Film
Dil Dhadakne Do
A Bollywood family drama set aboard a luxury cruise ship where adult siblings confront long-buried tensions and romantic complications while celebrating their parents' 30th anniversary. It's sweeping and emotional, shot with real glamour, for anyone who loves character-driven stories about families who love each other but drive each other mad.
Should you watch it?
Watch it if you like family sagas where the bickering is sharp, the affection is messy, and the characters talk over each other until something true slips out.
Skip it if your patience runs thin with a long ensemble drama that circles the same worries about marriage and money for stretches at a time.
What it asks of you: Settle in for nearly three hours, with a leisurely pace that lets scenes breathe, a lot of noise and a lot of warmth, and little rush to get anywhere.
Not sure? Find tonight's pick in a minute.
If you liked this
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham2001
A multigenerational family saga that balances romance, duty and the weight of parental expectations with the same emotional intelligence and visual flair. Both films understand that family drama can be grand and beautiful without being melodramatic.
But It runs nearly four hours and the emotional beats can feel overwrought if you're not in the mood to surrender to Bollywood's heightened register.
Dear Zindagi2016
A quieter indie-Bollywood film about a young woman finding her voice amid family and romantic pressures. Intimate and modern in its psychology where Dil Dhadakne Do is operatic, but equally moving about self-discovery.
But Deliberately understated and slow-paced; after a sprawling ensemble cruise drama, this smaller scale might feel thin.
Piku2015
Released the same year, another Bollywood film about adult children caring for aging parents while sorting their own lives. Funny, tender, and structurally smart about family obligations and love.
But Centres on digestive health as a running joke; the toilet humour is relentless and not everyone finds it charming.
Not sure tonight? Get a pick in a minute, starting from Dil Dhadakne Do
The wildcard
Something you would not have found on your own.
Amour2012
Both centre on marriages (the parents' anniversary is Dil Dhadakne Do's spine; the marriage itself is Amour's). Both ask what commitment means when tested by reality rather than romance.
Michael Haneke's devastating film about an elderly couple as one declines into illness. The inverse of Dil Dhadakne Do—where the younger generation learns from their parents' example—here we watch what obligation and love demand in their final form. Absolutely unflinching.
But It is a film about suffering and decline without redemption or softening. Some people find it unbearably bleak. It is not an evening's entertainment.
More like this (5)
Monsoon Wedding2001
A multigenerational Indian family gathering where secrets and desires surface beneath celebration. Gorgeously shot, chaotic and warm, with the same understanding that family moments hold real stakes.
But The ensemble is large and the plotting intricate; if you need a clear narrative spine, it can feel scattered.
The Fault in Our Stars2014
A romance where two young people navigate mortality, family expectations, and the question of what a life well-lived means. Sincere about love and loss in the way Dil Dhadakne Do respects emotional truth.
But Heavily reliant on terminal illness as its central conceit; the sentimentality can feel manipulative if you're watching sceptically.
Jaane Tu... Ya Jaane Na2008
A charming romance about two childhood friends sidestepping obvious love while their families and friends push them together. Fresh, funny, and genuinely sweet about the gap between what we feel and what we admit.
But Deliberately light and youth-focused; if you're hungry for the kind of serious family reckoning at Dil Dhadakne Do's core, this avoids those depths.
English Vinglish2012
A story about a woman finding independence and self-esteem while navigating family relationships. Warm and unexpectedly moving about belonging, identity and the courage required to change.
But The husband character is written as aggressively unsupportive; the film earns it but his behaviour can be difficult to sit with.
Tamasha2015
A romantic drama about a couple forced to confront what they've hidden from each other and from themselves. Both films use travel and spectacle to strip away the masks people wear for family.
But Structurally fractured and philosophically abstract in its second half; clarity takes a back seat to mood and impression.
People
Cast
Ranveer SinghKabir Mehra
Anil KapoorKamal Mehra
Shefali ShahNeelam Mehra
Priyanka Chopra JonasAyesha Mehra
Rahul BoseManav Sangha
Anushka SharmaFarah Ali
Farhan AkhtarSunny Gill
Ridhima SudNoorie Sood
Vikrant MasseyRana Khanna
Aamir KhanPluto Mehra / Narrator (voice)
Zarina WahabSmita Pranav Sangha
Ayesha Raza MishraIndu Mehra
Directing
- Zoya AkhtarDirector
Writing
- Farhan AkhtarDialogue
- Javed AkhtarDialogue
- Reema KagtiScreenplay
- Zoya AkhtarScreenplay
- Zoya AkhtarStory
Production
- Nandini ShrikentCasting Director
- Vikesh BhutaniExecutive Producer
- Anna CassinaLine Producer
- Riccardo RogazioneLine Producer
- Shivani SaranLine Producer
- Suat SaglamLine Producer
- Yasmine StaffordLine Producer
- Farhan AkhtarProducer
- Ritesh SidhwaniProducer
Recommended by
Bombay Talkies, Kapoor & Sons, Queen, Shubh Mangal Zyada Saavdhan, Chandigarh Kare Aashiqui, Shaandaar, Jab Tak Hai Jaan, Finding Fanny, Khoobsurat, De De Pyaar De, Bangalore Days, Khatta Meetha, Bandhan, Running Shaadi, Housefull, Haan Maine Bhi Pyaar Kiya, Aisha, The Sky Is Pink, Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai, Tanu Weds Manu: Returns, Kadambari, Kya Kehna, Pavitra Rishta, Housefull 3