The late Sushant Singh Rajput’s last film will finally release on July 24, 2020 on Disney+ Hotstar, an online streaming platform. The good news is, the streaming company has gone out of their way and made the film available to everyone with or without an account with them (subscribers or non-subscribers). The only things they need is a device and internet to watch the film.
An Official Hollywood Remake
Titled ‘Dil Bechara’, this is famous casting director Mukesh Chhabra’s first film as a director. It stars Sushant and newcomer Sanjana Sanghi in the lead roles. It is the official remake of a Hollywood film that was based on a bestselling novel titled ‘The Fault In Our Stars’. ‘Dil Bechara’ was previously called ‘Kizie Aur Manny’, a title that was changed after Fox Star Studios decided to re-brand the film after suspending production in late 2018.
Casting
Since the Hollywood version was such a huge hit, people in Bollywood were keen to remake the film. Few famous names were initially attached to the project until it landed on Mukesh’s lap and in March 2018, Sushant was cast as the lead actor of the film. Mukesh is a casting director and he decided for the film that he wanted a new girl.
Mukesh first met Sanjana when she came in to audition for ‘Rockstar’, the role of Nargis’ little sister. She then kept in touch with Mukesh, who was keen on launching her.
Delayed and Postponed
‘Dil Bechara’ is being released more than two years later after filming started. After being mired with allegations and accusations, the production house stepped in and shooting was stalled until the situation was clear. Then there were the dates problem with Saifu and the unforeseen problems in Paris, which further stalled the shooting.
Saif joins the film
Saif Ali Khan joined the film in early 2019 and by July 4 2019, the film wrapped up the last schedule in Paris, France. Saif’s role is supposed to be a special surprise appearance as his character was not revealed to the media. Back then, since the film was supposed to be released later that year, Mukesh spoke at length about the film and its similarities with the original. According to him then, this scene was the one that got him:
Release postponed due to Covid-19
When the film’s release got postponed since the production house was reportedly not too happy with the end product, a new release date was announced since post production was going to take more time. It was set to be released on May 8, 2020. Then Covid-19 aka Coronavirus happened and the makers realized it’s better to release the film on a streaming platform. Even though, both the director and actor were not too pleased with this move, they had no choice as cinemas won’t be opened anytime soon.
Mukesh Chhabra on Sushant
Mukesh Chhabra, one of Sushant’s close friends in the industry, tweeted this message on the occasion of the announcement of the film’s release. Since Mukesh has been by Sushant’s side when he was starting out in Bollywood, he wanted Sushant to play the lead in his first film. Within 5 minutes of hte narration, Sushant agreed to do the film.
Sushant was not just the hero of my debut film as a director, but he was a dear friend who stood by me through thick and thin. We had been close right from Kai Po Che to Dil Bechara. He had promised me that he would be in my first film. So many plans were made together, so many dreams were dreamt together but never once did I ever imagine that I would be left alone to release this film. He always showered immense love on me while I was making it and his love will guide us as we release it. – Mukesh Chhabra
‘Dil Bechara’ is Sushant’s 11th Bollywood film and also his last film as a lead actor, though the last film he shot for was ‘Chhichhore’. You can finally watch ‘Dil Bechara’ on 24th July via Disney+ Hotstar for free, as a tribute to Sushant. This film might just end up becoming the most-watched OTT film release ever! Something they never thought of when they found out it was going to release online. It’s better than a theater release since the whole world can now watch it…at the same time! Most likely as the release date comes closer, the streaming platform or the production house will announce where the rest of the world can watch the film online. So, stay tuned.