Dear Zindagi is a lovely picture, made with finesse and heart, and one that not only takes some stigma off the idea of seeking therapy, but — in the most natural of ways — goes a long way in making a viewer think of the people who matter most.

The single smartest trick in this film, however, may well be the primary casting decision. Because a good therapist is a superstar.

Sad and sleepless is nothing unusual for a 20-something young woman fraught with career limbo and romantic disillusionment. What’s significant is she decides to seek professional help for the same.

Seldom does a character in our movies take such a step — who needs a shrink when you can simply stand on the beach, balcony or backyard and drive all the gloom out of your system by blasting off an ode to melancholy?

Dear Zindagi pulls at the heartstrings. It is also loaded with genteel humour. But what works above all is that the pop philosophy/psychology that underlines the drama at the film’s core isn’t the least bit pulpy.

Recommended without reservation.

Feisty Alia, one of the better actors of the current generation, turns in a nicely nuanced performance. And SRK in his sober-avatar possessing infinite gyaan tempts you to seek out a therapist. If you’re in the mood to do some soul-searching this weekend, this film could do it for you.

Watch the film for Alia Bhatt and Shah Rukh Khan. It’s an emotional joyride which won’t harm you when watched once.

…this film has some fantastic moments. Some soul searching philosophy and some heart crushing realities on offer. Dear Zindagi is a feel good film. An experience that will make you feel alive.

DEAR ZINDAGI is an impeccably performed touching if not everlasting adage on life and relationship with some soul stirring moments hailing the power of Alia Bhatt as a super performer and SRK as the irresistible cool charmer minus the super star’s ‘arm spread’ we all know.

Looking for a decent time with your near ones this weekend then DEAR ZINDAGI is your ticket.

The theme is totally relevant. The perspective, since female, is relatively unique. Alia plays a ‘filmmaker type’ herself, doing the serious grunt work — something we hardly acknowledge about women (or men) in showbiz. This is true for the director (Gauri Shinde) of this movie, of course. There is a touch of semi-autobiography in there.

The flick is more like a therapy that the modern generation needs today in order to live a stress-free life. It is hard to comment whether it will work wonders in the single screen and rural areas but, if you need some freshness and a break from Bollywood clichés, then straightaway head to a theatre closest to you to grab a slice of ‘Dear Zindagi’

Dear Zindagi will definitely appeal to you if you love slice of life film. A little bit of trimming here and there would have been good, and it is not a typical Bollywood movie. However that shouldn’t stop you from not witnessing one of Alia’s best performances and SRK being his charming best.

It is a shame then that a film that had all the right things to say; that had capable actors to say them the right way; that had characters who could have kept your thoughts from going astray doesn’t do it all too well. It is a film different from the norm which by itself wins some points, but not quite enough.

If you are looking for a heartwarming, sensitive film about troubled twenty-somethings, then make a date with Dear Zindagi. You won’t live to regret it.

Go for it if you seek some comfort food with some philosophical ingredients in it!

Had the story been a tad bit crisper, it could have been a breezy masterpiece.

Still, a fine effort by Shinde and co, with some valuable lessons for modern-day families, who will in all probability, relate to many scenes and perhaps revaluate their relationships.