I went to watch Dear Zindagi for SRK, but came out not thinking of him

Let me start with a disclaimer. I am a die-hard Shah Rukh Khan fan. I went to watch Dear Zindagi only for SRK. But I have to admit, when I left the theatre, I was not even thinking about him. I came out with the feeling of having watched an extraordinary film with an ordinary story.  

It is the story of a modern-day Indian girl. It could be any girl.

Here are five reasons that make the ordinary story of Dear Zindagi extraordinary:

1) SRK has finally done a film not just because he is SRK

For a die-hard SRK fan, the biggest relief was that this film did not revolve around him. He had less screen space than Alia Bhatt. He is not the hero of the film. Alia is. In this film he played a character which was real, believable and not the usual larger than life Raj or Rahul. His character is romantic and yet not the typical SRK character.

2) Alia Bhatt is all of us

Kaira is fast, she is rude, she is moody. She talks like she wants to, she speaks her mind, she yells when she feels like. She is the not the favourite child of her parents, she is fighting a hundred inner battles and still surviving with a smile. She is ambitious, she has chosen an unconventional career, she is strong. Yet she is loving, dreamy, vulnerable and insecure. Isn’t that all of us in shades of our own?

3) We all need a Jug to drink from

For some it can be a person, for others books, for some it can be music, for others travelling. Jug symbolises positive energy that affects Kaira’s life - the healing touch, a respite she needs to face life. We all need it in one way or other.

4) The parent-child equation

The parent-child equation has never been simple. Be it rich, middle class or poor. In every family, the parents in their respective capacity only want the best for their children. But the child’s view can differ. We may feel wronged by her parents. But the film essentially makes us realise that children often see parents beyond normal people, they have way too many expectations and always expect them to be right and fair to them. But, we need to see our parents as humans not super humans - why should they be the ones to sacrifice when we do not have the patience to understand their compulsions. We need to accept they too are like all other people, who can be wrong, who can make mistakes.

5) The fear of judgment

Each one of us lives under perennial fear of being judged. Many times in life, we refrain from expressing ourselves just because we fear being judged. And that restricts us, it makes us insecure, we become detached, our emotions pile up inside and eat us up. It is okay to be yourself, be at ease. We all have to eventually be with ourselves and it does not matter who judges us and how.

Also read: Dear Zindagi needs more therapy than it offers