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Dear Zindagi

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Dear Zindagi
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGauri Shinde
Written byGauri Shinde
Screenplay byGauri Shinde
Produced byGauri Khan
Karan Johar
Gauri Shinde
Starring
CinematographyLaxman Utekar
Edited byHemanti Sarkar
Music byAmit Trivedi
Production
companies
Distributed byRed Chillies Entertainment
Release dates
  • 23 November 2016 (2016-11-23) (North America)
  • 25 November 2016 (2016-11-25) (Worldwide)
Running time
150 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹22 crore[1]
Box officeest. ₹100.71 crore[2]

Dear Zindagi (Template:Lang-en) is a 2016 Indian coming of age drama film written and directed by Gauri Shinde. It was produced by Gauri Khan, Karan Johar and Shinde under the banners of Red Chillies Entertainment, Dharma Productions and Hope Productions respectively. The film features Alia Bhatt in lead role, with Ira Dubey, Kunal Kapoor, Angad Bedi and Ali Zafar in supporting roles. Shah Rukh Khan plays an extended cameo role in the film. The plot centers on a budding cinematographer named Kaira, who is in search of a perfect life and meets Dr. Jehangir, an unconventional thinker. He helps Kaira in gaining a new perspective about life.[3]

Development began in 2015, when Shinde signed Bhatt and Shah Rukh Khan for a film to be made her banner. The principal photography of the film took place in Goa and Mumbai. The film features soundtrack album, which is composed by Amit Trivedi. The lyrics for songs were written by Kausar Munir except for one song. Dear Zindagi released on 23 November 2016 in North America, two days before its worldwide release on 25 November 2016, to positive critical notice, with major praise directed to Bhatt's performance and proved a good commercial success.

Plot

The film is set in Mumbai and Goa. Kaira is a promising cinematographer. Fatima, Jackie and Ganju are her three best friends. Her cheerful life becomes a nightmare when the guy she loves, a film producer, Raghuvendra ends up engaged to someone else, and for whom she breaks up with a restobar owner, Sid, in between. Her landlord turns her out of her apartment because the building association wants to rent apartments only to married couples. This serves as a catalyst for her shift to Goa to live with her parents, a fact she detests. All this ends up with her spending many sleepless nights.

While in Goa she seeks out Dr. Jehangir Khan, a Goan psychologist after accidentally having heard him talk at a Mental Health Awareness Conference for her insomnia. Meanwhile, she meets a musician, Rumi, whom she starts to develop feelings for, but ditches before anything serious can happen. She also meets her younger brother, Kiddo. Matters with her family come to a head when Kaira has an outburst at a family get-together where she confronts her parents about them abandoning her for years at her grandparents' house.

She finally narrates the story of her abandonment to Jug who tells her that she fears abandonment so much that she doesn't allow herself to commit in relationships for fear of being abandoned. He convinces her that she doesn't need to forgive her parents for abandoning her but she can as an adult see them as two regular people who made a mistake. He says, "Don't let the past blackmail your present to ruin a beautiful future." After this, Kaira makes an effort to reconcile with her parents and also works to finish her short film.

The movie ends with a viewing of Kaira's film where she meets a furniture dealer who might turn out to be a prospective lover.

Cast

  • Alia Bhatt as Kaira, who is also referred to as "Koko". During her latest interview with Bombay Times, Bhatt spoke about her role. She said that playing the role of Kaira was altogether a very different experience.[4]
  • Shah Rukh Khan as Dr. Jehangir "Jug" Khan, who helps Kaira in finding her true love. He describes his role by saying, “I am a support in the film, more like an extended cameo. I am very glad to be in this film. I have never played such a role in my entire career.[3]
  • Ira Dubey as Fatima, Kaira's friend, who is also referred to as "Fatty".
  • Yashaswini Dayama as Jackie, Kaira's friend
  • Gautmik as Ganju, Kaira's friend
  • Rohit Saraf as Kiddo, Kaira's younger brother
  • Kunal Kapoor as Raghuvendra, a film producer
  • Angad Bedi as Sid, a restobar owner
  • Ali Zafar as Rumi, a musician and singer-songwriter[5]
  • Aditya Roy Kapur as a furniture dealer (special appearance)

