Dil Bechara(2020), the heartbreak is real this time #236

Dil Bechara is an adaptation of the novel “Fault in Our Stars.” It stars Sushant Singh Rajput as Manny and Sanjana Sanghi as Kizie. Kizie, a teenage girl who lost hope due to cancer, finds a reason to smile again because of Manny. But does that mean a happy ending?

The story of ‘Dil Bechara’:

Kizie was a young girl suffering from cancer. She had difficulty breathing and carried an oxygen cylinder with her at all times. She longed for the life of any other teenage girl—to fall in love, gossip about other girls, and more—but cancer changed everything. Kizie was her parents’ only child. Her father was chill but watched National Geographic Channel all day long. Her mother was protective; she picked Kizie up from college and made sure she didn’t hang out with bad company.

On the occasion of a cultural function at her college, Kizie met this weird guy named Manny and his friend JP. Manny was friendly, always laughing and joking around. JP had an illness that would eventually cause him to lose his vision; Manny too was terminally ill, but nobody could have guessed it from his jolly nature. In no time, Kizie and Manny became close. She shared her favorite song with him; he didn’t like it at first, but when he gave it a second chance, it became everything to him—he kept listening on loop all day long.

Kizie was a die-hard fan of the musician who wrote the song that stirred her most: an unfinished romantic one. All she had were the first two lines of the song—she desperately wanted to know what happened next!

The artist did not finish the song and vanished… He didn’t write any other song after that. Kizie told Manny about how badly she wanted to know the rest of the song… Manny managed to track the artist down and send him and email. Kizie was couldn’t believe that when Manny told that.

Later, Kizie reached out to the artist over mail again, telling him how much she loved his work and the unfinished song. The artist didn’t tell her the story but promised to meet her if she ever went to Paris. Kizie was ecstatic after getting that reply and wanted to go to Paris at any cost. Manny had become a regular visitor by then; some days he’d sneak into her bedroom from the balcony, other days he’d come through the main entrance like a normal person. Kizie’s mother wasn’t too fond of him, but her father could see the love in Manny’s eyes for his daughter.

Due to her poor health, the doctor forbade Kizie from travelling alone. Going to Paris was her only wish, so Manny convinced her dad to let her go. She went with both Manny and her mother as she couldn’t trust him with her terminally ill daughter’s life. Meeting the artist was a disappointing experience; he was rude and unapologetic. He simply told Kizie that in real life when someone dies, there is no happy ending – a cruel reminder that she would one day leave behind both of her parents and Manny, leaving them no choice but unhappiness.

Kizie and Manny spent the rest of their days roaming around Paris, having a good time. When Kizie finally expressed her love to Manny, he couldn’t contain his emotions any longer and broke down in her arms. His health was declining quickly. The world around Kizie began to crumble; after she had just started loving herself a little more and found a reason to smile, Manny became someone new—he wasn’t the jolly guy who made silly jokes anymore. Kizie was always there for him, but this time they would sit together silently and stare at the distant trees and lake water. To cheer him up, they watched the movie that he had begun with JP as a passion project.

Manny was the hero and Kizie was the heroine. They finished all their scenes, but Manny died within a few days. He left a letter for Kizie with the rest of the song; in Paris, he had promised her he would finish it. He confessed that he wasn’t as great an artist as he was a lover, so had to reach out to another artist to complete it. Kizie’s shock at Manny’s death was utter—all this time she’d thought she would be the one to die first.

My thought on the movie:

As the movie was released just a month after Sushant Singh Rajput‘s mysterious death, reviews of it are mostly positive. It came out on Disney+Hotstar and, as tribute to the late actor, was made free for both subscribers and non-subscribers. To be honest, we all failed to watch his movies when he was alive; now giving positive reviews or pretending to be his biggest fan won’t bring him back. Watching the movie knowing how perfectly Manny’s life ended aligns with the real life star’s is heartbreaking.

This movie isn’t Sushant’s best work, even though he brought out the best of the character. Manny was only 23 years old; a younger actor might have been better suited… I don’t know if they could beat Sushant’s performance, though! Amir Khan played a college student in 3 Idiots at 44—I’m not kidding! Sanjana looked perfect as Kizie: her dressing and behavior were natural and relatable. It was great to see Saswata Chatterjee and Swastika Mukherjee cast as Kizie’s parents. As a Bengali, it always bothers me when actors can’t nail their two or three lines of Bengali in Hindi movies.

There are few moments in the movie that specially I would like to share my thoughts on-

The Mother-daughter moment

In Paris, Kizie was staying in a hotel with her mom. She dressed up nicely to meet the musician and her mother quickly commented, “Is it for him or Manny?” She already knew how much her daughter loved Manny. Kizie’s mother reminisced about the red dress she used to like when she was little. Kizie replied, “…because you made that dress for me.” Then her mother pointed at the v-neck frock she was wearing and asked, “Isn’t this too revealing?” and adjusted the neckline higher.

Kizie thought: This is exactly what my mom always does! She has been making dresses for me since I was a child; she’s always concerned about deep necklines or ones that show too much. Even now, whenever I buy a dress for myself, she checks if it’s too low cut (especially V-necks) or revealing before I wear it!

Sneaking into Kizie’s house

Manny would sneak into Kizie’s bedroom occasionally to chat. It wasn’t as cheesy as Twilight, where Edward watched Bella sleep every night. I’ve seen this scene in many movies and wish they’d show a realistic way for someone to climb a building regularly without neighbors noticing.

Going to Paris was a piece of cake!

The money issue is disregarded! I know many people in India who can afford to travel anywhere they desire. I just can’t relate.

Parents’ consent

Kizie’s mother was skeptical about Manny at first. But when they went to Paris, she finally let Kizie go and explore with him. I’m jealous—I’ve been single my whole life. If only I had a companion like him, and if my parents approved of him! I can’t imagine my father having a beer with my hypothetical boyfriend or my mother taking photos of us in a foreign country. Yeah, sounds like a fairy tale to me. Not sure about you guys… The movie was 1 hour 45 minutes long; everyone wished it was longer. Do give it a watch if you like 🙂

Dead people receive more flowers than the living because regret is stronger than gratitude.

Anne Frank

Note:
“Kai Po Che” (2013) was Sushant’s first film. He also starred in Shuddh Desi Romance(2013), PK(2014), Detective Byomkesh Bakshy(2015), M. S. Dhoni the untold story(2016), Raabta(2017), Kedarnath(2018), Drive, Sonchiriya, Chhichhore (2019) and Dil Bechara(2020). Dil Bechara is Sushant’s last film that released after his death.