For Shazia Iqbal, her debut film Dhadak 2 was not just a love story between a Dalit man and an upper-caste woman. It was always meant to be more. A Hindi adaptation of the Tamil film Pariyerum Perumal, Dhadak 2 stars Siddhant Chaturvedi and Triptii Dimri in lead roles. When the director first saw the Tamil film, she realised a lot more could have been said in the world of that story. And Dhadak 2 reflected those changes. One of the most poignant additions to the adaptation was the addition of Priyank Tiwari’s character, student activist Shekhar. And the reason was simple. Through him, the director wanted to highlight the importance of colleges in shaping people’s worldview and encouraging them to speak up. She also wanted the film to reflect the broader social and political realities of our time.

In an exclusive conversation with Filmfare, Shazia shared, “Rahul Badwelkar (Dhadak 2 co-writer) and I are big fans of Rang De Basanti. It seems that films like that have somehow disappeared from our mainstream, where we could question bigger things that were happening in the state or country. With Pariyerum Perumal, it felt like this film had the potential of being a full-fledged college film. College is also a place where you step out into the world.”

The setting of a university in the film carried a layered meaning for the filmmaker. She continued, “You are still in your shell while you’re in your school, and you’re very protected by your parents and family. I mean, if you’re privileged to be protected. Most of the time, like the Dalit community that we’re talking about, they probably are not that protected. There’s a scene right in the opening where Nilesh’s father warns him against going to college, saying that the people there won’t let him study. That’s the kind of fear the people in the community would have. We had so much potential for Dhadak 2 to be a full-fledged college film.  And college politics is something that is not seen in our films anymore.
It’s a shame, actually, because there’s so much potential to say so many things.”

Dhadak 2 also moves beyond the personal journey of Nilesh to address the political. Through the character of Shekhar, the narrative made a statement about resistance. “It could have been Nilesh’s personal story, but with bringing in Shekhar, it felt like we were talking about a larger issue. Personal is political, and that is also stated in the film. Even though Shekhar dies in the film, the issue lives on. He passes the baton on to Nilesh. In his death, Shekhar frees Nilesh. The film ends up saying something bigger than just being an assertion story of a Dalit boy.”

With that, the Bebak director also admitted that the film pays a direct homage to Rohith Vemula, the PhD scholar whose tragic suicide in 2016 drew attention to alleged systemic discrimination based on caste. She continued, “And of course, who other than Rohith Vemula to pay homage to? I’m really glad that people are catching on to that. It’s not very hidden. It’s quite up front, actually. In our small ways, we try to put things in our stories that move us and disturb us about society. That way, we found a place to put Rohith in our film.”

Shazia also explained that if someone feels strongly about something, then they should make a film about it and take it to the mainstream. “If you really feel strongly about something, you should make a film about it, and you should say that in the mainstream. There was a Dalit person who told me that they’ve seen themselves on a big screen in a Hindi film. That message actually meant so much. The journey of staying with a film for more than 3 years was worth it.”

Dhadak 2 also stars Zakir Hussain, Saurabh Sachdeva, Deeksha Joshi, Vipin Sharma, Saad Bilgrami and Manjari Pupala, among others.

Also Read: Exclusive: “Highest Purpose of Art Is to Shift Perspectives” – Manjiri Pupala on Dhadak 2

This article first appeared on Filmfare