Karan Johar's Badrinath Ki Dulhania, starring Varun Dhawan and Alia Bhatt, and helmed by Shashank Khaitan, is an instalment of the 'Ki Dulhania' franchise. The first in the series was Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania two years ago. It clicked with the audience in a big way which led the film's makers to construct another one and extend the franchise. While the first film was a love story that paid homage to Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, this one is a more mature and responsible take on love, revolving around the aspect of respect in every relationship, especially the one between life partners.
BEHIND THE SCENES - Alia's Vaidehi Trivedi is an airhostess who is extremely career-driven and focused. Her strongest relationship is the one she has with herself. She's ambitious and expects respect from her partner apart from a lot of love.
- Varun's Badrinath Bansal is a spoilt brat, who hasn't seen a strong female figure in his life. He falls in love with Vaidehi in a matter of a few meetings and even sends her family a marriage proposal without knowing whether she's game for it too.
- The film was shot in cities like Kota, Jhansi and Haridwar, apart from Mumbai and parts of Singapore, which have been well-utilised in the film to take the story forward.
- Bappi Lahiri and Anuradha Paudwal's hit, Tamma Tamma, was reinvented for this film as Tamma Tamma Again with a rap portion and hip with a rap portion and hiphop beats. The moves were designed in a way that while they look novel, they also doff a hat to the original song. Badri Ki Dulhania is a spin on Pinjrewali Muniya, a classic song, popular in several regions of North India including Uttar Pradesh.
- Most members of the crew are under 30 years of age, which makes it an extremely young team. This helped while making the film. Everyone's opinion was counted in. Everyone had suggestions and voiced them openly. Director Shashank would take decisions after weighing all opinions.
- The cast and crew of the film turned the studio floor into a dance floor on the last day of shoot. They were filming Tamma Tamma Again. And the minute Shashank called 'Cut'' they became very emotional. But after that, it was party time.
- Alia cried a lot while making the film. It was not the scenes or any trouble from her co-actors or director. In most cities, hotels didn't serve diet food. She had to consume some fattening food which made her cry.
- There's a crucial scene in the film, which scared Varun a lot. He had to manhandle Alia's character which brings about a twist in the story. He could only do it well because Alia co-operated with him.
- Varun and Shashank would look at Alia for validation after shooting a scene. If she laughed loudly, they'd know the scene has turned out fine. But if she had a fake laughter, they knew a retake was the way forward.
- Shashank was writing another film which Karan Johar didn't quite like. Then he wrote three scenes across 22 pages and narrated it to him. He was sold on it, and called Varun to narrate it to him. Varun was among the first artistes to come on board and Alia got her narration much later because she was shoot ing another film.
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QUOTE ROOM Alia Bhatt: Often, we say 'I love you' without realising what we're saying. Love comes with a lot of responsibility. HSKD had a lot of puppy love. In this movie, we're in a more mature space. It's a responsible love story. It's not easy to love someone because it entails a lot more than just love. When you grow older, you realise that a relationship is more than just loving someone.
Varun Dhawan: Emotion wise, you can't do melodrama now. I think that's the USP of Badrinath Ki Dulhania and it's because we have a director like Shashank Khaitan. He is from a small town, so he's able to capture the pulse of it, yet his sensibility is such that he can make the film extravagant.
DIRECTOR SPEECH SHASHANK KHAITAN![]( "Click To Enlarge")
When I came up with the story, it had nothing to do with any franchise. It's a love story, the theme being of love and marriage, and respect in a relationship. When I shared the script with Karan, he felt there was a certain warmth and suggested the title Badrinath Ki Dulhania. We took a few days to live with the title, to see if it works. I fell in love to see if it works. I fell in love with the title. The film is not an extension of Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhania. Badrinath and Vaidehi are different characters, in a new world and respect in the relationship is important for this love stories to be successful. I'm happy with the response the trailers and the songs have garnered. I hope more and more people come to see the film and take back the message.It's an entertainer for the entire family; for the young and old alike.“
Badrinath Ki Dulhania, produced by Dharma Productions, releases tomorrow. 
