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The Last Picture Show with Sushant Singh Rajput
Dil Bechara –
A Bittersweet Farewell to Sushant Singh Rajput
Movies are supposed to be entertainment, time pass. Rarely do they become living memorials to a lost love, a philosophical pondering on the meaning of life and death, and the object of copious tears shed by really heartbroken people. Unless it happens to be Dil Bechara and the hero happens to be Sushant Singh Rajput, the much loved rising star who died on June 14 at the age of 34, leaving behind millions of stunned fans. How and why he died continues to torment film-lovers.So it is no surprise that Dil Bechara , his last film, released after his death, has become a pilgrimage spot for fans from across the world, a chance to bid a final goodbye. The film is almost a necessity, a memorial which will bring some closure. As fans grieve and call for justice, I could not help thinking it was a generous – and smart – move by Disney/Hotstar to stream this movie free and donate this last memory to the public. I liked the idea that anyone with a monbile phone could watch this film be it a rag-picker or a vegetable seller – it seems a democratic way to pay final tribute to the people’s star.
Dil Bechara has registered the biggest ever opening for Disney+Hotstar which tweeted “A film that will always be etched in the hearts of all Bollywood fans. Your love .has made Dil Bechara the biggest movie opening. Ever.” Not surprisingly the film has been watched 95 million times in the course of 24 hours. It has got over 50,000 votes on IMDB, with an almost perfect score, although critics’ reviews have been mixed.
Dil Bechara is a simple love story of two young cancer survivors which cannot have a happy ending. No spoiler alert here because in the very first few lines the heroine Kizie Basu (Sanjana Sanghi) says, “Ek Tha Raja, Ek Thi Rani, Dono Mar Gaye, Khatam kahani’. (There was a King, there was a Queen, both died – end of story.”
The film is based on the novel The Fault in Our Stars by John Green, and its Hollywood adaptation. The adaptation for the Hindi screen is by Shashank Khaitan and Suprotim Sengupta.
A R Rahman’s beautiful music catches the rhythms of young love and the music and lyrics really merge into your space until you find yourself compulsively listening to the compositions which are joyful and optimistic. The song ‘Main Tumhara’, sung by AR Rahman, is mesmerising and really reverberates in your thoughts, soothing, sad yet hopeful that relationships don’t ever end but last forever.
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In ‘Dil Bechara’ the cinematography is vivid – it is life seen from a motorbike speeding through Jamshedpur. The locales are quite lovely and the truth is we never appreciate the beauty of our own gritty towns and its quiet places. The later scenes in Paris are evocative – it’s all very personal and natural, like someone recalling vignettes from their life. You get to see this international city through fresh eyes. For Sushant Singh Rajput fans it is a total treat – he is a joy to watch as Manny – warm, lively and yet vulnerable. The character seems to have so many shades of his own personality that it becomes a very personal experience. That the joyful dance sequence choreographed by Farah Khan was aced by SSR in just one rehearsal and shot in one take comes as no surprise.While it is totally SSR’s film – you cannot peel tyour eyes away from him – Sanjana Sanghi is a welcome new face who brings a confident and natural quality to the screen and her own unique winsome beauty. If circumstances were different she may have been getting much more attention but right now everything is eclipsed by the loss of SSR.
Kizie’s parents are played beautifully by Saswata Chatterjee and Swastika Mukherjee – not for a minute do you think of them as actors playing the role. I almost found mvyself looking for family resemblance between Kizie and her parents! Their unconditional love for their daughter, even as they fear for her happiness is poignant.
Mukesh Chhabria, who is a well-known casting director, is quite solid in his first directorial venture. The story remains focused on the love and loss of the young lovers without deviating into too many sub-plots. The best friend who is turning blind and the ongoing Bhojpuri film he is shooting with Manny and Kizie was a bit of a drag and unbelievable at times, but in the end it all fell into place and you realized the reason for it.Twitter has been overwhelmed by tweets about Dil Bechara by the sad hearts of the fans. These are thousands of tweets with common, universal sentiments: “Don’t miss this…you will laugh and cry the most! And the most beautiful thing is this is Sushant’s show. It’s all him – and no one knows how much I cried today. Broken Heart.” Another tweeted: “Same. My eyes are red. And it doesn’t even matter because this is a personal loss.”
In one way perhaps it was appropriate that this is SSR’s final film – so true to his personality – it’s like a card game played with the cards held close to the heart, yet revealing some deep truths. It is personal and intense and yet somehow satisfying. Dil Bechara is akin to attending a memorial service – alone yet together in this time of quarantine – and you finally leave – sad yet strangely uplifted. There is some closure in mourning a beautiful life and yet celebrating it.
Do share your thoughts on the movie – would love to see your mini reviews!
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