Dear Zindagi

Dear Zindagi will resonate with the name Alia Bhat. She is the centre of the film and how? All of 23 Alia gives a pleasant yet gripping performance which flows through like the ripples created when you throw a stone in the pond. The ripples spread throughout the water body creating a beautiful visual effect of concentric circles that soothes your senses. We all feel incomplete in our relationships with parents which eventually have an impact on other relationships. The parent child relationship is the core of all our relationships and the rest of our relationships through our life are dependent on how strong, weak, fulfilled or unfulfilled our relationship was with our parents.

            Gauri narrates this story of any ordinary person in an extraordinary way through Kiara’s life. She relates the relationships of Kiara (Alia) with her parents and the aftermath of the incidents in her childhood. How the need for love and unfulfilled emotions of a small child show up in her connections with other human beings after growing up. How all of us carry heavy baggage of the mistakes our parents made into most of our adult life and how by letting it go we can create new dimensions in all of our relationships. It reminds me of a phenomenal program I participated in, which transformed my life. The program made me feel light though I weigh over 80 kgs. I won’t elaborate more for it is a different topic.

                                        

              Coming back to the film, the simple dialogues, casual acting of the youth in the film and the story line give a sense of comfort and can be related to easily. Shah Rukh overacts again or maybe it’s just his style. He holds back a bit too much as he delivers philosophical gyan which are highly intonated and pronounced in British accent. Am sure at least a few of those wise quotes are his own creations. The film tends to get boring but the strength of the story and scene sequences pull you through the life of Koko. A good watch if you don’t mind a laid back and casual experience. But if you are looking for drama and action then you should think again.

Rating – 3 /5