A Potpourri of Vestiges Review
By Murtaza Ali Khan
Readers, please feel free to share your opinion by leaving your comments. As always your valuable thoughts are highly appreciated!
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| Sushant Singh Rajput in a still from Dil Bechara |
Returning to Los Angeles
after a 20-year self-imposed exile to accept his honorary award at the 1972
Oscars, Charlie Chaplin had famously said, “Thank you so much. This is an
emotional moment for me and words seem so futile, so feeble... I can only say
that... thank you for the honor of inviting me here…” I went through a similar
emotion last night while watching Sushant Singh Rajput’s final film Dil Bechara.
It was really some event. While everyone wanted to see the film on the big
screen but COVID-19 restrictions made it impossible and so the movie premiered
on the streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar which to its credit ensured that it became
available to both subscribers as well as non-subscribers. Directed by Mukesh
Chhabra, the film is an adaptation of John Green’s popular novel, The Fault In Our Stars.
Now, we all know how deeply
Sushant Singh Rajput’s tragic death has impacted the Indian people living all
across the globe. So as soon as the movie premiered online last evening the
user ratings on the film’s IMDb’s page began to swell. The film currently has a
staggering rating of 9.8/10. A bunch of the so called fair people isn’t too pleased
with this. They feel that the film is getting an unfair advantage over other ‘better’
films out of sheer sympathy. To be frank, I really pity all those who are
asking others to be rational while rating Dil Bechara. I mean how someone can
be so mean, inconsiderate, and cruel. A supremely talented individual has left
us forever and these individuals are concerned about ratings. So, I have made
of conscious choice that at the end of this review I will not be rating the
film.
Coming to the film’s storyline,
it follows Kizie Basu (essayed by debutante Sanjana Sanghi), who is battling
with thyroid cancer, and Immanuel Rajkumar Junior aka Manny (essayed by Sushant
Singh Rajput), who has previously suffered from osteosarcoma (a type of cancer
that affects the bones) and is in remission. The two gradually bond over his
love for Rajnikanth’s movies and her love for the recluse indie musician Abhimanyu
Veer’s songs. While Manny wants to make a film with his friend JP (brilliantly portrayed by Sahil Vaid), who is
suffering from eye cancer, inspired by Rajinikanth's films, Kizie wants to
unravel the mystery behind the incomplete song by Abhimanyu Veer. So, Kizie
helps Manny by starring as the female lead in their film and Manny helps her by
tracking down Abhimanyu Veer who now lives in Paris. So they decide to go to
Paris and get the song completed but even before they could travel to Paris,
Kizie’s health begins to deteriorate. Will Manny succeed in fulfilling his promise
to Kizie? Will their platonic friendship shape up into something more intimate?
Well, you better find it out for yourself! For, I think we owe that much to Sushant for entertaining us all these years.
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| Suhshant Singh Rajput and Sanjana Sanghi in a still from Dil Bechara |
What’s most remarkable about
Sushant’s performance in the film is his physical transformation. He really
looks like a 24-year-old boy. I can only imagine the kind of efforts he would
have put in to get his body ready for the movie. Also, I must say that his dancing
prowess fully comes to the fore in the film’s title track, sung and composed by none other than A R Raman himself. The song video is directed by veteran choreographer Farah Khan. Sushant
shows such great poise and remarkable flexibility and makes it absolutely
breathtaking to watch. Sushant’s energy and brilliant use of space in the song
video would surely remind many viewers of a young Shah Rukh Khan.
Dil Bechara features a bunch
of solid performances. It’s only befitting that Sushant gets takes the maximum limelight
throughout the film. It’s impossible to take one’s eyes off him. He comes
across as very natural in the dramatic scenes. While his comic timing isn't bad
by any means, whenever he is doing an intense scene he is really at his best.
There is a beautiful scene which he shares with the veteran Bengali actor Saswata
Chatterjee (best known for playing the serial killer Bob Biswas in Sujoy Ghosh’s
Kahaani). It may very well be the finest moment of Sushant’s short but
formidable film career. Then there are many others wherein Sushant looks really
wonderful. Here I must mention a scene which he shares with Saif Ali Khan who
plays the musician Abhimanyu Veer. Since it’s the only scene that Saif has in
the film it must be owned by him.
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| Sail Ali Khan in a still from Dil Bechara |
Now, I remember talking to
Om Raut ahead of the release of Tanhaji and he told me that there was only
condition that Saif put in front of him before accepting the part of Udaybhan.
All he wanted was three scenes in the entire film that he completely owns. Raut
told me that he gave him a lot more than that. Coming back to the scene in Dil
Bechara, it was only natural that the scene had to be only about Saif as
otherwise why he would do the film (remember, his part is not billed as a guest
appearance in the film’s end credits). And, so, it is indeed all about Saif. And,
yet, Sushant, in all his earnestness, still manages to steal it by ensuring
that between the two of them they manage to elevate it above the material. As
for Sanjana Sanghi, she is believable for the most part. But, frankly, a debut performance
is expected to do a little more than that. I am sure she will get more
opportunities to showcase her talents in the near future.
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| After interviewing Tanhaji director Om Raut earlier this year |
Overall, Dil Bechara is a
kind of a film that will make most people nostalgic. It will also make many
people cry. But, above all, it will serve as a timeless memorabilia for anyone
and everyone who wants to experience firsthand the brilliance of an enormously
talented individual who was far ahead of his time and who left the world too
soon. The world of cinema will forever be indebted to Sushant Singh Rajput for
bringing to life diverse and deeply humanistic characters such as Ishaan Bhatt
(Kai Po Che!), Sarfaraz Yousuf (PK), Lakhan "Lakhna" Singh (Sonchiriya),
Mansoor Khan (Kedarnath), Aniruddh "Anni" Pathak (Chhichhore), and
Manny (Dil Bechara), among others, through his honest, gritty, heartfelt, compelling,
and transformative performances. Make sure you don't miss the lovely tribute to Sushant from Mukesh Chhabra and team in film's end credits.
Readers, please feel free to share your opinion by leaving your comments. As always your valuable thoughts are highly appreciated!
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