Kanika Dhillon responds to mixed reviews and backlash for Do Patti: “Creative work is open to interpretation”

Writer-producer Kanika Dhillon recently addressed the mixed reactions to her latest project, Do Pattia Netflix film starring Kajol, Critic I sayand Shaheer Sheikh. The film, which explores themes of trauma and relationships, has faced scrutiny for its depiction of childhood trauma and domestic abuse, with some viewers expressing concern over its lack of a trigger warning.
Speaking to News18, Kanika shared her perspective on the criticism and explained the reason behind keeping certain story elements under wraps before the release of the film.
Kanika revealed that the reason she didn’t not include all the darker themes of the film in promotion was because, “when you start with a message outright, the audience somehow tends to view it as something that isn’t entertaining. And I don’t want to make niche films for a specific circuit,” said Kanika. She justified the “pulp-fiction tone” by saying they were trying to balance between message and entertainment.
Although some critics spoke about the movie, Kanika found that the film also earned much love from the audiences. She mentioned that especially in the last 50 minutes of the film, most viewers felt the emotional quotient of the film. Most of them appreciated the culmination of the narrative to such an extent that most of the viewers were emotionally attached to the ending of the film, she said. “It says that people are willing to watch the stories that make them think,” Kanika said about this response.
Kanika commented on the increasing internet trolls and the amount of unfettered opinions online, saying that while constructive criticism is helpful, personal attacks are a different story altogether. She pointed out that since “anybody and everybody can be a reviewer today,” she only pays attention to critiques that offer thought-provoking feedback.
“When they start criticizing through personal attacks at the individual rather than the film, then they become trolls,” she said, adding that she often avoids reviews that appear to have a negative bias from the headline alone.
The lead cast of the Shashanka Chaturvedi-directed Do Patti is supported by two big names in Brijendra Kala and Tanvi Azmi. Interestingly enough, the plot starts from the twin sister saga, where Kriti Sanon portrays not only one but both identical siblings who fall in love with the same guy while also featuring Kajol playing a police officer looking out for the crimes happening throughout.