I must confess that I wasn’t ready for this one. It was no surprise that #SushantSinghRajput’s last hurrah #DilBechara was going to rake up a lot of views. I settled down to watch the film with very little expectation but wasn’t prepared for the multiple jolts in store! Any film that releases after the protagonist’s death rises in stature and is rendered tough to review as just another film. Watching it was a surreal experience and Sushant’s easy, toothy grin, naturally spiked hair and romantic charm just made it all the more unreal.
ASHOK’s FIVE reasons to watch #DilBechara, released worldwide on the #DisneyPlusHotstar platform. The film has been made available for everyone including non-subscribers as a tribute to Sushant’s legacy and I am glad this was just a simple message on the screen rather than a commercial hook or publicity stunt.
1. Based on John Green’s book, “The Fault in our Stars”, director #MukeshChhabra tells the story of two young cancer patients finding love. They are too young to die and too full of life to succumb to the big C easily. It is a tale of fun, laughter, romance and relationships. It is also a story of the unpredictability of life and how unusual situations can foster bonding between people. It raises questions about the meaning of existence and is also an ode to celebrating life. Along the way, the dialogues shake you up out of the light and breezy narrative.
The first half sets up pretty and demure Kizie Basu (#SanjanaSanghi) and her sheltered but lonely life quite well. Her parents played by Saswata Chatterjee and Swatika Mukherjee fuss over her; a typical Bengali family settled in Jamshedpur. And then there is Pushpinder, the oxygen cylinder that is her constant companion. All the roshogollas and the sondeshes in the world cannot shake off the pall of gloom over the household. Enter Manny aka Immanuel Rajkumar Junior, a bundle of energy, crooked teeth and pathetic jokes. Seri…. now what?
He teaches her to laugh, star in a movie, live it up, visit Paris and fall in love with life all over again.
2. “Khud ko maarna saala illegal hai, toh jeena padta hai [It’s illegal to kill yourself, so you’ve to live]” is what Abhimanyu Veer, the maverick musician (#SaifAliKhan in a cameo) shouts at the couple when they meet him in Paris. And from this moment onwards, I lost track of the plot as focus shifted only to #SushantSinghRajput and his histrionics. Truth is stranger than fiction they say but this is eerie. I wonder if these lines should have been edited out of the film perhaps?
Manny lives life on his own terms. We see very little of his parents and granny. The mystery shrouding him in the film seems poignant now. ‘Janam kab lena hai aur marna kab hai, hum decide nahi kar sakte. Par kaise jeena hai woh hum decide kar sakte hain’ he says.
3. The challenge with book adaptations is that a good story alone does not make for a great film. Writers Suprotim Sengupta and Shashank Khetan do manage to provide a light and breezy tone to offset the depressing backdrop and Sushant’s brilliance complements that well. Whether it is the Rajni obsession, throwing eggs at a friend’s house or the very cute expressions, he can pull it all off. You remain almost indulgent to his ways. #DilBechara remains at the same level throughout and does not rise to the potential of the story.
4. #ARRahman and #Amitabh Bhattacharya is a potent combination and the music is eminently hummable – the friendzone title track, Taare Gin or Khulke Jeene Ka are all soothing and pleasant on the senses. The entire dance sequence for Friendzone was shot in one take, choreographed by Farah Khan and is testimony to Sushant’s talent.
5. Sawata and Swastika are a refreshing new combination and emote their parts effortlessly. The scene where Manny and Kizie’s dad bond over beer in the rain is brilliantly written. Manny talks about his dreams but how he is unable to fulfil all of them. Supporting the cast is Manny’s friend JP, Jagdish Pandey (#SahilVaid) who is also undergoing treatment for cancer of the eyes. The scene where JP and Kizie do the mock funeral speeches for Manny are overwhelming. I think one of the things that we forget about people afflicted by long term illnesses is that the only thing they want is to be like us. As Kizie says “I don’t want to be strong; I want to be normal”
One cannot write a review of #DilBechara without a reference to the untimely passing of the gifted young man and the ugly conversations on social media. On the one hand, the film provides closure to the legacy of a talent who had immense potential; any conversation that can help throw light on what upcoming talent has to endure in the industry is constructive. Any conversation that is simply leveraging the incident to spite people or create chaos is unwelcome. For now, lets hope #SushantSinghRajput finds peace wherever he is.
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