It was the year 2016 and I was thoroughly excited to watch Dear Zindagi in theaters. The movie caught my attention mainly because it was released at a time when mental health was (and remains) a taboo topic. Dear Zindagi, starring Alia Bhatt and Shah Rukh Khan in the lead roles is a Hindi film that remains close to my heart. The Gauri Shinde directorial remains one of the most appreciated films in recent decades. Here’s why I think you should watch Dear Zindagi if you haven’t yet!
Dear Zindagi: 5 Reasons To Watch This Endearing Drama
It Talks About Mental Health Sensitively
For those who don’t know it yet, the protagonist Kiara, played by Alia Bhatt, is shown going through tumultuous phases in her life. Be it her career, love life, or a general anxiety of navigating through adulthood, Kiara is shown having a tough time balancing everything in her life. As she is evicted by her landlord, she hesitatingly returns back to her parents in Goa. It is here that she seeks out therapy sessions with Dr. Jehangir (Shah Rukh Khan).
Director Gauri Shinde has done an excellent job at talking about mental health issues without making it sound too preachy or out of the place. The movie deals with issues like childhood trauma, toxic parenting, commitment issues, relationship problems, and anxiety in a sensitive way. As a therapist, Jehangir guides and helps her out identify her problems, ultimately helping her find her own identity.
Goa Acts As A Parallel Protagonist
While a majority of the first half of the movie features Mumbai, the second half completely shifts to Goa as Kiara shifts back to her parents’ home. Even though the movie is about Kiara and her dilemmas, the movie silently pays a heartfelt tribute to Goa. Director Gauri Shinde does an excellent job at portraying the landscapes of Goa in the most picturesque ways. Be it the colorful lanes or the pristine beaches, each frame in the movie feels like a love letter to Goa.
In fact, the movie did such a good job at portraying Goa through a feminine gaze that there is an entire road named after the movie! Yes, you heard it right! The Parra Road – lined with palm trees on both sides has been featured in the movie and several promotional materials of the movie. The impact of the movie was so much that the road became an overnight tourist hotspot for eager tourists visiting Goa. Today, you’ll find heaps of tourists stopping by on the road to get their pictures clicked here!
The Movie Is Progressive At Its Core
Not a lot of Hindi movies deal with topics that Dear Zindagi managed to shed light on. Topics such as toxic parenting, same-sex relationships, and mental health are not things that the Indian society is still used to talking about in the open. While times are changing and more and more people are educating themselves about these topics, the movie managed to get a lot of people actively talking about these ‘taboo’ topics.
The movie could’ve easily only focused on the protagonist’s emotional journey, however, it deliberately touches upon taboo topics in an attempt to normalize them in the society. While we can’t accurately measure the impact it had, it certainly got a lot of people to come out and discuss these topics in the open.
It Portrays Realistic And Relatable Characters
Bollywood is notoriously known for its often inaccurate depictions of its lead characters, often presenting them in a larger-than-life manner. The protagonist is often shown as an ideal person and puts them on a pedestal. Gauri Shinde, with her thoughtful writing, drags down her protagonist from the pedestal of perfection and writes her ‘imperfectly’. It is this imperfection that makes Kiara way more relatable than most female characters in recent times.
Kiara is not the most ideal girl you’ll see. She is shown having plenty of imperfections. However, the movie does an excellent job at telling us that we need not abandon our imperfections to chase a perfect life – instead, we must embrace the very imperfections that define us. Other characters in her life have also been written in a realistic manner, with each of them being flawed in their own way. No one is completely right or wrong in the movie – because that is how everyone is in real life as well. And Dear Zindagi nails at understanding this aspect of human life.
A Strong Woman At The Center Of It All
While there have been plenty of movies that feature a woman as the solo lead, Dear Zindagi is one of the few movies of the 2010s that does a commendable job at showcasing a woman in her most authentic way. This is mainly because Kiara is a character written by a woman – Director Gauri Shinde. The details that a woman writer can capture in her protagonist is something a male writer can never achieve, no matter how hard he tries.
The movie features a woman at the center of its universe – she’s the one taking charge of her life and she’s the one going through it all. It is one of the few movies to feature a deeply complex and well-written female protagonist – a rare feat in Hindi cinema.
Mostly, Hindi films (and other regional films as well) tend to reduce their female characters to mere caricatures – they’re either an ideal woman, the vamp, or an eye candy. Often, they don’t even add much value to the plot. However, Dear Zindagi does not go that way and instead puts a complex, flawed, and relatable female character carrying the film on her own shoulders.
Summing Up
The coming-of-age drama turned out to be a commercial and critical success and remains to be one of the most loved films in recent times. Both Alia Bhatt and Shah Rukh Khan manage to do a commendable job playing their characters, and it is their performance that elevates the film to a whole new level. Watch the film for its power-packed performances, impactful storyline, breathtaking cinematography, and effective dialogues. I’m sure the film will manage to comfort you – like a warm hug when you’re at your lowest.
