Charming the audience with his witty charm, Shah Rukh shines in Dear Zindagi – which is otherwise an out and out Ali Bhatt’s perfection.
Cracking the storyline: The movie revolves around Kaira (Alia Bhatt) and her bid to find the perfect one. Her heartbreaks leave her exhausted and she needs direction in life to think right and do right. Kaira’s journey in the movie is around the boys she meets and falls in love with. But as Zindagi is, when things go well – it throws climaxes at you and there’s no such thing ever as a happy ending; we just want there to be.
The cast: Alia Bhatt is no short of perfect for the role of Kaira – a young girl who is juggling between her professional life and the people that she’s involved with in her personal life. There is the charm of love, grief of loss and passion of profession.
Kaira is confused but willing to keep going forward and learning new things about Zindagi. What works with the script is it’s complexity, even though that isn’t always a good thing. The movie isn’t a stand-still, it makes amends but also pushes back; just finding the right balance of how we find ‘the right one’ who in fact isn’t what we had hoped for, thus we part ways and go back to circle one – again to find that ‘right one’.
source: YT / Sony Music India
Amidst these kayos of life, Kaira meets up with a psychologist to find some perspective in life, and there steps in – Jehangir Khan (Shah Rukh Khan).
For some and as it was for me – the movie can very easily be broken down into 1) pre Jehangir Khan and 2) post Jehangir Khan, with the latter half more to my preference as the first half is rather slowish and can leave a section of the audience confused for some consistent storyline.
Shah Rukh Khan as Jehangir Khan gives the movie some much needed mature vibe to it – which up till the end of first half is missing as there was the understandable immaturity and impulsiveness of the way with which youth can react at times – which is portrayed through the role of Kaira.
Dialogue/Direction : The movie highlights how we tend to share our body problems with people but we resist from telling anyone about our mental problems – something that is quite prevalent in our society. Shinde does well as a director to bring together this complicated part of our life into the movie and merge it with the storyline that struggles for pace in the first half.
The dialogues written also by Gauri Shinde work wonders, especially in the sequences of Shah Rukh Khan and Ali Bhatt – in just a matter of few words, a relationship is established and that is testimony to how strong the performances from these 2 actors is – the age difference works with the characters that these 2 play. Showcasing maturity of a 40+ psychologist in Shah Rukh and the impulsiveness of Alia Bhatt as a 20+ girl is what makes Dear Zindagi come together.
With a different take on life – relationships- won and relationships-lost, we give Dear Zindagi a 3.5/5.
Does Jehangir Khan actually help Kaira find the lost perspective in life or was she ever really lost? Dear Zindagi explores how life is uncertain and why being unafraid of what’s to come is the best policy to move forward – it’s a movie that explores relationships, practicality of thinking and the will to live life to the fullest – it’s just the perspective of how you see life that matters.
Box Office Verdict
We predict 100cr+ business.
Dear Zindagi is a HIT.
The only hurdle in it’s way was the current demonetization, which could’ve resulted in reducing the rushes outside cinema theaters BUT the opening weekend proves that it won’t be so – with Rs32 crore on opening weekend, it doesn’t seem even Demonization can stop Dear Zindagi from being a huge blockbuster hit.
source: YT / Sony Music India
Dear Zindagi is a movie about a girl in her 20’s who has opted for an unconventional profession in life, that of – Cinematography. The life of this 20 something old girl portrayed in the movie can at times feel a tad different from the average girl in her 20’s we come across every day, but there are a few cinematic liberties that are to be taken, though Gauri Shinde does but doesn’t go overboard with them. The audience develops a connection with Dear Zindagi. But there’s always more to a character than just simple observations. That’s what Dear Zindagi perfectly taps into.
