By Murtaza Ali Khan
Featured in IMDb Critic Reviews
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| Dear Zindagi (2016) - By Gauri Shinde |
Dear Zindagi is a beautiful film about life and its endless joys. The film is a reminder that life is a gift that's meant to be celebrated to the fullest and yet we so often let our past plague our present and in effect destroy our future. It urges us to introspect and look for solutions to the life's problems not outside but within ourselves. While Gauri Shinde tries her best to avoid clichés, Dear Zindagi, at the end of the day, is a commercial Bollywood offering and has plenty of Bollywood-esque elements. Yet it is like a breath of fresh air in that it is able to think beyond the notion of a marital union as the perfect closure. Here is a rare mainstream Hindi film that completely revolves around a female protagonist with the male characters merely appearing in supporting roles.
Shah Rukh Khan aka SRK is one of those rare superstars who don’t feel insecure by his co-actors. As a matter of fact, many of his costars have gone on the record to say how helpful and supportive SRK has been to them. It is well know that SRK prefers to have his name preceded by his heroine's in the credits. In comparison to films of other major actors, women in SRK's movies have an equal footing. The women roles are not only well-defined and powerful but they also get equal screen-time. SRK’s films have provided perfect launch pad to industry’s leading actresses like Deepika Padukone and Anushka Sharma. This has been because Shah Rukh Khan is confident about himself as an actor.
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| Alia Bhatt as Kaira in Dear Zindagi |
Some of SRK’s best films with
important female characters are Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Om Shanti Om, Chennai Express, Paheli,
Devdas, and Dil To Pagal Hai. It
would be quite apt to add Dear Zindagi
to this list. It's heartening to see a young actress like Alia trying so hard
to step out of her comfort zone. Shah Rukh Khan is superb in the role of an
uber-cool shrink. Here again SRK chooses to play the second fiddle. It is
difficult to imagine this from another performer of his stature as far as Hindi
cinema is concerned. The viewers are yet again treated to SRK's perennial
charm.
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| SRK as Doctor Jehangir Khan in Dear Zindagi |
The chemistry that SRK shares
with Alia is delightful to watch. Alia’s vulnerability and innocence serve as
the perfect foil for SRK’s wisdom and quick-wit. One can go one for hours
watching and listening to the two of them discuss the meaning of life. It
seldom happens that one ends up paying more attention to the dialogue than the
majestic Goan landscapes. Credit to Gauri Shinde and team for getting it right
in the writing department! While Alia
plays a young cinematographer named Kaira in the movie, SRK plays a seasoned psychologist
named Jehangir Khan. Dear Zindagi
teaches us to enjoy the little moments in life. It encourages us to bury the
past and move ahead with a clear head so that we don’t end up ruining both are
present and the future. “Everything
that's broken can be unbroken,” asserts Jehangir Khan. The movie encourages
us to know ourselves better so that others can’t dictate our lives. “If we don't take control of our life’s
steering wheel then someone else will sit on it and begin to take control of
things,” adds Khan. As unconventional as they may sound, these mantras serve
as important lessons. Dear Zindagi is
perhaps the first Bollywood film since Taare Zameen Par that tries to explore the parent-child relationship. The film also touches upon delicate subjects
like parental partiality towards the male child and gender inequality at large.
Overall, Dear Zindagi is a modern, upbeat film about life that’s both
entertaining as well as thought-provoking. The movie doesn’t eschew from asking
the difficult questions. The movie’s USP is the unique pairing of SRK and Alia.
It is what makes Dear Zindagi tick. While Alia plays her complex character with
great conviction, SRK makes his charismatic screen presence felt while playing
a part that a lesser performer may have easily goofed up. It is heartening to
see the superstar take up bigger and newer challenges—something that has been
the hallmark of his stellar film career. SRK and Alia are well backed up by the
movie’s supporting cast. Kunal Kapoor deserves a special mention here. It is good
to see him star in major film after a long time. The film is beautifully shot
by Laxman Utekar and Amit Trivedi’s music breathes life into it. Dear Zindagi is targeted at
multiplex (read anglophone) audiences and may not succeed in wooing the single screen audiences
in the same capacity, but it should do well in the Metro, Tier I, and Tier II
cities.
Rating: 7.5/10
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| A Still from Gauri Shinde's Dear Zindagi |
Rating: 7.5/10
Readers, please feel free to share your opinion by leaving your comments. As always your valuable thoughts are highly appreciated!
References:
Dear Zindagi Take 3 (YouTube)
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Nice review. Here is a more in-depth review about Dear Zindagi which I found.
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