Parents' Guide to

Dil Dhadakne Do

Movie NR 2015 170 minutes
Dil Dhadakne Do movie poster: An Indian family get ready to board a luxury cruise.

Common Sense Media Review

Sakhi Thirani By Sakhi Thirani , based on child development research. How do we rate?

age 13+

Romantic Bollywood comedy-drama about marriage and family.

Parents Need to Know

Why Age 13+?

Any Positive Content?

Parent and Kid Reviews

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

What's the Story?

In DIL DHADAKNE DO, celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary, Kamal (Anil Kapoor) and Neelam Mehra (Shefali Shah), along with their children, Kabir (Ranveer Singh) and Ayesha (Priyanka Chopra Jonas), organize a lavish cruise, inviting their friends and family. Once aboard, however, the dysfunctional family must come to terms with the consequences of their secrets from one another. Will the Mehras be able to overcome their differences?

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: Not yet rated
Kids say: Not yet rated

This romantic drama, directed by Zoya Akhtar, is an interesting satirical critique of the upper class in modern Indian society. Dil Dhadakne Do accurately portrays the hollowness of relationships that only function on the basis of social prestige and financial benefit. However, after a strong start, the climactic ending feels a little cheesy and corny, as is so often seen in many typical Bollywood films. That aside, where it truly falls short of its potential is in the treatment of Ayesha's character. She is constantly silenced by others, and by the end, she barely has a voice at all and is reduced to a romantic happily ever after all too quickly. Despite these shortcomings, Dil Dhadakne Do does a good job of initiating crucial conversations on the nature of family relationships and marriages in modern-day India.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Families can talk about what Dil Dhadakne Do was trying to say about upper-class society. Did you think Kamal and Neelam cared too much about what others thought of them? Were any lessons learned by the characters?

  • Talk about how Ayesha was treated by other characters. Did you find her representation problematic? If so, why? How can we find positive gender representations in movies and on TV?

  • Discuss the language used in the movie. Did it seem necessary, or excessive? What did it contribute to the film?

  • How were sex and relationships portrayed? Was it affectionate? Respectful? Parents, talk to your teens about your own values regarding sex and relationships.

  • How did the film represent drinking? Did you think any of the characters drank too much? What are some of the real-life consequences of drinking?

Movie Details

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by

Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.

See how we rate