I am a sucker for slice of life movies... especially the movies that are drawn from daily lives and a slow pace appeal me a lot. I believe I am one of the very few souls who enjoyed Karu. Palaniappan's "Pirivom Santhippom", which many people said that they watched the movie on 16X speed. Coming to 'Dear Zindagi', I feel that it is a beautiful movie from Indian cinema in recent times.... feel good, visually appealing yet offering something that you can take home.
Kaira is relatable to any sensitive individual irrespective of the gender, race or age. Even a 30 year old man can also identify with Kaira. Not only the genes, but also the childhood experiences shape an individual and a child's mind is sensitive whether it is a boy or girl. And.. relationships are so complex and made further complicated as years pass by. All of us mess in the relationships at some point of time and later learn from the past. Some doesn't get it right at the adulthood also and Kaira is one such girl who has problems with her parents, love life and career.
Most of us dread the thought of visting the psychiatrist / therapist because we have this preconceived notion that only people with serious mental diseases visit the psychiatrists. So society tends to label anyone who visits the psychiatrists / therapists as insane or mentally unstable. 'Dear Zindagi' brings out the importance of maintaining the mental well being and the benefits of consulting a therapist to sort out the mental health.
Many people my dub 'Dear Zindagi' as a preachy sermon stuff but for those who understand the nuances of the life, it can be a refreshing experience. 'Dear Zindagi' may take cinematic liberties / over simplify the complications of life but it teaches a beautiful lesson - "Don't let the past blackmail the present and spoil the future". We should leave the emotional baggage then and there at the place / time they deserve to be dropped instead of carrying it all over the life. In one of my personal blogs I had mentioned about a similar incident in my life. So that could be a reason why 'Dear Zindagi' appealed to me.
Kaira's love life is quite messy / complicated that she falls in love with a person but she pulls herself back from the relationship without a sold reason. I too had written a blog on this and probably this is the another connect I had with this movie. Dr. Jehangir Khan, her therapist helps Kaira in bringing out the personal trauma behind this behaviour and it all traces back to her childhood where she felt that she was disowned by her parents when she needed their love and affection. She then settles for the love received from her grandparents but that happiness too didn't last long. These incidents make Kaira feel insecure about the life of a relationship. Once Kaira lets her past go, she addresses her life with love and that's why it is called as 'Dear Zindagi'.
The other personal reason why I loved this movie is for the locations it was shot on. Goa... a paradise on the earth and I had been there for 4 days and I realise why people throng to Goa. This place is far removed from the image it had created for itself. People think Goa is all about liqour, drugs, sex and nude bodies. But when I saw Goa for the first time, I felt that a gross injustice is being done to this place by the media, tourism and hospitality industry.
I even told my friend that if given a choice of any IT / Management related job here, I'll definitely take it up and settle down here. Those wonderful beaches, calm residential areas, lot of vacant plots & lakes, array of coconut trees on both sides of the roads... Goa is a place I would like to frequent again and again. Dear Zindagi manages to capture this part of Goa beautifully, so it is no wonder that I liked Dear Zindagi on visual level too. Cinematography by Laxman Utekar is so soothing and absorbs us into the movie fully.
Alia Bhatt proves that among her generation of actress she is miles ahead when it comes to acting prowess. Sharukh Khan is a delight to watch when he underplays his roles and play his age. Angad Bedi, Kunal Kapoor, Aditya Roy Kapoor and Emraan Abbas are nothing more than the male eye candies for Alia Bhatt. Good part that Bollywood is more open to the women centric movies and all of them doing well is a sign of maturity from audience part.
I love what I saw. If you are able to identify with even one point of what the protagonist Kaira undergoes through, then you'll love the movie. Else it will be an another multiplex affair of feel good cinema which didn't go beyond preaching about life.
