Cast:
Shahrukh
Khan,
Alia
Bhatt,
Kunal
Kapoor,
Angad
Bedi,
Ali
Zafar,
Aditya
Roy
Kapur
Director:
Gauri
Shinde
Producers:
Gauri
Shinde,
Karan
Johar,
Gauri
Khan,
Apoorva
Mehta
Writer:
Gauri
Shinde
What's
Yay:
Alia
Bhatt,
Shahrukh
Khan,
Direction,
Cinematography,
Songs
What's
Nay:
Sluggish
pace
of
the
narrative,
a
couple
of
stray
notes
here
and
there
Popcorn
Refill:
Strictly
interval
as
you
need
to
be
totally
engrossed
in
the
film
to
connect
to
what's
unravelling
on
the
screen.
The
Iconic
Moment:
Dear
Zindagi
has
many
defining
moments.
But
for
me,
Alia's
breakdown
scene
and
the
one
where
she
confesses
her
feelings
for
'Jugs'
SRK
are
a
complete
show-stealer.
Plot:
Kiara
aka
Koko
(Alia
Bhatt)
is
a
cinematographer
who
aspires
to
make
her
own
full
length
feature
film
someday.
While
the
young
girl
is
quite
clear
about
her
ambitions
and
dreams,
her
love
life
has
an
altogether
different
story
to
tell!
Kiara
ends
her
relationship
with
Sid
(Angad
Bedi)
after
confessing
to
him
about
her
fling
with
her
film-maker
friend
Raghuvendra
(Kunal
Kapoor)
while
they
were
in
Singapore
for
a
shoot.
She
is
totally
smitten
by
Raghuvendra
but
suddenly
lands
up
with
confused
feelings
when
the
latter
suggests
that
they
should
get
serious
about
their
relationship.
Further,
things
take
an
ugly
turn
and
the
two
decide
to
part
ways.
Kiara's
world
comes
crashing
down
as
she
continues
to
battle
with
serious
commitment
issues
and
her
life
choices
and
decisions.
A
troubled
Kiara
zooms
off
to
Goa
on
her
parents' insistence
to
shoot
a
video
for
a
hotel
owned
by
a
family
friend.
However,
this
trip
turns
out
to
be
a
life-changing
experience
for
her
when
she
encounters
a
psychologist,
Dr.
'Jugs'
Jehangir
Khan
at
a
conference
on
mental
health
and
awareness.
Impressed
by
his
unorthodox
thoughts,
Kiara
starts
taking
counselling
lessons
from
him
to
face
her
inner
demons.
Meanwhile,
life
gives
her
another
chance
to
fall
in
love
when
she
comes
across
a
handsome
musician-singer
named
Rumi
(Ali
Zafar).
Sparks
flow
but
Kiara
still
has
some
questions
in
life
unanswered.
Will
Jugs'
therapy
sessions
make
her
reveal
her
deep
secret
and
help
her
in
embracing
emotions
in
their
flawed
form?
Direction:
Let
me
begin
this
by
saying
that
if
you
are
looking
out
for
some
formulaic
story,
then
Dear
Zindagi
is
not
your
cup
of
tea.
Instead,
it
is
a
beautiful
compilation
of
phases
of
every
struggling
youngster
and
their
never-ending
issues
in
life.
Gauri
Shinde's
latest
offering
is
a
tale
that's
totally
relevant
in
today's
times.
It
deals
with
love,
hatred,
friendship,
jealousy,
insecurity
and
a
lot
of
other
things.
Sadly,
the
director
fails
to
whip
up
a
perfect
concoction
of
these
elements
and
instead,
delivers
a
remedy
that
just
falls
short
of
being
the
perfect
solution.
At
a
run
time
of
about
two
and
a
half
hours,
the
film
might
test
your
patience
if
you
fail
to
connect
with
it.
The
plot
drags
at
a
few
points
and
becomes
a
tad
boring.
However,
the
crackling
one
liners
and
light-hearted
dialogues
make
sure
to
comfort
you
in
this
not-so-smooth
ride.
One
needs
to
have
a
keen
eye
for
detailing
to
understand
why
Gauri
chooses
to
focus
on
the
mundane
day-to-day
activities
of
her
characters
to
make
her
point.
Dear
Zindagi
doesn't
match
up
the
brilliance
of
English
Vinglish
in
terms
of
story-telling
and
execution
but
it
does
manage
to
warm
the
cockles
of
your
heart
and
make
you
teary-eyed
in
a
scene
or
two.
