Sadak to Sadak 2: the story continues…
Cinema has always been an integral part of the lives of the people of Indo-Pak subcontinent. These two countries have produced some of the finest and passionate filmmakers the world has seen.
Names like Satyajit Ray, Raj Kapoor, K Asif, and Mehboob Khan have won minds and hearts with their fantastic work at home and outside their respective borders.
Their craft and work have kept them relevant today. The Hindi cinema which is known as Bollywood have distinct ways of telling stories.
Over the years, this style and art of storytelling have evolved. Indo / Pak Filmmakers have adopted the latest technologies and filmmaking styles.
However, over all these years, the recipe for a Bollywood masalah entertainer has stayed the same. Songs, Dances, larger than life acting, a do good hero, a heroine in distress and an oddly dressed villain with a quirk completes a Bollywood masalah recipe.
The ’90s was full of such flicks; the “Bees saal baad” (20 years later!) genre we lovingly call them. These movies were flaked by the critics but adored by the masses. Masses loved and still love these movies because they were like a joyride. They were a rollercoaster of dramatic emotion and staunch overacting to bring them emotions home! The progression of the story helped to ease the suffering of the viewers and took them on a journey of their own. It was simple escapism for the public.
Sadak changed that. It breathed fresh air in the way Indian Hindi cinema was made and viewed for many people. A Turning point for some you could say.
Sadak was released in 1991 and was the highest-grossing movie of the year. It was loaded with chartbuster music, good acting, and brilliant storytelling, and refreshingly, a movie which was liked by the cinemagoers and critics alike!
Performances by Sanjay Dutt, Pooja Bhatt, Sadashiv Amrapurkar and the brilliance of Mahesh Bhatt’s directions were bold and captivating. Sadak 1992 posted some serious numbers at the box office. At a time when things needed a fresh turn, Sadak was the answer. It was such a great movie for it’s time that critics commented on Sadashiv’s performance as Maharani being flawless. His performance won him the Filmfare award for the best performance in a negative role. Sadashiv’s character was an evil transgender pimp who runs a brothel.
Sanjay Dutt before becoming famous for Khalnayak was fondly called by his character name of Ravi Verma by the public. That’s the impact this film made.
The music of the movie was composed by the famous music duo Nadeem-Shravan. Famously known as “the sound of the ’90s”. So naturally, the music was a hit, with nostalgic songs still being popular from the movie. Do you remember “Tumhein Apna banana ki”? You should, it was the youth anthem of the year and you will still hear it blaring somewhere whenever you are outside.
Vision, direction and bringing the magic to celluloid, Mahesh Bhatt worked wonders with his treatment of the film. His sensitive and immaculate execution of the story makes Sadak a masalah entertainer with real soul, feel and belonging. Sadak will always feature among the top works of Mahesh Bhatt.
That’s nearly 20 years ago. The Bollywood world was different then, it needed a breath of fresh air. Today, the world is starkly different. Home renditions, gritty dramas, revolutionary topics and camera technology. A digital world where everyone is on some level a film maker, Mahesh Bhatt takes the bull by the horns and returns with Sadak 2. He left the bar so high for everyone else it would be interesting to see what magic wizardry Mahesh can come up with to bring Sadak 2 on parr.
Sadak 2 will release on Disney+ Hotstar on the 28th August 2020. It stars Alia Bhatt and Aditya Roy Kapur with Pooja and Sanjay reprising their iconic roles from the first installment. With the likes of Alia, Aditya, Sanjay, and Mahesh coming together, old team brings in new, one can only expect some real bonafide cinema magic. Sadak 2 will first collaboration between the father-daughter duo of Mahesh Bhatt and Alia Bhatt. We’re really looking forward to it and hope that Sadak 2 will surpass the success of Sadak (1991) and will be able to build a cult following of its own.
Keep an eye on us here at Whiterock Entertainment. We’ll be reviewing Sadak 2 as soon as we get a chance.
All the best and happy viewing!
