‘Dear Dad’ Movie Review: Heart-warming and relevant

Directed by: Tanuj Bhramar
Produced by: Ratnakar M, Shaan Vyaas
Cast: Arvind Swamy, Himanshu Sharma
Duration: 1 hours 50 minute
Bollywood Bubble Rating: 3/5

When we heard about ‘Dear Dad’, we assumed it was going to be a flick on father-child relationship. But written and directed by Tanuj Bhramar, the film is something  beyond that. It is an eye-opener!

What happens when a homosexual man is forced to marry a woman and lives his life with numerous unanswered questions, unsorted confusions? How does he lead a life, juggling between the urge to come out as his true self and the fear of losing all the close ones? He does gather the courage to confess the truth to his son one day; how does it change the equations of relationships? How does life unfold?  The film melts our hearts.

After 15 long years, Arvind Swamy is back to Bollywood and he is so apt! We loved him as a helpless, apologetic husband and as a loving father. Himanshu Sharma, as the teenage son who is suddenly exposed to an astonishing reality, is perfect.

Bollywood usually has a cliché depiction of homosexuality. There is a person who is always shameful and apologetic about himself. There is a society which never accepts him the way he is. For a change, Swamy’s character has been painted gutsy enough to not feel sorry about being a gay. He rather bravely says, “This is what I am”.  This is where even Himanshu’s character is special. He does get shaken when he judges his father from an entirely different perspective; but only being a teenager, he learns to be proud of his father.

Relationships, in today’s world, are so fragile. They take no time to be shattered into pieces. However, ‘Dear Dad’ is one story which tells you, all a relationship takes to survive is your heart at the right place. The humane bonds are way beyond judgments. That is why, our eyes are filled with tears when a son hugs his misunderstood, misjudged, hurt father and assures him a shoulder.

The foremost reason why Himanshu’s character is so important is that children are consciously kept away from issues like homosexuality; which so demands and requires to be talked about and understood. It is a big thing for a child to carry a broad perspective from the first day he starts judging things. We really hope this opens many eyes!

Ekavali Khanna as Swamy’s wife and Aman Uppal as a supporting actor are decent. Compositions by Raghav-Arjun and Ujjwal Kashyap deserve a special mention here; for the background scores are apt and minimal and the songs only take the story forward.

We did feel it could be a bit more impactful and compact. But nevertheless, we still liked it.

Go, watch it. You’ll probably come out with a smile, and a better perspective too!

WATCH TRAILER:

https://youtu.be/VbGzOwl6urc