Dasvidaniya - Movie Review

Dasvidaniya is a sweet and simple movie. The simplicity and the pace of the movie might have bored a few people, but that is the USP of the movie. The simplicity and beauty with which an ordinary, middle-class guy handles the hard fact of his fatal disease really melt my heart. It shows how this character, Amar Kaul, leads a very simple life of an average individual who tolerates a routine job with an overpowering boss just because the jobs helps him in earning enough to sustain his middle-class lifestyle. He has very few aspirations and wants in life. But, then the story takes a turn and he is diagnosed with a terminal disease. He then takes a hard look at his life and then decides to give up all the things that were tying him down all his life and live life king size for the last time.

He then makes a list of all the things he wants to do before he dies. He lists all the things that he always wanted to do but couldn’t do because either he was too shy to do or thought it was a luxury. He then goes on to fulfil his desires like buying the car of his choice from the money he gets from settlement after quitting his job. He also starts learning guitar from a professional.

Of all the things he does in his last few days on Earth, I like the way he gets in touch with his old flame and his best friend. These three were very close friends in their school days and stayed in the same residential complex, but couldn’t stay in touch after college. This girl whom he was in love with since childhood, is shown to have liked him as a friend, but nothing more than that. Whereas Amar is madly in love with her. He remembers all the little things they used to do and share as children. He finds out her contact details and pretends to meet her by chance near her workplace. This girl is shown to be equally excited to meet this guy. She then takes him to her house to meet her mother and to catch up with him. There he meets her daughter and husband, and realises that he has been too late in confessing his love for this girl. In her enthusiasm, this girl keeps telling her husband about the good time they spent as children and how he was an expert at a game they used to play. Amar and this girl used to be partners at guessing the name of movies in the game of Dumb Charades. She asks her husband to give him a name of a movie, asks Amar to enact it and then tries to guess it. He is then shown to enact it and she guesses it successfully in no time.

After spending some more time at her place, he waves a goodbye to her and her family with a heavy heart. But, after sitting in his car he realises that unless he confesses his love to this girl, he wouldn’t be able to die peacefully. He then rings her doorbell again and by way of Dumb Charades makes her guess the words ‘I love you’. The way this sequence has been picturised really melt my heart.

Next, he surfs the internet to find his best friend, Rajiv Jhulka. He finds him and sets up a voice chat with him. Then instead of saying ‘hi’, he addresses him as ‘Gun master G9’ which was their way of addressing each other in childhood and then starts singing one of their favourite tunes. Rajiv is also shown joining him in singing the song once he realises who is on the other side of the line. Then they greet each other and catch up with what is happening in their lives.

Amar doesn’t disclose his terminal illness to him. He only says that he will be coming to visit him soon. Amar then plans a foreign trip, which was one of the items in his ‘Things to do before I die’ list. He is then shown to fly to Rajiv’s country of residence and meet him with great excitement. The feeling is reciprocated by Rajiv. He takes him home and introduces him to his wife. Amar makes himself comfortable at his home. Meanwhile, Rajiv’s wife happens to find out of Amar’s illness. She misinterprets his intention of coming to meet Rajiv to a foreign land after not being in touch for 12 years. She explains to Rajiv that since he is a doctor, Amar has flown down to get a free treatment from Rajiv. Rajiv gets very upset by this and tries to make her understand that he knows his friend well and this couldn’t be the reason for his coming to meet him.
Amar happens to overhear their conversation, gets very upset, gathers his belongings and leaves their house quietly, without saying anything to them. He is then shown sitting on a bench near a bridge, thinking about what he should do next. He regrets his decision of coming all the way to meet his friend only to find out how his friend’s feelings have changed for him over all these years. While he is sitting and reflecting over the thought, a prostitute is shown to offer him her service. He refuses and tries to make her understand that he is upset and does care much about her offer. They are then shown to get into a fight and Amar then, terribly upset and dejected with life, tries to jump into the river to end his life. The prostitute then saves him, sympathises with his situation and takes him to her place. She feeds him and makes him comfortable. The plot then moves on to show how Amar, experiences love being reciprocated to him for the first time. He then spends a few days in her company and then bids her a farewell to come back to India.
The movie then moves on to show how he fulfils his other desires and then at the end, leaves some gift or the other for the people who had done him some good in his lifetime. The movie ends on a happy note, showing that he finally was able to do all the things he had listed to do before he died and thus died in peace.