Dhak Dhak is a Hindi language film from India that narrates a tale about 4 delightful women bikers as they undertake a challenging road trip from Delhi to Khardung La Pass in Ladakh.
Khardunga (at 5602 metres) is the highest motorable road in the world. So, these 4 gritty and ordinary women attempt an extraordinary journey to complete this trip in a week.
Synopsis (summary) of this 2023 Hindi film from India
Four women set out for a road trip to the highest motorable pass in the world on their bikes on a journey of self-discovery.
Spoilers free review of the Dhak Dhak (2023) film
The all-women biker group consisting of 4 women – Mahi, Uzma, Sky and Majari decided to travel together on an arduous bike road journey from Delhi To Khardunga La Pass in the Himalayan mountain range in India. Interestingly, they all belong to different backdrops, viz. age-wise, social-status-wise, communities-wise and religious beliefs-wise.
Thus, all four of them come from diverse backgrounds. Now let us meet these 4 interesting women of India, to learn more about them along with some of the interesting messages.
This film has used Hindi language slogans written on public walls (and vehicles) using paint brush to very good use as situational comedic comment. We come across these slogans as these 4 women travel on the roads.
#1 Ratna Pathak Shah (Mahi aka Manpreet Kaur Sethi)
Mahi aka Biker Nani (grandmother) is an older woman, who is a widow. She is full of life and energy. Belonging to a Sikh family, she is a bold lady with flowing white hair and a distinctive Punjabi dialect. Her dream is to travel on her bike to the Khardunga La Pass in Ladakh. As she has married off all of her children, she lives alone in her home in Bahadurgarh in NCR Delhi. Her children are settled and busy in their own lives with their own families.
Betiyan Door Na Jayein, Ghar Par Sauchalay Lagaine.
{बेटियां दूर न जाएं, घर पर शौचालय लगाएं means Daughter need not go far, Make toilets at homes}
Le Gaye Gunde, Dhaniya Ko
{ले गए गुंडे, धनिया को means Goons took away Dhaniya}
Sampurn Swatchata Abhiyaan
{सम्पूर्ण स्वत्छता अभियान means Complete Cleaniness Mission}
Haryana Sarkaar
{Haryana Government}
#1
#2 Dia Mirza (Uzma)
Belonging to a Muslim community, the beautiful Uzma is the Jugaadu (it means a kind of hustler) Mechanic. Along with her husband and teenage daughter, she perhaps lives in the old city (Purani Dilli) of Delhi. She is a very knowledgeable and accomplished bike mechanic, whose husband manages a bike repair shop. A dedicated housewife, she wishes for a different future for her daughter.
Late Aap Hain, Hum Nahin
{ लेट आप हैं, हम नहीं means You are late, not us}
Slogan painted at the back of a Tempo vehicle in Delhi.
#2
#3 Fatima Sana Shaikh (SKY aka Shashi Kumar Yadav)
She is a modern and street-smart young girl based in Delhi. She runs her vlogger but off-late the web traffic to her content has drastically gone down because of the personal scandal involving her. So, when an opportunity knocks on her door to do something new like become a “Travel Vlogger”, she jumps right in. Along with Biker Nani, she plans to travel to Khardunga and make a vlog about their adventurous journey.
Yahan peshaab kar
{यहाँ पेशाब कर means pee here}
Jor se lagi ho to
{जोर से लगी हो तो means if you are desperate to pee}
This message was painted on the wall on the bridge in Punjab, by manipulating and painiting over the original message - Yahan peshaab karna mana hai ~ यहाँ पेशाब करना मना है means don't pee here.
#3
#4 Sanjana Sanghi (Manjari)
She is a young girl who lives with her single parent – a mother in Govardhan, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh. Thus, she was born in a religious town devoted to Lord Krishna (also called Radhe). Brought up in a highly protective family environment, she is a devout Hindu religious girl. In addition, her family has arranged and fixed her marriage. So, she seeks to break free. And she decides to participate in new adventures like the bike trip to the Khardunga. She is the first solo traveller in it.
Grahaak mera devta
{ग्राहक मेरा देवता means customer is my god}
Aisa koi grahak nahi, Jise maine thaga nahin
{ऐसा कोई ग्राहक नहीं, जिसे मैंने ठगा नहीं means there is no customer, whom I have not cheated}
Mere se jyada koi bewafa nahin
{मेरे से ज्यादा कोई बेवफा नहीं means no one is more unfaithful than me}
Bekaraar Chole Kiosk in Himachal Pradesh
#4
It is a fun film about the life experiences of the above-mentioned women travellers. Along the way, they discuss all sorts of personal and other issues involving women folks. in India. No doubt, when you have a women-centric film, it is bound to come with a heavy touch of feminine matters. We just wish its script to be a little bit tighter and funnier in its content. Then that would have made it a highly entertaining hit movie that we would have loved it.
Still, it is a decent film and we like it. Ratna Pathak Shah (Mahi – Manpreet Kaur Sethi) really shone in it and she is well supported by Dia Mirza (Uzma), Fatima Sana Shaikh (SKY), and Sanjana Sanghi (Manjari) in the road trip film. We loved its title song “Re Banjara” with thoughtful lyrics. Its YouTube video link is shared below.
Re Banjara song from Dhak Dhak film is sung by Sunidhi Chauhan and Jatinder Singh.
We really liked Dhak Dhak film, as it is a breath of fresh air in the context of not only the Indian movie world but also Indian society. The times are indeed changing for good.
Three (or should I say Four) cheers for the women’s power in India.
Key details of this 2023 Hindi film from India
| Genre | Drama |
| Original language | Hindi (a little bit of Punjabi, Haryanvi, English, etc.) (धक् धक् ~ Dhak Dhak words mean the sound of excited heartbeats) |
| Released in | October 2023 |
| Duration | 2 hours 20 minutes |
| Age-restrictions | U/A {unrestricted but with a parental discretion advisory for children under 12 years} |
| Writers | Tarun Dudeja & Parijat Joshi |
| Director | Tarun Dudeja |
| Cast | Ratna Pathak Shah (Mahi – Manpreet Kaur Sethi), Dia Mirza (Uzma), Fatima Sana Shaikh (SKY), Sanjana Sanghi (Manjari), Poonam Gurung (Kung-Fu Buddhist Nun), Dheerendra Dwivedi (Shabbir), Benedict Garrett (Moshe), etc. |
| Distribution | Viacom18 Motion Pictures & Others |
Poster of this 2023 Hindi film from India
FM Rating of this 2023 Hindi film from India
| FM’s rating | 3.85/5 |
| FM’s short comment | All the folks associated with this road trip movie must be appreciated for bringing a new and fresh story about women’s empowerment in India. |
Trailer of this 2023 Hindi film from India
If you like Hindi language movies from India, especially women-centric movies, then check out the FM article about the Khufiya film, too.
Featured Images, Other Images and Posters of the Dhak Dhak film are courtesy of Viacom 18 Studios.