review of 'dear zindagi' : There is a kaira in all of us.

We ignore her, we suppress her. We are frightened to expose our innermost demons to the people around us, we fear being branded as mad, and we want to hide the kaira side of us. We fail to acknowledge that tears and stupid fears are part of the life process of every individual in varied measures. She as an upset angry quirky woman relates to every one of us at some point of time during the 120 minutes.


She talks about her various relationships without an iota of shame or guilt, which is so unlike the pious holier than thou image of  bollywood divas. She falls in and out of many quick hasty relationships and discusses about the men in her life and makes us embrace the upper-middle class, young Indian woman as a surviving breathing sexual being.

And the turning point of the movie is when she realizes that there is something not so right in her, which is leading to a series of break ups, and she decides to see a dimag ka doctor to asses her mental health There walks in the sauve handsome therapist dr Jehangir khan. SRK personally brings charm to the character; dr.jehangir khan as charmingly underplayed by him is his best role after kabir khan of chak de India

The therapist becomes her professional friend and they develop a working relationship. he brings in empathy and understanding to her failing relations ,   he bends some  rules and takes her for outdoor sessions like a  walk around the block , playing on the beach with waves , cycling all as a part of  the  therapy... and the song  in the background is unobtrusive  to the narrative and moreover makes it cool to see a therapist . He makes her voice her fears, concerns, worries, triumphs and celebrations, a trust is built and it slowly leads to her emotional release. He picks the pieces of her from her past and meticulously stitches them together.  He presents to her the reasons for the way she is, and helps her see her past as a third person.

One should watch this movie to come to an understanding with oneself that we are all born in situations and circumstances not created by us. The experiences we had in childhood should not skew us in any particular rigid way.  It is absolutely normal to go Out and seek help , talk to a trusted friend or an expert counselor or a qualified therapist , who can analyse us and present to us the emotional blockades, help us release them , flush them .

Gaurie shinde presented a mirror to us, exposing the vulnerable, attention seeking, loving, failing, falling, rising, and caring people we are. This movie scores above English vinglish as it actually addresses some serious problems in today’s world, and it is more real than fiction.

Alia Bhatt, here is the same flawless Alia Bhatt of highway and udta punjab and is effortlessly kaira. SRK relegates himself to backseat giving all the more space for alia to excel. The casting makes us feel as if Gaurie Shinde scripted it with only alia and SRK in mind. With all its frailties this qualifies as a perfect one time must watch movie.

Sangeeta Reddy
Director
Reddy healthcare pvt ltd
Siliguri
rita_reporter@rediffmail.com