Dear Zindagi director Gauri Shinde slams reports of the film being a replica of a Canadian show
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; December 6, 2016)

In the last few days, reports of Gauri Shinde’s second directorial venture Dear Zindagi being a ‘replica’ of Canadian television series Being Erica have surfaced. Parallels were drawn between Alia Bhatt’s Kiara and Erica (played by Erin Karpluck), and her dimaag ka doctor played by Shah Rukh Khan is said to have been inspired by Dr Tom (played by Michael Ray). Even the dialogues like ‘har tooti hui cheez jodi ja sakti hai’ have been likened to Dr Tom’s ‘whatever it is that you are unhappy about, I can fix it’. Kiara’s boyfriends played by Angad Bedi and Ali Zafar, too, can be found in the series, the former ‘too good to be dumped’ named Ethan and the latter, ‘a charming musician’ named Kai who woos Erica in front of scores of people. However, unlike the series, the film doesn’t take the time travel route. The parallels were too glaring to go unnoticed.

However, when hitlist got in touch with Gauri, she was taken aback by the rumours. “Huh? I don’t even know what series you are talking about. But, yes, it is a good try on the part of whoever wants to bring this movie [Dear Zindagi] down. Why don’t people watch the show, since I haven’t, and decide for themselves? I don’t read rubbish. There is so much baseless crap out there and I can’t respond to everything,” she responded via text message.

Of course, it is déjà vu for Gauri — when her first film, English Vinglish (2012), which marked Sridevi’s comeback to the screen after almost 15 years, had released, similar reports had emerged. It was said to be an outtake of Mind Your Language, the successful late 70s television series about a motley group of people learning English.

Recalling the rumours, the director retorts, “Trust me, people are never happy with others’ success. They tried to do the same with English Vinglish. But, all this doesn’t bother me at all.”