Movie Column
Best Bollywood Films of recent times – Part 6
By Dinesh Kamath
Dear Zindagi (2016) directed by
Gauri Shinde proved to be another one of the best films of recent times.
Dear Zindagi (lit. Dear Life) is a
2016 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age drama film written and directed by
Gauri Shinde. It was produced by Gauri Khan, Karan Johar, and Shinde under the
banners of Red Chillies Entertainment, Dharma Productions, and Hope Productions
respectively. The film features Alia Bhatt in the lead role, with Shah Rukh
Khan, Kunal Kapoor and Ali Zafar in supporting roles. The plot centres on a
budding cinematographer named Kaira, who is discontented with her life and
meets Dr. Jehangir, a free-spirited psychologist who helps her to gain a new
perspective on her life.
Development of the film began in
2015, when Shinde signed Bhatt and Shah Rukh Khan for a film to be made under
her banner. Principal photography took place in Goa and Mumbai, in the period
from 21 January to 20 May 2016. The film features a score composed by Amit
Trivedi and lyrics written mostly by Kausar Munir.
Dear Zindagi released on 23
November 2016 in North America, two days before its worldwide release on 25
November 2016, to commercial success and generally positive reviews. It
received a number of accolades at Bollywood award organisations, with
particular praise for Bhatt's and Khan's performances, direction, and film
score.
Kaira is a budding cinematographer
in search of a perfect life. Her encounter with Jug, an unconventional thinker,
helps her gain a new perspective on life. She discovers that happiness is all
about finding comfort in life's imperfections. In other words, A young,
20-something Kaira, an aspiring cinematographer, finds herself looking for
emotional support when she chances upon a psychologist, Dr. Jehangir Khan, who
helps her in her battle with her insecurities and vulnerabilities. A
20-something Kaira learns new ways of falling in love with herself and her life
after she chances upon Dr. Jehangir Khan, a psychologist, who helps her in
battling her insecurities and vulnerabilities.
Critical response
Suanshu Khurana and A. Kameshwari
of The Indian Express praised the music and respectively said, "A fresh
and enthusiastic set, with life's tales told in a breezy fashion. The album
lacks variance, yet, it manages to have many sparkling moments." and,
"Sensible and relatable songs making the album simplistic that
automatically gets registered at the back of your mind, a poetic version of our
exact feelings."
Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood
Hungama, rating the music album a 3 out of 5 stars, said that it was "a
series of situational songs that should sound good in the film's
narrative". Rinky Kumar of The Times of India rated 3 stars to the album,
saying, "this movie doesn't have songs that have a high recall
value".
Release
The film was released in Canada and
the USA on 23 November 2016, and worldwide on 25 November 2016. It opened in
about 1200 theatres nationwide and in 600 theatres in other countries. The film
also had a special screening on 23 November 2016 in Mumbai.
Box office
Dear Zindagi opened well in
multiplexes in Mumbai, Mysore, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, while in North India it
had a comparatively decent opening.
Dear Zindagi released earlier in
North America on account of the Thanksgiving weekend holidays. The film on its
first day collected Rs.1.19 crore from 127 screens in the United States and
Rs.8.29 lacs in Canada from 16 screens. In the extended two day, the film
collected about Rs,15.8 million at the North America box office.
The film earned a total of Rs.94.67
crore in India, grossing Rs.1392.9 million worldwide.
Critical response
A couple sitting on a chair in the
stage while the third man is standing at the back of them
Bhatt and Khan (sitting on a
furniture) received praise for their performances.
Dear Zindagi received mostly
positive response from critics. Audiences praised both Bhatt's and Khan's
performances.
India
Meena Iyer of The Times of India
gave the film a 3.5 (out of 5) rating, described Bhatt's character as
"feisty", praised Bhatt's and Khan's performances. Namrata Joshi of
The Hindu rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, noting that "the chemistry
between Bhatt and Khan makes the film sparkle despite the heavy-handed
writing". Ananya Bhattacharya of India Today, giving the same rating, said
that Dear Zindagi is "an emotional joyride which won't harm you when
watched once". She recommended to watch the film due to the performances
by its two principal actors. Mayank Shekhar of Mid Day also rated it 3 (out of
5) stars, saying: "This film, at its core, is conversational sort of
feature, but mostly quiet, even indoorsy."
Conversely, Rohit Bhatnagar writing
for Deccan Chronicle gave the film 2.5 out of 5 stars, and thought that the
film was "definitely a one time watch", and concluded, that the film
deserves a watch but "only for amazing performances and nothing
else". A reviewer for Bollywood Hungama giving the same rating to the film
commented that Dear Zindagi was "a slow-paced cerebral and contemporary
slice of life tale about the challenges today's generation of girls face in a
rapidly shifting landscape". Sweta Kaushal of Hindustan Times rated the
film 2 out of 5 stars, and wrote, "There is a lot of banter in the film
that is supposed to be deep and philosophical but is really just plain, hollow
banter", and concluded, that the film "could-have-been-amazing".
Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express gave it a negative review and summed up her
review by writing that the "film could have been a solid drama with
emotional heft but despite great performances by the two stars, the feature
remains strictly boiler-plate".
Overseas
On review aggregator Rotten
Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 75%, based on 12 reviews with an
average rating of 6.75/10.
Christine Iyer of The National
awarded the film 4 out of 5 stars, praised Khan's performance and said that he
"absolutely shines in the role of soft-spoken therapist Jehangir 'Jug'
Khan in this gentle drama by Gauri Shinde". Manjusha Radhakrishnan of Gulf
News rated the film 3.5 out of 5 stars and described the tale of Bhatt as
"joyously entertaining", and advised to "make a date with Dear
Zindagi." Anisha Jhaveri of IndieWire gave the film a grade of A minus,
and said that the film's plot had a "powerful message, that gives Dear
Zindagi its substance". Shilpa Jamkhandikar of Reuters negatively stated:
"The need to explain every moment and articulate every emotion pulls down
Dear Zindagi; even the brilliant chemistry between the two leads cannot salvage
the film from this fatal flaw". Andy Webster of The New York Times
described it an "insightful movie", and a "resounding
victory".
Shah Rukh Khan won Films of India
Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role and Amit Trivedi for Best Background
Score. The film won many nominations too.
Thus Dear Zindagi was one of the
great films of recent times.
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