I know this review has come really late, but I purely did it because of the effusive reviews and reactions I have read about it. And it's absolutely flabbergasting. How can such a boring film ever elicit such a response. The answer - it being a flagbearer of people suffering from depression. But let me tell you this, this is no "Goodwill Hunting" and if SRK treated you for your emotional-ailments, then you might just slit your wrists!
Gauri Shinde started off her career with the charming 'English Vinglish'. But this film is her trying too hard to be an uber cool, indie director. Alia, a free spirited girl, is an ace cameraman but finds it really hard to make any commitments in her relationships. She runs away from them as soon as things start to get serious. Ofcourse, the reason lies somewhere in her past and for that she has to confront her parents.
Though Alia and SRK are eminently watchable, Alia is a little inconsistent and SRK's character is very flakily written. He flits between Swades and Main Hoon Naa quite often. The biggest problem with this verbose film is that, the emphasis is on dialogue but none of the conversations are absorbing. When you want to make a conversation heavy film like "Before Sunrise/Sunset" or like Woody Allen films, you need very very strong dialogues, which Dear Zindagi sorely lacks.
Gauri tries too hard to have many 'Poster Shots' and hence picks odd locations + weird accessories to make the film look quirky. It looks like a very oddly assembled bunch of things and hence the Art Designer fails miserably in making everything seem organic. Yes, I noticed these things because the story didn't grab my attention at all. After shifting in my seat for some time, I started nitpicking!
If you think your Zindagi is Dear, watch it only on television - coz this is a very average fare. And yes, this movie doesn't make any breakthroughs nor does it tackle depression in a powerful way. It's a very shallow take on a deep problem. So beware... SRK will put you in a chair, talk about chairs and inflict pure atya-chair!
Rating: 3.5/10