MOVIE ANALYSIS: DEAR ZINDAGI
Dear Zindagi is a mainstream Hindi movie that is directed and written by Gauri Shinde. This movie
features Shah Rukh Khan as Jehangir Khan/Jugg, who is a therapist, and Alia Bhatt as Kaira, who
by profession is a cinematographer and also plays the client in the movie. The movie attempted to
bring awareness and knowledge to the audience about psychotherapy, which is less spoken about
in Indian society. Even though mental health is equally important as the health of any other, people
who have some form of mental issues have always been stigmatized in this society. Shah Rukh
Khan in the movie says, “Still log yeh samajhte hai, ki dimag ki problem hona bohot sharm ki baat
hai…as if dimag humare body ka hissa hi nahi hai.”
In the first session, Khan perceives Kaira as someone who is witty and who jokes in every situation.
In one scene, Kaira deflects from the conversation to say, “Can I have a glass of water from that
Jug, Jug?” I found it unusual that Khan was trying to incorporate wit to match Kaira’s
communication style. It seemed like he was trying to sound young to build rapport.
In the second session, when Kaira tells Khan about her dream where she fell down from a building
into a gutter and nobody came to help, along with other details of the dream, Kaira also revealed
some information about her relationships, which were hurt by the therapist and were seen to be her
irrational, disturbing, and upsetting thoughts. Therefore, it is clear that Khan uses rational motive
behavior therapy to address Kaira’s irrational thoughts by drawing parallels to simple life
experiences, such as the chair example, which became quite famous. Shahrukh Khan tells Alia
Bhatt that if we choose from a lot of chairs in a furniture shop, why can’t we have a choice in
choosing our life partners too? A lot of us misunderstood it and, in fact, took it way too seriously.
In the third session, it is important to realize that the flow of sessions does not go as it is shown in
the movie, which is a wrongful depiction. Khan’s method was unconventional when he took
sessions with Kaira on the beach. In the initial phase of the session, Kaira mentions that she cannot
love Goa since it is her hometown where her parents live, and recognizes her strained relationship
with her parents. This is where I think the therapist felt the need to explore more of her early
experiences and use a psychoanalytical approach. He uses countertransference and tells Kaira
about his own best memories of childhood. Even though this approach helps Kaira in the movie,
it does not prove that it works in reality. This approach is questionable.
Alia faces catharsis a few sessions later, which is quite unlikely to happen in a real setting, but not
impossible. Kaira has an emotional breakdown with her parents, and in the therapy session, she
finally manages to break down the self-inflicted wall in shutters, allowing herself to fully
experience those feelings. She processes her letting go of potentially destructive and toxic feelings
that she had within herself. During catharsis, the therapist gives her space and time, which allows
her to vent and cry without any interruptions or interventions. I think this is when she realizes what
was holding her back from getting into stable relationships.
In the end, Alia attempts to retain some relationship/connection with Khan. When Kaira sees her
life getting easier, it is a very natural response to feel affection for the words of Jahangir Khan.
This, in a therapeutic setup, is referred to as transference. Although the ethics don’t allow
professionals to engage in this, transference can be positive or negative. Positive transference can
lead to the client viewing the therapist as kind, concerned, or helpful, while negative transference
can lead to the client directing angry, painful, or negative feelings toward the therapist. Even
negative transference can be a therapeutic opportunity if the therapist can recognize it.
To conclude, a psychologist never infers from the client’s experience and presents them just like
that. The job of a psychologist is to help the client make efforts to understand their inner selves
and seek solutions. The client answers their questions, while the therapist helps them find those
answers by making them conscious of their real selves. A psychologist never gives advice; they
may at most recommend it.
In this movie, Alia often discusses her problems, and the next minute, the therapist, Jug, offers his
words of wisdom. In reality, a therapist has to spend hours just to make a patient open up because
people are much more complex and often don’t know what exactly the problem is. Thus, the
psychologist helps them discover those points by increasing their awareness of their real feelings.
I could never give my perspective to a client, as that would make me judgmental.
In therapy, the therapist must be more patient than the client, which Shahrukh doesn’t show much
in the film. People often confuse their emotions and pressure themselves into feeling what they
think they ought to feel. For example, after her breakup, Kaira (Alia) restricts herself from feeling
bad, which leads her to divert her emotional pain into self-harming with chilies. Her character
indicates a need for much more therapy than just a few sessions; although it's a movie, they don’t
show much.
Finally, Shahrukh abandoning Alia seems very unprofessional. Patients often become dependent
on their therapists, and the process of ending therapy must be gentle and gradual. Although Alia's
portrayal of the patient is done well, at least after this movie, youngsters may consider seeing a
therapist, which benefits psychologists.
