I was waiting for the much-awaited Dil Bechara day for a very long time. However, when it came, I had jitters in my stomach. I was not sure if I would be able to face his smile on screen without being able to break down. I set my parents’ TV and installed Hotstar and my anxiousness increased to levels that I cannot even begin to mention. I was excited to see his movie, nervous about not being able to put my thoughts into words properly and afraid that it would make me cry, it would make me sad because this is the last time the rest of the world and I will be seeing his magic on screen, it would break my heart to see him dance like there’s no tomorrow, which in fact does not exist for him anymore.
And so it began, the magic for one last time on screen and forever in our hearts, the story of Kizzie and Manny aka Immanuel Rajkumar Junior. Kizzie is a cute girl from Jamshedpur. She suffers from Thyroid Cancer and carries an oxygen cylinder with her whose name she has kept as Pushpinder. Kizzie goes to funerals and hugs strangers because it just makes her feel better and makes her lonely life a little less lonely.
Manny also fought against Osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer that took one of his legs away, but not his spirits and high on life attitude. He enters Kizzie’s life and makes it bright and shiny again. Even helps her find Abhimanyu Veer (Saif Ali Khan) in Paris, whose incomplete song Main Tumhara was Kizzie’s favourite and her only wish before dying was to meet him and ask him to complete the song. In fact, he even finds JP, his best friend (who suffers from eye cancer) his heroine, and helps him complete his dream Bhojpuri movie after JP is blind again.
He takes her to the city of love, Paris along with his mom despite her doctors advising otherwise, only to fulfill her dreams. However, life is never fair isn’t it? Manny’s cancer comes back and takes him away. But what he leaves behind are beautiful memories that he created with his Kizzie or as he liked to call her Kissie Basu, he made her whole again, before bidding adieu to the beautiful world.
There are several scenes that will immediately bring tears to your eyes that you will find hard to hold back. The way the movie ends with JP’s movie being released without Manny in the world will remind you of Sushant not being present to watch his stellar performance on screen.
However, I am sure he would have smiled watching the audiences laugh with him, cry with him, and cry for him. The line where he says “Janam kab lena hai aur marna kab hai, hum decide nahi kar sakte hain. Par jeena kaise hai wo hum decide kar sakte hain,” reminds you of Sushant’s own larger than life attitude. The way he says Seri Kizzie Basu, makes you want to instantly give him a long hug. Every scene has been beautifully executed by him and there is no doubt that he was one of the brightest stars that the industry had.
Talking about the movie’s performance, it is impossible to give it anything less than 5 stars, in my opinion. It was so beautifully made, and Sushant’s smiles made the movie an even more fantastic watch. You would not move from your seat for even a minute, or miss a dialogue, or one look of his while watching the movie.
It was hard to even think that he is no more because he looked so alive on screen. The only complaint I have is that I wanted a few more minutes in the movie, I wanted him to smile a few more times more, I wanted to see him a little more, I wanted to capture those moments where he smiles his heart out inside my heart and never let them go.
When the movie ended with his images being showcased from the movie, I could not help but shed a few tears and wallow. It is then when his absence hurts the most, and it hits you right where it hurts the hardest.
Sushant Singh Rajput, I hope you are reading this, your performance made me smile, laugh, and cry. You were so natural, that it did not even seem like I was watching someone perform but it felt like I was watching you in front of me. Supernova, in whatever galaxy you are, you have left behind small but beautiful performances and moments behind you for your fans to see and reminisce all their lives.
An actor, a human being like Sushant is born once in decades and I am glad to have at least known him through the screen. If you are planning to skip the movie just because you feel you do not have the strength to watch him perform, I would request you to please go and give this movie a chance, for the sole reason that Sushant Singh Rajput gave his heart and soul to Dil Bechara and there is no other way to give him a beautiful and fitting tribute than watching his last, but probably the most heart touching performance till date.
Star cast: Sushant Singh Rajput as Immanuel Rajkumar Jr. Manny, Sanjana Sanghi as Kizzie Basu, Saif Ali Khan as Abhimanyu Veer, Sahil Vaid as JP, Saswata Chatterjee as Kizzie’s father, Swastika Mukherjee as Kizzie’s mother, Milind Gunaji, Javed Jaffrey, Adil Hussain, Subbalakshmi as Manny’s grandmother
