 Review of Shaadisthan

Shaadisthan (2021)

Shaadisthan, On DisneyPlus Hotstar, Is A Sterile Classroom Camouflaged As A Film

[14 June 2021]

The "social-message drama" is a smug and inherently Indian cousin of the social-commentary drama. The latter is an actual storytelling genre. But the former is erroneously considered one. Instead of diagnosing a culture and trusting the audience to identify the ailment, the film-makers insist on delivering the verdict, the prescription as well as the medicine themselves. The whole film then exists in service of its message - which is conveyed in bold and blindingly bright letters, in the self-righteous tone of a teacher, a parent, a sage and an orator at once. Some might say this is noble, but I personally think it reeks of intellectual arrogance. A movie's job is to engage, not to turn entertainment into a multimedia classroom. Shaadisthan, directed by Raj Singh Chaudhary, is an example of why education should best be left to moral science textbooks.