Production

Development and casting

Made on a moderate budget, Dear Zindagi was produced by Gauri Khan of Red Chillies Entertainment, Johar of Dharma Productions and Hope Productions. The film was directed by Shinde, her second directorial after comedy-drama film, English Vinglish (2012). In August 2015, Shinde revealed that she had "almost" completed working on the script of the film. Via her Twitter handle, she tweeted, "Yes I am making my next film:)script done...well almost...going on the floors soon.looking forward to be back in action."[6]

Pre-production work began in December 2015, when the film was picked up for the production. Shinde started working in the story for the film. She decided to set the story of the film in Goa and Mumbai. Johar, via his Twitter handle, tweeted, "Pre production is on full steam now! Exciting!!!!"[7]

The editing for the film was headed by Hemanti Sarkar. The team of dialogues was done by Krishna Hariharan, Gauri Shinde and Kausar Munir. Laxman Utekar was the cinematographer of the film and Rupin Suchak essayed the role of the film's production designer.[8]

A girl standing with legs crossed
Bhatt was eager to work with Shah Rukh Khan in the film

India Today reported that Shah Rukh Khan and Bhatt will star together in Shinde's upcoming untitled film. Bhatt was eager to work with Shah Rukh Khan and couldn't curtail her happiness. Via her Twitter handle, she tweeted, "can't wait to be directed by Gauri Shinde with the man himself Shahrukh Khan!!!"[6] It was reported that there won't be any typical romance between Shah Rukh Khan and Bhatt. Shinde confirmed to The Indian Express saying, "It won’t be as typical as one expects man and woman to be together."[9] In April 2016, it was reported that Shah Rukh will play a love guru who helps Bhatt manage the attention of four persons, played by Aditya Roy Kapur, Ali Zafar, Kunal Kapoor and Angad Bedi. Shah Rukh will help Bhatt in figuring out how to find her true love. On the other hand, Bhatt will play the role of a filmmaker, whose experiences with all the four persons will shape her life and work.[10]

The other actors who were signed up for the film include Zafar, who plays the role of rockstar and musician, Bedi, who plays the role of Bhatt's childhood sweetheart and who is a restobar owner, Kapoor, who plays the role of film producer and invests in Bhatt's film and Aditya Roy Kapur, who plays the role of charming furniture dealer.[11] Ira Dubey and Yashaswini Dayama play the role of Bhatt's best friends, while Rohit Saraf play the role of Bhatt's brother.[12]

Filming and post-production

Principal photographing for Dear Zindagi began on 21 January 2016 in Goa. Bhatt confirming it tweeted, "And a beautiful new journey begins!!!! Day one today for Gauris film."[13] The shoot for the entire film was to be completed in two schedules; one in Goa and the other in Mumbai. The first schedule of Goa was completed in a duration of around 30 days in the last week of February 2016, when the entire cast of the film moved to Mumbai for the second schedule of the film. Bhatt via her Twitter handle shared her shooting experience by tweeting, "Will miss "hanging" u Shah Rukh Khan !!! Until next time." To this Shah Rukh Khan replied and tweeted, "too much fun with u girls. Have a great rest of shoot. Till the next schedule…"[14] Bhatt had also moved to Singapore to shoot for a song sequence for the film. The entire shooting of the film ended on 20 May 2016. Bhatt shared the entire shooting experience by posting a group selfie with her team in Singapore, via her Instagram handle.[15]

In March 2016, Bhatt said to India.com that she was super excited about sharing screenspace with Shah Rukh Khan in the film. She had not slept for several nights during the shoot of the film. "It was lovely working with him on the show and on Gauri’s film when we recently shot in Goa.", said Bhatt.[16]

On 23 June 2016, The Times of India reported that the title of the film would be called Dear Zindagi.[17]

In the first week of November 2016, it was reported that Ali Zafar has been replaced by Tahir Raj Bhasin in the film due to Uri attacks and subsequent ban on Pakistani actors by the MNS. However, on 15 November 2016, Pakistan's newspaper Dawn reported that Bhatt rubbished the rumours at an event on 14 November 2016. On being asked, she said, "Nobody is being replaced. The film will release in its full form."[18][19]

Soundtrack

Untitled

The music rights are acquired by Sony Music India. The full album was released on 15 November 2016.[23] Audio Jukebox was released on 21 November 2016 at YouTube.[24]

