Janhvi Kapoor And Ishaan Khatter's Dhadak Has 'Few Different Elements' From Sairat: Director

Shashank Khaitan with Janhvi and Ishaan (Courtesy taranadarsh)

Janhvi Kapoor and Ishaan Khatter's Dhadak, which releases this Friday, is a remake of Marathi blockbuster Sairat and but 'there are a few different elements' in the film also,director Shashank Khaitan told news agency IANS. "Our Dhadak is quite similar to Sairat, yet there are a few different elements that the audience will find out once they watch the film," he said. Of what inspired him to remake Sairat, Shashank Khaitan told IANS, "There are many elements in Sairat that inspired me and I wanted to incorporate them in my story." Dhadak is Shashank Khaitan's third directorial venture. He had earlier directed Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania and Badrinath Ki Dulhania, both starring Alia Bhatt and Varun Dhawan.

National Award-winning film Sairat, which released in 2016, featured Rinku Rajguru and Akash Thosar.

Were Janhvi and Ishaan Shashank Khaitan's first choices to play the lead in Dhadak? Yes, is the answer. He told PTI, "Two months before Badrinath Ki Dulhania, I started hanging out with her to understand her process and realised she knows cinema. By the third meeting, we were talking about how a character works in a film. I figured her process is similar to what I had learnt from Naseeruddin Shah sir. I gave her a few scenes of Badrinath Ki Dulhania and when she performed those, I knew she understood what she was doing," he said. It was apparently fashion designer Manish Malhotra, who had suggested her name to the film's producer Karan Johar.

"When we met him(Ishaan Khatter), we realised he was gifted. He turned out to be a natural fit for Dhadak - age-wise and also for Madhukar's character. He impressed us right from the beginning," he added.

A special screening of Dhadak was hosted by Janhvi and Ishaan, which was attended by Boney Kapoor, sister Khushi, Sonam, Rhea, Anil and Sunita Kapoor, Sanjay, Maheep, Shanaya, Jahaan, Mohit Marwah and other members of the Kapoor family. Dhadak is Janhvi Kapoor's debut film while for Ishaan Khatter, it is his second. Ishaan debuted with Majid Majidi's Beyond The Clouds which was released earlier this year.

Dhadak will hit screens on July 20.

(With IANS inputs)