Dil Bechara

About the film

Dil Bechara (transl. The helpless heart) is a 2020 Indian Hindi-language coming-of-age tragedy romance film directed by Mukesh Chhabra in his directorial debut, and produced by Fox Star Studios, with a script written by Shashank Khaitan and Suprotim Sengputa. Based on John Green's 2012 novel The Fault in Our Stars and its subsequent 2014 American film remake, the film stars Sushant Singh Rajput and Sanjana Sanghi as terminal cancer patients with an ensemble supporting cast, while Saif Ali Khan makes a cameo appearance. The film marks Rajput's unexpected posthumous appearance, following his death on 14 June 2020 (a month before the film's release).

Fox Star Studios acquired rights for an Indian adaptation in 2014, after which it underwent four years of casting and screenplay changes. Filming commenced under the title Kizie Aur Manny by late June 2018. The film was shot across Jamshedpur and Ranchi with sporadic schedules in Mumbai; apart from the last one in Paris, France. The score and soundtrack were composed by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics by Amitabh Bhattacharya. The cinematography and editing were performed by Setu and Aarif Sheikh, respectively.

The theatrical release suffered due to post-production delays, as well as the COVID-19 pandemic. Adding to this was Rajput's death on 14 June 2020, which resulted in a digital release on the Disney+ Hotstar streaming service on 24 July. In honour of Rajput, it was made accessible without subscription in India and select countries on the platform. The film received critical acclaim, with praise for the running time, the performances of Rajput and Sanghi, direction, story, characterisation, soundtrack, cohesion and screenplay.

Cast and crew

Dil Bechara was directed by Mukesh Chhabra and written by Shashank Khaitan, and released in 2020.

The film features Sushant Singh Rajput in its principal cast.

Key details