Dil Bechara helmed by Mukesh Chhabra may not be the perfect adaptation of John Green's popular novel, 'The Fault In Our Stars" but the performances of lead pair especially Sushant Singh Rajput, their palpable chemistry make it a worthy watch. Before the movie begins, we get to see a clipping of Sushant - playing guitar and looking happy with a smile on his face. A quote appears below the clipping, which says, " Perhaps, the difference between what is miserable, and that which is spectacular, lies in the leap of faith." This quote very much emulates the character that Sushant has portrayed in this film. And, it is the sole reason why this movie brings smile as well as tears in your eyes. You smile as Sushant plays the character of a wacky, full of life, sappy guy to pitch perfection and when you realize the utter depravity of the untimely demise of Sushant, your heart chokes. Ironically, Sushant's last film talks about celebrating life and love even in the face of impending death. Although, the female lead of the film believes in the age old saying of 'Ek tha raja, ek thi rani, dono mar gaye, khatam kahani" but Sushant makes her believe in the charms of living life to the fullest. Dil Bechara is a film that talks about looking at the brighter aspects of life while dealing with terminal illness and how to overcome the fear and experience of loosing a loved one. It's a love story with a difference - cute, flirtatious, hesitance of first love and above all selfless love in times of distress.
The screenplay of the movie has been adapted by Shashank Khaitan along with Suprotim Sengupta from The Fault In Our Stars. They have only borrowed the basic plot and blended it with several deviations as per the liking of Indian audience. I feel, this has been a major let down in the movie. While some portions of the movie move at a brisk pace, others move at snail's pace. The characters have not been etched down in a proper manner apart from the lead pair which acts as a dampener at times. Had more prominence been given to the parents of lead pair, it would have immensely added to the emotional quotient of the movie. The movie is set in Jamshedpur where we are introduced to Kizie Basu ( Sanjana Sanghi) who is the only daughter of Basu family. Kizie is suffering from thyroid cancer which has affected her lungs forcing her to carry an oxygen cylinder along with her all the time. Though, she wants to lead a normal life with a steady boyfriend and enjoy life, yet, she has restricted herself as she knows that her end is near. On the other hand, we are introduced to Immanuel Rajkumar Junior alias Manny (Sushant Singh Rajput) who has lost a leg due to osteosarcoma. For the first time, Manny and Kizie meet in a college fest and later they meet in a cancer support group where they come close to each other. Manny woos Kizie with his charms and soon they become best of buddies. He believes in living life to the fullest and is a die hard fan of Rajnikant. Manny lives with his best friend, Jagdish Pandey (Sahil Vaid) who is also a cancer patient and is about to loose his eyesight. Jagdish wants to make a Bhojpuri film. Manny makes Kizie shed her inhibitions about life and live life to the fullest. He soon starts visting Kizie'shome and wins over her parents played by Swastika Mukherjee and Saswata Chatterjee. Kizie who is earlier reluctant about dating Manny also falls in love with him. Kizie has a wish of meeting her favorite musician, Abhimanyu (Saif Ali Khan) which she confides to Manny. Manny tracks down Abhimanyu in Paris and they fly down to meet him there. Also, Kizie helps in getting the movie of Jagdish completed by playing the female lead in his film. But, a tragedy is awaiting their love story and blissful life.
Sushant Singh Rajput portrays the character of Manny with effortless ease. His character had many layers to it right from being a charmer, lover, doting friend, vulnerable and to his credit Sushant has portrayed all these traits with elan in his performance. With a heavy heart, you have to accept the fact that this is the last performance of a fine actor like him.
Sanjana Sanghi who makes her debut as the leading lady in this film manages to leave a lasting impression on you. She not only looks cute but delves deep into the skin of her character with aplomb. She breathes life into Kizie who is shy, lonely at first and sheds her inhibitions after meeting Manny.
It's good to see Swastika Mukherjee back in a substantial role in a mainstream hindi film. She has portrayed the character of a mother who is always concerned & apprehensive regarding safety, well being of her daughter with utmost conviction. In fact, she has worked with Sushant in one of his earlier films, "Detective Byomkesh Bakshi".
Saswata Chatterjee as Kizie's father is appropriate and so is Sahil Vaid as Manny's friend.
The soundtrack of the movie has been composed by A.R.Rahman where as the lyrics have been penned down by Amitabh Bhattacharya. Together, they have weaved magic and charted out some good numbers with 'Dil Bechara', 'Taare Ginn' and 'Khulke Jeene Ka' being the best of the lot. The cinematographer of the movie is Satyajit Pande who has done a swell job behind the lens. He has captured the landmarks of Jamshedpur - The Tata Main Hospital, Jubilee Park along with picturesque locales of Paris with equal aplomb. The film has been edited by Aarif Sheikh who has kept the runtime of movie to 100 minutes. I feel the movie had been more impactful if runtime of the movie could have been little longer as more time could have been utilized for character development. But, this is a collective call to be taken by director, screenplay writer along with editor. This is the debut film of Mukesh Chhabra as a director which is very much visible in the film. Though, Mukesh has tried his best to make an interesting adaptation of 'The Fault In Our Stars' but the effort seems half baked. Glitches in screenplay, uneven pace of the film and under development of characters are some of the flaws. The film surely has some great moments due to acting prowess of Sushant and Sanjana.
The fault in our stars, tugged at our heartstrings because of its youthful verve and flawless narration where as Dil Bechara will be remembered for the last performance of a fine actor, Sushant Singh Rajput (Though, it is not his best performance as i rate his performance in Sonchiriya, M.S.Dhoni to be his best). But, this movie deserves to be seen for the sake of this fine actor whose career has been unfortunately cut short and who deserved a much longer successful run in Indian Film Industry.
ROHIT SHARMA
Follow me on twitter at https://twitter.com/smgr105
rohitreview@gmail.com
http://rohitmoviereview.blogspot.in/
https://www.facebook.com/moviereviewsbyrohit
