Review of Dear Zindagi

It's a very common situation that a new director makes his or her debut with a wonderful film with small budget and almost no stars then they got back up from big houses for their second outing and with the glamour and glitter of big budget and stars they finally lost the main ingredient the story which was their USP. Thankfully director Gauri Shinde has not been victim of this temptation. After winning everyone's heart with small but impressive film #EnglishVinglish she got backed up by Karan Johar as a producer and she also managed to afford big stars like Shahrukh Khan and Alia Bhatt. But fortunately she did not get carried away with all these rather she focused to tell a heart touching story which can connect with the audiences for its simplicity and authentic presentation.

It is a story of a young girl Kaira (Alia Bhatt) who is suffering from many mental disorders

just like any other modern girl of her age. She is insecure about her career as a cinematographer; she is unable to settle in a relationship. In addition to that she is going through the baggage of a disturbed childhood which affects her relationship with her parents. She is totally clueless with what to do with her life when she gets in touch with her DD (Dimaag Ka Doctor) Jehangir Khan aka Jug (Shahrukh Khan) who is a therapist for mental illness. Jug makes Kaira realize that how beautiful life can be and how we make it more complicated and painful. 

The story is very refreshing so is the screenplay though some people may find it a bit long. In the beginning it took little more than required time to introduce the main protagonist and her lifestyle but after almost 50 minutes once the therapy sessions between Dr. Khan and Kaira begins then you won't find any dull moment. And while saying about the story we must be thankful to the makers for bringing up such an important but mostly neglected topic of our society that is to be careful of our mental health. There is nothing to be shy to get open about mental illness and taking help of a specialist for that.

As a director Gauri Shinde is a genius, she has proved her calibre with her debut in

#EnglishVinglish and this time she has proved that it was not a onetime fluke rather it is her genuine talent. The best thing about her story telling is the simplicity which helps it to connect easily with the audiences and make it believable on screen. At this age of film making where every other filmmaker is in a race to enter in some 100cr clubs, Gauri Shinde still believes the story is the real hero of the film, not the larger than life production values. Also choosing Goa as the backdrop is commendable as this is a place which has not been used much in Hindi movies so it has given a fresh feel to it.

All the actors have been cast perfectly and the best has been delivered by none other thanAlia Bhatt. After #Highway it will be her second best role in her career. She is so natural in all her scene that you will feel sympathetic to her when she is sad and feel happy when she is happy. Her body language, style, talking everything is very much apt for her character which is of a modern day ambitious girl. In the emotional scene where she tells about her childhood she is just brilliant.

After #Fan once again Shahrukh Khan is playing a character which is very different from his romantic image of Rajs and Rahuls. Shahrukh Khan is always very impressive when he

gives advice someone in her public appearances and as Dr. Khan you will get that reflection in his acting. It is actually a supporting role and in spite of being a big star still he has chosen to do a supporting role to a much junior actresses, it shows how hungry he is for good roles as an actor. All his dialogues will impress you and even when he has no dialogue when he is just listening to Alia's character he is perfect in those scenes too with his reactions. And finally no matter he is romancing a girl on screen or not he always looks charming and adorable.

Among the supporting cast first we should talk about the guys who have been cast as Alia's boyfriend at different stages. The casting for these boys have been done very cleverly choosing actors who are good and charming but not so regular in movies so it would not have been very difficult to make them agree to do this small  roles and it has also helped to limit the budget. It’s very refreshing to see Kunal Kapoor on screen after a long time. He is good in his role. Ali Zafar has less time to perform than singing and when it comes to singing he is always good. Angad Bedi is good in one scene appearance.

Among the girls both Ira Duvet and Yashaswini R Dayama are fantastic as Kaira's best friends. Especially Ira Dubey is so good we wish to see her more.

Amit Trivedi's music is always different  but sounds good and here too there is no exception. #LoveYouZindagi is a very nice soulful track which will be with you even after the movie. #TuHiHai and #GoToHell are good songs and have been used well in the movie. The background score by Trivedi again is nice and soothing and maintains pace with the story.

Cinematographer Laxman Utekar has captured the natural beauty of Goa wonderfully. It is not the crowded beach side parties rather the calm and peaceful side of Goa. 

Overall it is a well made film which will surely connect with you. Watch it for the superb storytelling and brilliant performances. And also watch it to support the issue which it has addressed that is being healthy mentally which the need of the hour is.