Dear Zindagi Is Your Free Therapy Session With SRK & Alia

- June 24, 2021

Released in 2016, Gauri Shinde’s Dear Zindagi is a beautiful effort to remove the stigma around mental health & the hesitancy of people to seek professional help. The realization that not even a single film till 2016 (and even after 5 years since the movie came out) tried to normalize consulting a “dimag ka doctor” surprised me.

Does Bollywood not consider depression a real thing? Or does it believe that everything will be fine when you fall in love? If so, then Bollywood couldn’t be more wrong. However, a big thanks to Gauri Shinde for presenting the realistic story of Kaira (played by Alia Bhatt) on the silver screen.

Check out Dear Zindagi's teaser here!

Synopsis of the film

(Alia Bhatt) Kaira - a talented cinematographer in her mid-20s has to return to her hometown - Goa, due to some unfortunate turn of events in her life, because of which she has developed insomnia. During a promo shoot for a hotel, she listened to a humorous reply of Dr. Jehangir ‘Jug’ Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) – a psychologist, in a seminar on mental health awareness. Later as Kaira discovers herself and faces her fear of abandonment, we start to understand why she behaves so coldly and seems rude in the first half of the film. Jug (Shah Rukh Khan) with his unconventional methods was finally able to help Kaira the importance of self-love.

Alia’s acting was spot on and she made the viewers experience the journey of Kaira. You could literally feel the intensity of Kaira’s pain, anger, and confusion. Her chemistry with Shah Rukh Khan was just perfect. With every session, the viewers could know a little more about themselves along with the story. The contrast between an anxious Kaira & a cool, calming Jug was a delight to see. SRK’s presence in this film was a cherry on the cake. I even wonder whether I would have liked this movie this much if not for seeing SRK as Jug?

Favorite Dialogues

“Don’t let your past blackmail your present, to ruin your beautiful future.”

“Kabhi kabhi hum mushkil rasta sirf is liye chunte hai, kyun ki humein lagta hai, important cheezein paane ke liye humein mushkil rasta apnana chahiye. Apne aap ko punish karna bahut zaroori samajhte hai. But why? Aasaan rasta kyun nahi chun sakte? Kya burai hai us mein? Khaas karke jab us mushkil ka saamna karne ke liye hum taiyaar hi nahi hai!”

“Genius woh nahi hota jiske paas har sawaal ka jawab ho, Genius woh hota hai jiske paas har jawaab tak pahunchne ka patience ho!”

Parting Words

This movie ends with you feeling a bit more positive and more accepting of yourself. No matter how much love Dear Zindagi receives, it will always be an underrated film.

I highly recommend this movie. If you haven’t seen it (or watched it years ago), then you need to (re)watch it the upcoming weekend.

Do comment & share your views.