As a kid, I used to watch parts of the TV show Pavitra Rishta on Zee TV with my mother whenever it was telecast, mostly due to SSR and his character Manav Deshmukh. I was excited when Rajput made his debut with the highly acclaimed yet criminally understated Kai Po Che and his subsequent projects proved that the actor had potential. His performance in Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! and M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story, Sonchiriya and Chhichhore earned him widespread acclaim and fame.
I remember watching M.S. Dhoni: The Untold Story and PK in theatres which were jam-packed and had already become a fan of the artist that he was, apart from this I saw Detective Byomkesh Bakshy! a day before his untimely demise and posting about the film the very next day moments before the news broke out. The news left me shattered, heartbroken and a feeling of emptiness engulfed me. 2020 had shocked us with the deaths of several artists and Sushant’s passing only added to that sadness which wasn’t ending anytime soon.
I am not that big a fan of remakes and when it was announced that an Indian adaptation of The Fault in Our Stars was under production, I wasn’t entirely excited initially and not being a fan of the original film didn’t really help the case much. But when it was revealed that Sushant was cast in the lead role and A.R. Rahman was in charge of the music, my excitement found not one but two reasons to look forward to the film. The trailer presented a generic Bollywood romance film but yet I was excited about its release and that desire of seeing Rajpur for one last time kept my hopes high. Despite several production issues, the film is finally available on Disney+ Hotstar for everyone to watch.
The highly experienced casting director Mukesh Chhabra makes his directorial debut with this film, his direction overall is good, the film knows exactly what it aims to be and achieves it at least for the most part. Shashank Khaitan and Suprotim Sengupta’s script could’ve used a little more depth and nuance which would’ve increased the overall impact of the film.
Setu’s cinematography is marvelous and he captures several locations exceedingly well. Production designing (by Amit Ray and Subrata Chakraborty) is good too. Aarif Sheikh’s editing is sharp but despite that, there are some boring moments in the film as the pace is a tad bit uneven at times. Rahman’s music plays mostly in the background and remains a breath of fresh air amongst all the remakes and remixes, however, Amitabh Bhattacharya’s lyrics are a letdown and aren’t able to do much justice to beautiful compositions. The picturization of songs overall is pretty good. Farah Khan’s choreography shines in the title track which was filmed in one shot and its presented in the same way in the film and creates an immersive experience.
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‘Dil Bechara’ is a feel-good film, a story which talks about living life to the fullest, finding happiness despite all odds and gets its message across without being too preachy. The character interactions are natural and things aren’t pushed into our faces. The film did make me teary-eyed and sad, seeing the star for one last time definitely left a big impact on me and my overall viewing experience,
The late Sushant Singh Rajput aces his role with ease, his performance is so full of life and his natural charm only adds to it. He is remarkable here and makes you fall in love with his character. It still saddens me that I won’t be seeing more of this wonderful actor who left us too soon. Sanjana Sanghi and his chemistry is sweet, she shines in her performance. It doesn’t go too over the top or melodramatic and she displays distinct confidence in front of the camera which translates into a wonderful performance. Swastika Mukherjee, Saswata Chatterjee, Sahil Vaid do their parts quite well. Saif performs his cameo with a certain eccentricity and shines in it. However, their underwritten characters somewhat lessen the impact of their performances which would’ve been elevated by an otherwise strong script.
I watched it for Sushant Singh Rajput and even though it is not his best film, seeing him on OTT made me smile and sigh at the same time. It’s easy to find faults (no pun intended) in this film, but it’s best to watch it for yourself and decide which side you stand on.
