…admirable thing about the film is its attempt to root out the stigma attached to mental health and the shame associated with therapy.
But these are small gifts in an overlong, disappointing film that misses its mark. Honestly, it’s a slog.

Both Shah Rukh Khan and Alia Bhatt show spark but the film needed a plot to hinge the performances. Too many dialogues that say too little take the joy away from the film.

If only Gauri brought better-etched characters and delved more into the emotional turmoils of her lead, this could have been a wonderful “slice-of-life” film with several messages to be lauded for. What she ends up with is a “could-have-been-amazing” film..

Dear Zindagi is definitely a one time watch this weekend but enter the theatre at your own risk since the journey of Kiara may hit you or it may pass by without even moving you. Watch this film only for amazing performances and nothing else.

Dear Zindagi feels like a long, unending conversation that leaves you feeling exhausted. We wish Dr. Jehangir’s character had more appeal than the texture of his facial scruff.

The memorable moments here are between Bhatt and Khan albeit most of them are already seen in the many teasers. Khan with specks of white hair in his beard and understated approach here will remind viewers of the good old days of Chak De India! and Swades respectively. But the lifeline of Dear Zindagi is its heroine who at 23 is at the top of her game.

Dear Zindagi meanders through many nothings to say something…

…comes across as a slow-paced cerebral and contemporary slice of life tale about the challenges today’s generation of girls face in a rapidly shifting landscape. At the Box-Office, it will appeal only to a niche segment of the multiplex audience on account of lack of entertainment value as well as its abstruse and esoteric treatment. It will therefore find the going tough at the box office.

Dear Zindagi then is a mixed bag. I loved SRK in the film, Bhatt is always a pleasure to watch, the story visits many themes that are uncommon in Bollywood, and several of the discussions are either witty or insightful or both. Overall though, the film comes across as being not enough because the writing needed more substance.

For two hours you put up with too shiny, too happy people holding hands and you’re fed up with the hokey counseling sessions. The last half hour actually touches you but it is too little too late.

Dear Zindagi could have been a lively, fun film albeit with life lessons, rather than the long-winded slice of life it is.

Dear Zindagi starts off as a rap song but ends on an aarti note. Too bad you never realized when your party turned into a jagrata. 

‘Dear Zindagi’ would have worked better if it was little shorter and focussed, as it is SRK fans should definitely watch him in a different avatar, playing his age. Otherwise, it’s not a must watch, just worth a once watch.