Dear Zindagi

Dear Gouri....that's how I feel like starting this.

It's yet another lovely deliverance from Gauri Shinde. She's brilliant in how she picks her themes, such sensitive and core human issues, and turns them into beautiful celluloid. 

                                  

If English Vinglish spoke through a wife's (and mothers) angst, this one did from a young woman's.

Dear Zindagi is a story of Kaira ( Alia Bhatt) an upcoming cinematographer, caught up in the issues and turbulence of existence..... she's in messed up relationships, shopping binges... and then she meets a DD ( dimaag ka doctor) as she calls it. Shah Rukh Khan is charming (I'm a huge fan) and plays the role well, he's the right amount of involved, right amount of professional, underplayed yet profound, and allows center stage to Alia. Alia of course is ...now an ofcourse, brilliant.

Kaira, through the therapy sessions, finds herself face to face with some of her innermost demons and is onto the process of awareness and acceptance. The providential couch is not always the therapy space here. While outdoor therapy is unconventional, I loved that it was all Goa.

The movie not only brings out the idea of using help at the emotional and mind level, be it from counselling, therapy, coaching....but also in itself carries some significant life lessons. 

I also like how Gauri rips through the judgmental side of society...... it comes through not just in the writing, but also in the littler things, like single women finding it hard to rent homes, easy acceptance of gay, multiple relationships, parental expectations...even the clothes, attitudes et al 

At a very personal level, I'm thrilled to see how the movie opens up the idea of visiting a therapist with as simple a trigger as 'couldn't sleep well for three days'...after all don't we visit the doctor for a simple sore throat....for either there's always a deeper reason. And when there's enablers of healing and growth, why wouldn't we use them !