Tuesday, November 29, 2016

Dear Zindagi - Movie Review

Gauri Shinde was draw number 1 for me. Then the stars. The title was slightly off putting but I can manage. What I like about Gauri Shinde is that she gets us back into those old and familiar spaces at home - not too happily all the time but certainly by the end of it all. It's mostly about good people who stay in their spaces and readjust to small inconveniences and get back to normal lives with a hint of better things to come.

Kaira (Alia Bhatt) is doomed from the start. The talented cinematographer has a string of failed romances, a career teetering on the border of could-be-great or could fail-without-being-noticed, landlords who disapprove of single women and a bunch of loser friends. She jumps into one relationship from another, has career issues linked to relationship issues, has home issues linked to relationship issues and has too many issues that finally don't let her sleep in her family's fabulous mansion in Goa. Enter slightly different psychologist Jehangir Khan (wears jeans and beard to conference) and he counsels her, makes jokes, tells stories, bicycle rides and repairs. Kaira gets an insight each time.

The movie makes a case for a therapist, counsellor, coach, mentor and does it well. Gauri stays inside the line and makes what is still a tabooish issue something everyone can use. If Alia can, I can. Jehangir Khan also makes it a nice experience so all's well and it ends well. Alia is brilliant as always. Shahrukh understated. The friends perfect. If I was Jehangir Khan I'd tell her to lose her friends fast and get on with her life. I'd also have coffee - after all I am not conventional. And it's not an affair. He's not Lebanese type either.

DZ is fun. Could have done without the singing star in the middle perhaps. All in all, gets the story together. My big plus - a good case for therapy and reaching out to perspective or just plain talking about the tough life in a lonely world. It's not a bad thing. Alexander did it. You could too. I wish the songs had been better.

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