Track listing

The song "Ae Zindagi Gale Laga Le" is written by Gulzar and was originally composed by Ilaiyaraaja for 1983 movie Sadma, and it was sung by Suresh Wadkar. While, lyrics for the other songs in the album are written by Kausar Munir. The songs "Tu Hi Hai" and "Taarefon Se" are sung by Ali Zafar in the movie.[25][26]

All music is composed by Amit Trivedi

No.TitleSinger(s)Length
1."Just Go To Hell Dil"Sunidhi Chauhan, Amit Trivedi5:35
2."Love You Zindagi"Jasleen Royal, Amit Trivedi3:51
3."Tu Hi Hai"Arijit Singh3:19
4."Ae Zindagi Gale Laga Le – 1"Arijit Singh2:51
5."Ae Zindagi Gale Laga Le – 2"Alia Bhatt3:06
6."Love You Zindagi (Club Mix)"Alia Bhatt3:35
7."Taarefon Se"Arijit Singh4:38
8."Lets Break Up"Vishal Dadlani4:06
Total length:31:00

Critical response

Suanshu Khurana and A. Kameshwari of The Indian Express praised the music and respectively said, "A fresh and enthusiastic set, with life's tales told in a breezy fashion. The album lacks variance, yet, it manages to have many sparkling moments."[27] and "Sensible and relatable songs making the album simplistic that automatically gets registered at the back of your mind, a poetic version of our exact feelings."[28]

Joginder Tuteja of Bollywood Hungama giving the music album a 3 out of 5 rating, and said "a series of situational songs that should sound good in the film's narrative".[29] Rinky Kumar of The Times of India rated 3 stars to the album, saying "this movie doesn't have songs that have a high recall value".[30]

Release

The film was released in Canada and USA on 23 November 2016, and on 25 November 2016 worldwide. It opened in about 1200 screens nationwide and in 600 screens in other countries.[31] The film also had a special screening on 23 November 2016 in Mumbai.[32]

Critical reception

A couple sitting on a chair in the stage while the third man is standing at the back of them
Bhatt and Shah Rukh Khan received praise for their performances

Dear Zindagi received mostly positive response from critics. Critics as well as audiences praised Shah Rukh Khan's and Bhatt's performances.[33]

India

Raja Sen of Rediff.com awarded the film 4/5 stars and applauded it saying, "a lovely picture, made with finesse and heart, that goes a long way in making a viewer think of the people who matter most".[34]

Meena Iyer of The Times of India gave the film 3.5/5 stars, saying "If you're in the mood to do some soul-searching, this film could do it for you."[35] Ananya Bhattacharya of India Today giving the same rating said, "an emotional joyride which won't harm you when watched once".[36] Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV too rated the film 3.5/5 stars and commented, "a 'big' Bollywood movie, that the entire team can be proud of without a shred of doubt".[37]

Namrata Joshi of The Hindu rated the film 3/5 stars and said, "Only Shinde spells things out with the much dreaded word 'therapy' which many of us may require."[38] Sukanya Verma of Rediff.com rated the film 3/5 stars, commenting on the performances, "The actors impart tremendous believability to the steadily growing unrest in Kiara's household". Verma also praised Alia for her depiction of "compelling vulnerability" in the role of Kaira.[39]

Rohit Bhatnagar of Deccan Chronicle gave the film 2.5/5 stars, saying "The makers cleverly create a hype for the film by teasing the audiences with the film’s best parts. Dear Zindagi should be blamed for its loose execution that it doesn't touch you."[40] Bollywood Hungama also rated 2.5/5 stars to the film and commented, "a slow-paced cerebral and contemporary slice of life tale about the challenges today's generation of girls face in a rapidly shifting landscape".[41]

Sweta Kaushal of Hindustan Times rated the film 2/5 stars, saying "If only (director) brought better-etched characters and delved more into the emotional turmoils of her lead, this could have been a wonderful 'slice-of-life' film with several messages to be lauded for."[42]

Shubhra Gupta of The Indian Express rated the film 1.5/5 stars and wrote, "Dear Zindagi should have been a much better film. What we get instead, in spades, is bumper-sticker self-help notes which are strictly boiler-plate."[43]

