DEAR ZINDAGI:- SIMPLE, REALISTIC, OUTSTANDING
From the time the 1st teaser of this movie came up, it seemed unusual& different. When you read the name of Gauri Shinde at the end of the teaser, you ought to have certain level of expectations given the brilliance of her previous flick "English Vinglish".
Well, Dear Zindagi is simple& slow, yet hits you& makes you believe that life is what it is, don't be too hard on yourself, try to find solutions& understand others.
Kaira(Alia Bhatt), dealing with some issues in personal life, makes a visit to a psychoanalyst Dr. Jehangir Khan(Shahrukh Khan)& that propels to a change which leads to the betterment of life.
Each& every person has their special ones in their life with whom they can share anything& everything; Kaira also has a few namely Fatima(Ira Dubey)& Jackie(Yashaswini Dayama). They lend a superb support to Kaira throughout the movie.
Kaira is a cinematographer looking for her big break. She stays in Mumbai& then, we move to Goa where her family resides.
Dialogues, learning& performances are the biggest strengths of this movie. The pace of the movie is slow& it stays same throughout, which is what was the need of the hour.
You might have had some problems in past, but it shouldn't hold you back now. You ought to remove fear, not be too hard on yourself& love the way you are.
Gauri Shinde has gone even better than English Vinglish& has come up with a brilliant take on life& it's problems; writing& direction is superb. Cinematography by Laxman Utekar& editing by Haimanti Sarkar are commendable.
Dialogues are brilliant. Some of my top picks would be:- 1. Don't let your past blackmail your present into ruining a beautiful future. 2. Genius is not the one who has all the answers but the one who has patience for all the answers. 3. Genius is the one who knows when to stop.
There are plenty more, watch it in theatre to know more about it.
Thinking about parents from the viewpoint of 2 individuals, choosing an easy path isn't bad& many more are the learnings that we get from this movie. Also, there's a brilliant take about relationships& having perfect people for different purposes;that was a much needed& excellent take on relationships.
Coming to the performances, Alia Bhatt as Kaira has surpassed her outstanding performance in Highway which speaks volumes of her capability& talent. The way she portrays emotions, mess, happiness, love& all with remarkable ease is terrific. Shahrukh Khan as Dr. Jehangir Khan lends the perfect support to Kaira, his acting felt natural& he looked cool as well. Ira Dubey was good too but Yashaswini Dayama as Jackie was someone who impressed me a lot. She looked cute& acted brilliantly, would love to see more of her in upcoming movies.
One more thing, whole movie has subtitles in English, now that's a rarity! It's an observing& talkative film, you need lot of patience& involvement to get fully attached to it. I feel that ones going for mere entertainment might not like this simple yet heavy movie, while those going for excellent cinema will cherish this Gauri Shinde flick for sure.
All in all, Dear Zindagi is a refreshing take on life, it's problems& how to change a bit to counter them. I will rate it 4.25/5.
