Dear Zindagi is one of the most disappointing films I've recently seen. The film's first pitfall is without a doubt its slow beginning which doesn't build up well enough, and considering everything that the script gives us later into the film, it turns out to be quite unnecessary anyway. The script, indeed, is quite lackluster, but its biggest "competitor" in this regard is Shinde's uninspired direction, which makes what could have been a great emotional drama into a most dull movie experience which lacks conviction and credibility. The same is true of the many different characters which feel contrived. This made me watch the film in pieces. The film does have moments, particularly in the second half, but despite some highly dramatic sequences, like the fight the girl has with her family and her long monologue right after that, it remains somehow uninvolving. That's probably because the writing can't make the entire thing rise above its own banality.
The acting is mostly unconvincing, probably due to the direction. I watched Alia Bhatt in several films where she was absolutely impressive. Had I not seen Highway, Raazi, Udta Punjab and Gully Boy, I might have not been eager to watch her again after this film. She never really becomes or creates a character, as is required by such a part. Throughout the entire film she is seen struggling with her unnecessarily aggressive and irritable part and only occasionally does she manage to make it ring true. She ends up just being a spoiled, privileged brat who is never relatable. I wonder what made a star like Shah Rukh Khan take up this mediocre supporting part. I'd understand his choice had it been something exceptional, but this one is the less interesting version of Shah Rukh Khan - again, no character, no depth. Bhatt and Khan do have their moments together but even that is cliched a lot of the time. And so is this film sadly - a one-time watch at best.
The acting is mostly unconvincing, probably due to the direction. I watched Alia Bhatt in several films where she was absolutely impressive. Had I not seen Highway, Raazi, Udta Punjab and Gully Boy, I might have not been eager to watch her again after this film. She never really becomes or creates a character, as is required by such a part. Throughout the entire film she is seen struggling with her unnecessarily aggressive and irritable part and only occasionally does she manage to make it ring true. She ends up just being a spoiled, privileged brat who is never relatable. I wonder what made a star like Shah Rukh Khan take up this mediocre supporting part. I'd understand his choice had it been something exceptional, but this one is the less interesting version of Shah Rukh Khan - again, no character, no depth. Bhatt and Khan do have their moments together but even that is cliched a lot of the time. And so is this film sadly - a one-time watch at best.