Overseas

Christine Iyer of The National awarded the film 4/5 stars and praised Shah Rukh Khan by saying "he absolutely shines in the role of soft-spoken therapist Jehangir "Jug" Khan in this gentle drama by Gauri Shinde."[44] Manjusha Radhakrishnan of Gulf News rated the film 3.5/5 stars and commented, "If you are looking for a heartwarming, sensitive film about troubled twenty-somethings, then make a date with Dear Zindagi."[45] Anisha Jhaveri of IndieWire gave the film A minus grade, and said its plot has a "powerful message, that gives Dear Zindagi its substance".[46] Shilpa Jamkhandikar of Reuters stated "The need to explain every moment and articulate every emotion pulls down Dear Zindagi; even the brilliant chemistry between the two leads cannot salvage the film from this fatal flaw".[47] Andy Webster of The New York Times stated, "There are sentimental threads here, but Shinde's insightful movie is a resounding victory."[48]

Box office

Dear Zindagi had a very good opening at the box office. The collections of the film were very good on day one and was reported that Shah Rukh Khan's presence in the film is one of its main reasons.[49] On its first day, it earned about ₹8.75cr. It collected ₹11.25cr on Saturday, while ₹12.50cr on Sunday, hence totaling its first weekend collection around ₹32.50cr.[2]

Dear Zindagi had a good opening at the international box office also. In the USA and Canada, in its opening weekend, the film collected ₹9.32cr. In UAE, the film also did well and collected ₹8.25cr.[2]

As of 3 December 2016, the film earned a total of ₹73.26cr domestically and ₹27.45cr from overseas, making its total worldwide collections to ₹100.71cr.[2]

