The first trailer for upcoming romantic film Shiddat is here. The film stars Sunny Kaushal, who was last seen in Akshay Kumar’s Gold (2018), and Radhika Madan, who was seen in late Irrfan Khan’s Angrezi Medium (2020), through the film’s trailer showcase how love can be a whirlwind ride for young passionate lovers. Shiddat can be roughly translated as intensity, passion or severity, usually associated with love.
At least judging by the trailer, Shiddat feels like so many other Hindi films we have seen and seems to offer little in terms of new. Kaushal’s hero Kartika appears to be the same, flirty and callous seeming man who actually has a heart of gold while Radhika plays a more sensitive girlfriend who is in awe of how different he is.
However, the heavy-on-romance trailer can make the audience a tab bit uncomfortable because what is shown as love can be seen as toxic obsession in the real world.
The slickly cut trailer shows visuals and shots from the movies that makes it look like one has seen all that before.
For instance, one scene shows Madan’s character giving Jaggi mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. Kaushal, like so many Hindi film heroes, assumes that was a kiss. Madan denies it, says it was CPR, Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (which, mind you, is not the same as mouth-to-mouth resuscitation).
It’s all flirting, of course. No harm done.
Mohit Raina and Diana Penty are also involved, though we do not know how. If Shiddat is a film that will invigorate the romance film genre and do something different, the trailer does not seem to be doing a good job at demonstrating that.
Madan earlier described Shiddat as a “hardcore romantic film†while speaking to Indianexpress.com. “You’ll see me as a proper heroine. It’s a really different flavour and I’m really excited,†she added.
The official synopsis of the film reads: Shiddat is a scintillating story of two star-crossed souls engulfed in a web of passionate romance. The trailer introduces us to Kartika and Jaggi, the perfect yin and yang pair. While there is sparkling chemistry between the duo, destiny seems to have other plans, as the leading lady is all set to tie a knot with someone else. We also see Mohit Raina exude some smouldering charm in his suave and stunning groom avatar, while Diana Penty redefines beauty in pristine and gorgeous bridal attire.
Speaking about the film, producer Dinesh Vijan says, “As a genre, love stories are timeless, they have always been embraced by audiences. An emotion each and every one of us has felt, the agony, the ecstasy, the whole grandeur of romance is what we have tried to capture in Shiddat.â€
Shiddat, bankrolled by Maddock Film’s Dinesh Vijan and T-Series’ Bhushan Kumar, is directed by Kunal Deshmukh. It stars Sunny Kaushal, Radhika Madan, Mohit Raina and Diana Penty. The film will start streaming on Disney+ Hotstar from October 1.
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