A
rebellious
teenage
daughter
Kavita
of
a
traumatized
couple
doesn't
know
what
to
do
with
her
life.
So
she
takes
off
on
a
journey
away
from
home
with
a
lonely
neglected
but
brave
middle-aged
woman
to
Goa
where
Kavita
saves
turtles...and
herself.
Kavita
goes
home
redeemed.
We
are
not
so
sure
about
ourselves.
We
remain
partly
involved
with
largely
distanced
from
this
ambitious
but
flawed
look
at
life
through
the
eyes
of
teen
rebellion.
Director
Raja
Unnithan
has
his
heart
at
the
right
place.
He
creates
a
world
of
gossipy
aimlessness
sweaty
parties'
tacky
repartees
and,
ahem,
one-night
stands
for
Kavita.
But
the
words
sound
more
like
replications
of
the
emotional
outbursts
associated
with
the
generation
gap
rather
than
actual
situations
created
in
a
specific
crisis.
A
more
authentic
parent-child
crisis
would
be
the
one
in
Ayan
Mukerjee's
Wake
Up
Sid
or
better
still
the
television
soap
Ladies
Special
where
two
very
talented
actors
Shilpa
Tulaskar
and
Sandeep
Kulkarni
played
harassed
parents
grappling
with
a
rebellious
teenage
daughter.
We
empathized
with
their
helplessness.
In
Hello
Zindagi,
Neena
Gupta
and
Kanwaljeet
Singh
especially
the
latter
are
in
fine
form
as
Kavita's
parents.
The
writing
constantly
lets
all
the
actors
down.
The
one
performer
who
manages
to
hold
her
head
above
the
material
provided
is
Kitu
Gidwani,
Playing
the
dignified
unloved
but
outwardly
well-to-do
wife
Gidwani
epitomizes
grace
under
pressure.
Her
section
of
the
film
with
her
indifferent
though
not
cruel
husband
(Amit
Behl)
have
some
interesting
moments,
like
the
one
where
Gidwani
goes
into
the
kitchen
to
get
coffee
made
by
her
husband,
and
then
pours
it
quietly
down
the
sink.
Gidwani's
journey
to
Goa
with
the
rebellious
Kavita
is
charted
with
affection.
Very
rarely
do
we
get
to
see
a
movie
so
gentle
and
warm
about
female
bonding
over
differing
generations.
What
Kitu
Gidwani
shares
with
the
debutante
Mrunmayee
Lagoo
echoes
Jessica
Tandy's
bonding
with
Brudget
Fonda
in
Deepa
Mehta's
Camilla.
Except
that
Gidwani
and
the
girl
don't
go
skinny-dipping.
The
blackest
spot
in
the
film
is
its
lack
of
sexual
energy.
The
characters
are
almost
invariably
frigid
in
their
thoughts
and
desires.
A
thwarted
indecisiveness
runs
across
the
narrative-profile
rendering
the
characters
weak
and
unconvincing.
The
save-the-turtles
message
at
the
end
seems
forced.
Nonetheless
there's
enough
tenderness
and
warmth
in
the
relationships
shared
by
Mrunmayee
with
her
screen-dad
Kanwaljeet
and
with
Kitu
Gidwani
to
make
the
film
worth
a
watch.
Hello
Zindagi
doesn't
bowl
you
over.
But
it
makes
you
smile
even
when
the
debutant
director
displays
that
trite
and
self-conscious
social
purpose
that
makes
the
film
look
like
a
documentary
on
how
to
save
teenagers
and
turtles
when
they
don't
want
to
be
saved
without
drowning
in
the
attempt.
Story first published: Friday, March 5, 2010, 16:44 [IST]