See also

References

  1. ^ "Dear Zindagi: Budget to box office estimates – here's the detailed trade analysis!". Daily News and Analysis. 24 November 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  2. ^ a b c d "Box Office: Worldwide Collections and Day wise breakup of Dear Zindagi". Bollywood Hungama. 26 November 2016. Retrieved November 28, 2016.
  3. ^ a b "Shah Rukh Khan just revealed a big Dear Zindagi spoiler: His role is a cameo". Hindustan Times. 23 November 2016. Retrieved 23 November 2016.
  4. ^ "Alia Bhatt Explains How Playing A 'Regular' Girl In 'Dear Zindagi' Was More Challenging Than Her Role In Udta Punjab". India Times. 28 November 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
  5. ^ "Ali Zafar opens up on working with Alia Bhatt, SRK in Dear Zindagi". The Express Tribune. 22 November 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  6. ^ a b "Gauri Shinde's next: Can't wait to be with Shah Rukh Khan, says Alia Bhatt". India Today. 20 August 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  7. ^ "Shah Rukh Khan, Alia Bhatt's film is on track, tweets Karan Johar". The Indian Express. 9 December 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  8. ^ "Dear Zindagi". Bollywood Hungama. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 19 July 2016.
  9. ^ "Gauri Shinde: You won't see a typical romance between Shah Rukh Khan and Alia Bhatt". The Indian Express. 12 October 2015. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  10. ^ "Revealed: Shah Rukh Khan won't romance Alia Bhatt in Gauri Shinde's next". The Indian Express. 6 April 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  11. ^ "Dear Zindagi: Who plays what in the Shah Rukh Khan - Alia Bhatt starrer?". Daily News and Analysis. 19 July 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  12. ^ "Dear Zindagi movie review: Incredibly cute Alia, Shah Rukh Khan need a more consistent script". Firstpost. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  13. ^ "Gauri Shinde starts working on Shah Rukh Khan-Alia Bhatt starrer". The Indian Express. 21 January 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  14. ^ "Alia Bhatt completes Gauri Shinde's first schedule, will miss 'hanging' SRK". Deccan Chronicle. 25 February 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  15. ^ "See pic: Alia Bhatt wraps up shooting for Gauri Shinde's upcoming flick". Daily News and Analysis. 20 May 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2016.
  16. ^ "OMG! Shah Rukh Khan gave sleepless nights to Alia Bhatt during shoot of Gauri Shinde's next". India.com. 9 March 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  17. ^ "Is Shah Rukh Khan-Alia Bhatt's Gauri Shinde flick titled 'Dear Zindagi'?". The Times of India. 23 June 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  18. ^ "BREAKING: Ali Zafar has been replaced by Tahir Bhasin in 'Dear Zindagi'". Daily News and Analysis. 2 November 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  19. ^ "Ali Zafar won't be dropped from 'Dear Zindagi', according to co-star Alia Bhatt". Dawn. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  20. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gFmHPFlB42c
  21. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQx5H14YTyQ
  22. ^ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxjABEwwrTc
  23. ^ Dear Zindagi songs, retrieved 2016-11-15
  24. ^ "Dear Zindagi Jukebox – Alia Bhatt | Shah Rukh Khan | Gauri Shinde | Amit Trivedi | Kausar Munir". Sony Music India. 21 November 2016. Retrieved 21 November 2016.
  25. ^ "Ali Zafar sings 'Tu Hi Hai' to celebrate the release of Dear Zindagi". Bollywood Hungama. 26 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  26. ^ "I want my first Pakistani film to appeal to both dance party walas and rickshaw walas: Ali Zafar". DAWN Images. 29 November 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  27. ^ "Dear Zindagi music review: Sounds of Life". The Indian Express. Suanshu Khurana. 19 November 2016.
  28. ^ "Dear Zindagi music review: Amid objectifying songs, this album makes you hopeful about life, watch videos". The Indian Express. A. Kameshwari. 20 November 2016.
  29. ^ "Music Review – Dear Zindagi". Bollywood Hungama. Joginder Tuteja. 25 November 2016.
  30. ^ "Music review: 'Dear Zindagi'". The Times of India. Rinky Kumar. 18 November 2016.
  31. ^ "Dear Zindagi box office collection day 1: Alia Bhatt film wins audience's love". The Indian Express. 26 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  32. ^ "Dear Zindagi review: Sushant Singh, Dia Mirza and other Bollywood celebrities rave about Shah Rukh-Alia's film". International Business Times. 24 November 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2016.
  33. ^ "Dear Zindagi review round-up: Here's what critics say about Shah Rukh Khan and Alia Bhatt film". International Business Times. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  34. ^ "Review: Dear Zindagi is a wonderful, self-assured gem". Rediff.com. Raja Sen. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  35. ^ "Dear Zindagi Movie Review". Times of India. Meena Iyer. 24 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  36. ^ "Dear Zindagi movie review: SRK and Alia are to watch out for". India Today. Ananya Bhattacharya. 24 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  37. ^ "Dear Zindagi Movie Review: Shah Rukh Khan, Alia Bhatt's Film Is Superbly Acted". NDTV. Saibal Chatterjee. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  38. ^ "Dear Zindagi: Feels like group therapy". The Hindu. Namrata Joshi. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  39. ^ "Review: Dear Zindagi's high on sublime Alia, splendid SRK!". Rediff.com. Sukanya Verma. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  40. ^ "Dear Zindagi movie review: Much ado about nothing". Deccan Chronicle. Rohit Bhatnagar. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  41. ^ "Movie Review: Dear Zindagi". Bollywood Hungama. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2016.
  42. ^ "Dear Zindagi review: Shah Rukh Khan is charming but this life is unreal". Hindustan Times. Sweta Kaushal. 28 November 2016. Retrieved 28 November 2016.
  43. ^ "Dear Zindagi movie review: Alia Bhatt, Shah Rukh Khan film offers bumper-sticker self-help". The Indian Express. Shubhra Gupta. 26 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  44. ^ "Film review: Shah Rukh Khan delivers a brilliant low-key performance in Dear Zindagi". The National. Christine Iyer. 24 November 2016. Retrieved 1 December 2016.
  45. ^ "'Dear Zindagi' movie review". Gulf News. Manjusha Radhakrishnan. 24 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  46. ^ "'Dear Zindagi' Review: Second Film From 'English Vinglish' Director Doesn't Disappoint". IndieWire. Anisha Jhaveri. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 2 December 2016.
  47. ^ "Movie Review: Dear Zindagi". Reuters. Shilpa Jamkhandikar. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 25 November 2016.
  48. ^ "Review: In 'Dear Zindagi', a Conflicted Woman in Search of a Truer Life". The New York Times. Andy Webster. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 26 November 2016.
  49. ^ "Dear Zindagi Takes Good Opening". Box Office India. 25 November 2016. Retrieved 4 December 2016.
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