Heartbeats of a nation

Movies have a purpose. They are either made to entertain or educate. Rarely can a movie do both. Dhadak comes close. The plot is simple. Boy meets girl, both fall in love but have to elope due to the opposition from the girl's side. There is a subtle underlying current of caste hierarchy that is the cause for the friction. There is a bit of political shenanigan thrown in for good measure. In the end we realise that the movie was made to send a strong message against honour killings that are still widespread in modern India.
Can a movie put an end to social discrimination and the ensuing violence in the name of upholding family name? Hard to imagine. The power of moving pictures is well documented and amply theorised. It is a very powerful political tool and in the right hands movies have brought about revolutions. The propaganda machinery has used movies to brainwash entire nations into accepting a myth. And then, there is the socialisation process where movies have slowly but surely chipped away at the social evils and has introduced progressive values into the society.
One Dhadak is not enough to rid our society of the horrible tradition of honour killings. What this movie has done is to bring the issue to the surface and make us question the practice. Movie-makers are opinion leaders and influencers, who spark a debate and do not provide any answers as such. It is we, who have to find solutions and make amends. No movie can be a finality.  Social structures are very firmly entrenched. It needs to be shaken from time to time. We need more such well-crafted, socially relevant and not-so-preachy movies to hit the theatres to really make a huge impact.