Daily Times

How ironic it is that ‘death’ as central theme of a movie, becomes the fate of its lead actor who immerses himself in the idea to climb into the depths of character and hastens to embrace the reality by choice after completion of his role.

Dil Bechara is a recently released Bollywood movie that is characterised with such reel and real book also has a Hollywood version with the same name.

Dil Bechara is based in Jamshedpur and focuses on beautiful relationship which blossoms between Kizzie and Manny. A film that showcases meeting of two young souls who can empathize and connect with one another as life plays it`s cruel oscillating games.

Both are suffering from terminal illnesses. While Kizze is suffering from thyroid cancer, Manny is currently in remission suffered from osteosarcoma and lost a leg due to it. The movie has been extremely through tough journey and finally it is here to be viewed by millions of people but without the charming hero Sushant Singh Rajput.

Each character that appeared in the film from the leading characters to the lead pair seemed to belong to this world created in Jamshedpur and credit has to be given to the flawless casting by Mukesh Chhabra. The supporting cast Swastika Mukherjee and Saswata Chatterjee as Kizie`s parents have one of the most memorable scenes in the film.

The father who is obsessed with National Geographic is a carefree yet loving figure of the family and the mother worried and concerned about her daughter`s suffering, dedicating her entire life for making Kizie`s life fun. We often hear our mothers and grannies saying: “the greatest suffering for a mother is to see her child dying in her life”. Swastika Chatterjee as an actor makes us believe the intensity of this suffering.

Sahil Vaid has already given laudable performances in a number of movies, including Humpty Sharma Ki Dulhaniya and Badrinath Ki Dulhaniya. In this movie, he played the role of JP, a stereotypical friend of hero, quite effortlessly. Saif Ali Khan in a cameo of a popular singer is noteworthy. But the shining stars of the movie appear to be its lead pair, Sanjana Sanghi and Sushant Singh Rajput.

Sanjana Sanghi, who was seen as a child actress in Imtiaz Ali`s Rockstar, is charming, sweet, confident and easily gets into the skin of a girl who wants to find anything beyond her boring routine. Being true to the depth of a character, who is suffering from deadly cancer yet refusing to abandon the liveliness of life, Sushant Singh Rajput shines with a show-stealing performance.

He teaches Kizie that notwithstanding all the problems, hardships and tragic sides of life, one must have a positive and optimistic outlook towards it. Kizie is obsessed with an idea of meeting a famous singer, Abhimanyu Veer Singh, and asking him about meaning of an incomplete line in one of his songs. However, her parents, deeply concerned about her pathetic health condition, do not find any reason to allow her such a long journey from Jamshedpur to Paris.

Manny tells Kizie`s father her dream might look silly yet it is worth pursuing. The chemistry shared between Sushant and Sanjana is infectious and sweet. Sushant`s dance on the title track of Dil Bechara sung by AR Rahman and beautifully choreographed by Farah Khan reminds you of how great dancer he was.

Music of the film is composed by AR Rahman and lyrics are written by Amitabh Bhattacharya. After a long break, AR Rahman has composed and sung for a Bollywood movie. No one can compete with him when it comes to music. Some of his finest works include Rang De Basanti, Slum Dog Millionaire and Rockstar to name few. He is back with a bang.

I won`t say the music is extraordinary but it is sweet and stays with you for long. It forces you to hum and dance to the tunes. My favorites from the album are Taare Ginn, Maskhari and Dil Bechara title track.

Director Mukesh Chhabra and writers Suprotim Sengupta and Shashank Khaitan takes you through some heart touching moments between the characters. The dialogues are simple yet stunningly impactful. There are many beautiful moments in the film. One of my favorites is when Kizie and Manny meet the singer Abhimanyu Veer Singh and ask him why his song Mein Tumhara is incomplete? To which he replies: “The song is incomplete because life itself is incomplete.”

The film is filled with beautiful and heart wrenching moments. Due to the recent death of the actor Sushant Singh Rajput, the boundary between reel and real are blurred. It feels like the film is based on actor`s own life. At times while watching the movie, you feel like freezing the frame and taking out Sushant Singh Rajput from the frame. In the role of Sushant, I remember Manny saying: “can we just pretend that I am not dying?” So can we just pretend that he is alive and keep enriching the industry with his awesome acting? Dil Bechara is definitely a must watch for Sushant`s fans.

The writer can be reached at jeevanlashari469@gmail.com