“Janam Kab Lena Hai Aur Marna Kab Hai,
Yeh Hum Nahi Decide Kar Sakte,
Lekin Kaise Jeena Hai Yeh Hum Decide Kar Sakte Hain”
‘Dil Bechara’ teaches us nothing but how to truly live life to the fullest while staring at death in the face. For illness becomes a piece of who you are, it does not define you. The movie is the official adaptation of John Green’s critically acclaimed novel ‘The Fault in Our Stars,’ which encapsulates the story of two cancer patients Immanuel Rajkumar Junior aka Manny and Kizie Basu (Rajput and Sanghi). It depicts how irrespective of their conditions, they lift each other up and strive together to make every moment of their numbered days worthy.
Coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in the shutdown of recreational and entertainment hubs, including cinema halls in India. With very little hope of cinema halls reopening any time soon, filmmakers have turned to release their art through a virtual medium. This has given rise to the OTT (Over the Top) platforms, with releases happening digitally on platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime Video, Hotstar, and many more, thus outgrowing the olden boundaries of a theatre hall.
Within 24 hours of the film’s release, it garnered 95 million views. The film was lauded for its soundtrack and acting performances. It received heartfelt reviews that grieved the loss of the lead actor and his stellar performances and a mammoth 9.3 rating on IMDB.
While a sea of appreciation for the film was received after the movie’s release, a highly contrast reaction was witnessed after the trailer had released. Fans of Green’s beautiful novel, as well as its English adaptation that managed to capture every emotion inked out in the book, were apprehensive about approving a Hindi remake. The comments section of both the lead actors’ respective social media accounts were filled with trolls and nasty comments. Fans were hesitant to see a ‘Bollywoodized’ version of the film and were also unsure of the ability of Indian filmmakers to make sure that the authenticity of the film remains intact.
Saif Ali Khan, who essayed the role of an uncanny musician as Abhimanyu Veer in the film, in an interview with the Times of India, slammed the Bollywood industry for its hypocrisy and said that “We don’t care about anybody. It’s a very cutthroat line of work. But to pretend that you do care is like the ultimate hypocrisy, and I think that’s an insult to the dead, to the soul that’s gone.” Netizens, as well as the Twitterati, left no stone unturned to dig up the deeply entrenched hypocrisy of the fans as well as some of the film critics. Diligent fans stood up in support of the late actor and busted the ones who were now showing immense appreciation for the film but were playing it down earlier. People went on to say that going in for a remake of ‘The Fault in our Stars’ was indeed a ‘fault’ in entirety. Maybe it’s not that, perhaps it is just the mindset? We care much for those whom we lose, not valuing them rightly when they are around. It is the ‘sudden love’ for the movie and the lead actor, which heavily comes pouring in, of course, posthumously with the remarks turning now to – that this film which is filled with zest for living truly made everyone ‘feel and cry.’
That being said, the world surely witnessed the spark in performances as the story beautifully sent out a strong message that everyone we know or happen to meet, is fighting their own battles or rather living in a self-imposed bubble and for all we know, we must be nothing but empathetic towards one and all and never pigeonhole people. Life, by all means, is not going to be ‘fair’ always, but if we’re playing along thinking that it would be, then probably we have the wrong scorecard. As Manny’s words moved our core in several scenes, ‘Live one day at a time’ has been the bottom line of it all, as no matter how much we plan ahead, the Universe does not have a copy of our calendar. Twists and turns are a part of life, but ‘Change’ in our approach with respect to dealing with it should be the ultimate way of life. And that’s the only hope, and when there’s hope, it does lead to the future shaping up just as fine.
A gem of a person with a heart of gold, Sushant is (yes ‘is,’ he continues to live on, as what he made people feel is still alive and will always be)a humble human being who with his art wowed the audience with every new film. Be it the lively Ishaan in ‘Kai Po Che’ or a modest and near-perfect M.S Dhoni, the way he adapted to each of his very complex characters, surely made many of us see a fine actor in him.
“I’m a fighter,” he said, and with shine in his eyes and joy in his infectious smile, he lived Manny, or maybe, Manny lived him.
Written By – Shweta Sharma and Hetvi Mehta
Literary Sources: DGS MEDIA
Image Sources:
https://www.onmanorama.com/entertainment/entertainment-news/2020/06/04/malayalam-cinema-new-phase-lockdown-is-lifted-ott-releases.html
https://zeenews.india.com/bollywood/sushant-singh-rajput-and-sanjana-sanghis-dil-bechara-trailer-to-release-on-monday-cant-wait-says-twitter-2293799.html