Dil Bechara - 'Seri'

Dil Bechara - An Emotional movie with an even more emotional journey 

Seri.

Kizie Basu, played by Sanjana Sanghi, tells Immanuel Rajkumar Junior (Manny), played by Sushant Singh Rajput, that she loves the word Seri and it’s “their word” from now. Seri, is also the perfect way to describe the film. Seri is the Tamil word for ‘Okay’ and that is what this film is - Okay.

‘The Fault in Our Stars’, the book that Dil Bechara is based on, is an incredibly saddening and touching story in itself. Add to that the recent Sushant tragedy, this is a movie that was bound to bring tears, especially as it created at some parts an eerie sense of unease as some dialogues transcended perfectly into real life. However, in order to give an accurate reflection of the movie, it is important to distance the movie from the events that preceded it.

Dil Bechara tries it best to position itself as a romantic comedy with a message to focus on making sure that you’re here for a good time, not a long time and the fact that we should live every moment to its fullest. While the film does manage to portray that message in a limited way, there are some places it comes up short and that is what leaves it as a middling film.

The adaptation of the original book, is the key reason I felt the movie fell slightly short of the mark. In trying to adapt the book for an Indian audience, I feel the makers compromised on the cohesiveness and intricacy of the script. One key plot point involves the quest to find the artist behind an incomplete song and it leaves you wondering why an artist, who is still alive, would choose to release a song if it was incomplete.

However, there are some real bright spots in the film. The casting and acting, for most of the characters is spot on. This is to be expected given that Director Mukesh Chhabra, has made his name as a casting director and would therefore ensure his choices are perfect. Sushant Singh Rajput is in fine form. He delivers a wonderfully endearing and heart touching performance as the effervescent Manny who strives to live life to its fullest and beyond, despite the physical and mental barriers in his way. Sanjana Sanghi, making her debut in the industry, also puts in a stellar performance and manages to win over your heart. Saif Ali Khan, playing the arrogant and deranged musician, Abhimanyu Veer, is in cruise control and manages to evoke plenty of laughs in the short time he is on screen. The two actors, Saswata Chatterjee and Swastika Mukherjee, who play Kizie’s parents, also put in solid performances and allow you to understand the conflict that they face internally regarding the safety of their daughter but their desire for her to lead a life as normal as possible. 

One of the standouts of this film is its music score. Given that the music director is A.R. Rahman, this should hardly come as a surprise. The background score compliments the scenes well and some of the songs and lyrics evoke a number of emotions from the audience.

All in all, Dil Bechara is a decent film but could have been a lot more. If the performances of the actors, as well as the music, was backed up with a better adaptation of the storyline, this movie would have been even better. It is a one-time watch just to appreciate the craft on display. Do keep an eye out for the beautiful tribute to Sushant towards the end of the film, because after all this is his final release and gems like him don’t come around every day.

- Ahaan Gupta