Sometimes parts are greater than the whole and that is true for Tarun Dudeja’s Dhak Dhak, a film about four unlikely women companions who ride their motorcycles all the way from Delhi to Khardung La in Leh.
There is nothing new or surprising about Dhak Dhak. There are four women from four different sections of society, each with their own predictable backstory that motivates them to embark on this difficult journey. The story comes in the form of Manpreet Kaur Sethi aka Mahi (Ratna Pathak Shah), who learns to ride a bike in her old age and dreams of making the bikers’ pilgrimage to Khardung La and impressing her apathetic children and grandchildren.
There is Sky (Fatima Sana Shaikh), a travel blogger who needs a good story to get her big break. There is Uzma (Dia Mirza), a jugadu mechanic who is oppressed by her domineering husband. There is Manjari (Sanjana Sanghi), who is betrothed as per her mother’s wishes to a man she has met but doesn’t know. It, however, doesn’t explain how a woman with a conservative background like Uzma or an overprotective upbringing like Manjari learnt to ride a bike.
Each woman’s personality matches her backstory. Sky is brash and abrasive, Mahi is a nurturer, Uzma is the kind-hearted one, and Manjari is clumsy and naive. And their development pans out the way you would expect it to go. Sky realises she can trust people and that she is much more than her nude pictures that were leaked online. Mahi finds a purpose other than being a mother and grandmother. Uzma stands up to her husband and Manjari finds her independence.
Why then watch this film? Because of the pure joy of watching four of these women get on their bikes and take the ride of their lives. Through predictable ups and downs — there are unhygienic bathrooms, ogling men, kind strangers, wide-eyed admiring young girls, pop philosophy dispensers, missed turns and unnavigable terrains — the four women wind their way through stunning vistas that make the heart soar. Dhak Dhak might have bungled the past but it is at its best when it is in the present, focusing on the women and their journey.
The actors also bring their A-game, giving us characters that one can root for. Fatima Sana Shaikh is on-point as the ball-busting go-getter. Dia Mirza brings an ethereal calm underlined with a backbone of steel. Sanjana Sanghi is perfect as the baby of the group that everyone has to take care of. But the heart of the film is Ratna Pathak Shah, who makes her character real and believable. You see her utter joy as she rides her bike and feel her pain every time she gets off her bike to stretch her back. Her comic timing is spot on — her reaction to being hit on by a foreigner is one of the highlights — as is her camaraderie with the younger women. If nothing else, Dhak Dhak is worth a watch for Pathak Shah alone.
Dhak Dhak, which also has Taapsee Pannu as producer, might not be a revolutionary film overall but it is all heart and in parts fun, joyous and inspiring. Sometimes that’s all a movie needs to be.
