It is one of
the noblest films that I have ever seen. During the viewing of Gauri Shinde’s
Dear Zindagi, I was struck by refreshing dialogues
and screenplay of family relationships and love. Writer-director
Gauri Shinde’s Dear Zindagi comes four years after her remarkable debut with English Vinglish. In this film, there are characters and no hero and
heroines.
The film
revolves around a young girl Kaira (Alia Bhatt),
a talented young cinematographer in Mumbai. She suffers from childhood insecurities.
Her challenges in love, developing relationships are portrayed well and finally
she seeks professional help. The person who
plays a brilliant therapist is Shahrukh Khan. (Dr. Jehangir Khan) . In short, its story of a girl who
gets help from a therapist and finally able
to live life freely without fears.
Many viewers of
this film will feel that after the first half
the story seems very predictable, which seems like an odd complaint, given that
script has noble intent. But if you
think of “Dear Zindagi” regarding a commercial drama rather than as a mere story of a woman rebuilding her life, getting
free from her fears, you might have to admit they're building something
meaningful which will be liked many intellectual or philosophical audience.
The direction,
the photography, the editing, the production design and most of the
performances are on point. However, the movie has primary exceptions. It does not have drama, it doesn’t have a plot! It is trying to
redefine the concept of hero and heroine,
and there is no storyteller and story evolves with dialogues and its
characters. This is unique Hindi movie, and we must applaud Gauri Shinde for an
attempt she has made. However, it fail short of a masterpiece.
If you look at
the story, it’s interesting, the writer’s approach to the story is broad,
covering as many pieces of the story as possible, always highlighting, with mixed
results and definitive emotion. Kaira’s emotion
as a child and her detailed memory around
her letters, her emotions when she
connects her boyfriends and when her parents left her. Still, the movie is not emotional but a well-balanced screenplay
with full dialogues. Someone may even label as “wordy film” as dialogues are meant
to inspire the audience and not the
beauty of heroine or the power of the hero.
Shahrukh Khan
brings the charm and makes the character believable. This must be one of the
best Alia Bhatt movies. Songs of the film
are relevant. However, how many people want have two-hour counseling session about life without much of the drama? Very few like me. Hence I doubt that it will be commercial hit.
Another part,
the story doesn’t make Shahrukh as larger
than life person who can solve anything
but remains a ground to earth therapist that
we meet in our lives. He does offer humor in parts. This is the beauty of
the movie as well its weakness as Indian masses are inspired by larger than
life heroes and not by ordinary human beings.
On the
screenplay, the story of upper-middle-class,
young Indian woman trying to resolve her challenges has been painted with a lot of honesty.
About the sets of the movie, Gauri,
and her colleagues
cared enough to lavish as much energy on the
less significant parts of the frame, and they made it realistic.
To conclude
this, I will recommend this movie as it's
honest and noble and realistic film. But
if you love drama, emotions, larger than life set than don’t watch this one.
This is for all
those who love an honest cinema, experimental cinema.
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