Acting:
Alia
Bhatt
may
have
chosen
a
safe
Bollywood
debut
way
back
in
2010
in
the
form
of
Student
Of
The
Year.
But
the
young
girl
has
never
developed
a
cold
feet
when
it
comes
to
experimenting
with
her
roles
in
her
later
films.
After
Udta
Punjab,
she
is
back
with
yet
another
applause-worthy
performance
in
Dear
Zindagi
which
might
strangely
give
you
a
déjà
vu
of
her
Highway
act.
Alia
is
totally
in
sync
with
her
character
and
wears
it
like
the
second
skin.
She
gets
the
emotions
bang
on
and
you
laugh
and
cry
with
her.
Alia's
Kiara
may
be
impulsive,
wears
a
tough
exterior
and
is
vulnerable
when
it
comes
to
her
boyfriends
(chairs)
as
she
finds
none
of
them
comfortable
enough
to
sit
for
a
long
time.
But
beneath
this
mess,
deep
down
she
is
a
scared
girl
with
a
not-so-happy
childhood,
finding
it
difficult
to
love
and
cope
up
with
abandonment
issues.
Watch
out
for
the
scene
of
her
emotional
outburst
at
her
parents
and
that
of
her
last
meeting
with
'Jugs'!
Coming
next
to
the
most
important
character,
'Jugs'
Jehangir
Khan
played
by
Shahrukh
Khan.
We
have
grown
up
watching
the
superstar
serenade
his
leading
ladies
in
the
Swiss
Alps,
spread
his
arms
in
the
yellow-mustard
fields
and
tell
us
that
'pyaar
dosti
hai'.
However,
Dear
Zindagi's
Jugs
doesn't
do
any
of
these
things.
Instead,
he
and
his
young
patient
play
kabaddi
with
the
sea
waves
on
the
beach
to
decode
life.
So,
unlike
SRK
we
have
seen
so
far,
isn't
it?
But
that's
exactly
what
comes
off
as
a
refreshing
change.
This
time,
he
has
some
serious
life
lessons
to
teach
and
leaves
us
pondering
over
several
thoughts
that
may
have
never
even
crossed
our
minds
until
now.
Nevertheless,
his
raffish
charm
and
that
dimpled
smile
still
makes
us
skip
a
heart-beat!
Kunal
Kapoor
and
Angad
Bedi
churn
up
a
dishy
act,
Ali
Zafar
will
make
your
hearts
flutter
and
oh,
there's
a
bit
of
Aditya
Roy
Kapur
too!
(Sorry,
we
ain't
telling
you
anything
about
him.
*winks*)
Ira
Dubey
and
Yashwasini
Dayama,
who
play
Alia's
besties
are
at
their
effervescent
best.
Other
Technical
Aspects:
Gauri
Shinde's
writing
needed
to
be
crispier
and
a
bit
easy
on
the
preachy
part.
Laxman
Utekar's
breezy
cinematography
is
a
visual
treat
as
he
takes
you
on
an
enjoyable
ride
of
small
lanes
and
the
tempting
beaches
of
Goa
through
his
lenses.
One
wished
that
Hemanti
Sarkar's
editing
scissors
could
have
been
a
bit
sharper!
Music:
Jasleen
Royal's
husky
vocals
in
Love
You
Zindagi
makes
up
for
a
soothing
hearing.
Just
Go
To
Hell
Dil
is
for
the
heart-broken
souls
whereas
Tu
Hi
Hai
has
a
catchy
vibe.
Verdict:
There's
a
scene
in
the
film
where
SRK's
Jugs
says
to
Kiara,
"Bachpan
mein
jab
rona
aata
hai....toh
bade
kehate
hain...ansu
pocho..Jab
gussa
aaata
hai..Toh
hum
bade
kehate
hain...Give
us
a
smile...Taki
ghar
ki
shanti
bani
rahe...Nafrat
karna
chahate
hain
toh...Izazat
nahi
di..Tab
jab
hum
pyaar
karna
chahte
hain...toh
pata
chalta
hai
ki
...sara
emotional
system
hi
gadbada
gaya..kam
nahi
kar
rah
hai...It
cannot
function."
That
pretty
much
sums
up
Dear
Zindagi
for
you.
Go
for
it
if
you
seek
some
comfort
food
with
some
philosophical
ingredients
in
it!