It's a shame Dear Zindagi deleted those precious scenes

Gauri Shinde's Dear Zindagi was a pleasant watch, thanks to Alia Bhatt, Goa and, of course, Shah Rukh Khan.

I have heard many people say, "We wished the movie never got over and just wanted Shah Rukh Khan to go on talking." Khan, as Jehangir Khan the psychiatrist, seems more like a motivational speaker, tells Alia's Kiara stories, imparting wisdom to the confused and whingeing 25-year-old.

Jehangir Khan, who likes to be called Jug, is not your conventional psychiatrist. He plays kabaddi with the waves on the beach, repairs cycles, and even uses furniture at his house to share life lessons.

Taking enough time to win Kiara's confidence, Jug manages to learn about the deep, dark memories that haunt her, and, in a Bollywood-like scene, the director leads people to believe that Kiara develops romantic feelings for Jug. This follows another heart break.

The film's producers recently shared three deleted scenes from the film, two of which should have made the final cut.

They would have added another eight minutes to the movie - and a lot of context, especially to the climax.

In those moments, we see that Kiara, an established cinematographer, hoped to do independent work, but is confused about it. In the film's climax, we see Kiara presenting her first movie to a small audience - which tells the story of Dona Maria, a winner.

In one of the deleted scenes, Jug is seen narrating Dona Maria's inspiring tale to Kiara, who is impressed and inspired by the story.

The point of the "long story", Jug says, is to make her realise that every individual has to look within and figure out what they really want to do in life, and to do that, they must scare their inner fears away and maybe share them with someone to feel lighter.

Jug was pushing Kiara to come out of her shell and shed her inhibitions in the best possible way:

The five-minute-long scene - beautifully shot amid the ruins of a fort in Goa - would have added much to the movie. It would have lent context to why Kiara chose to make a film on Dona Maria, a character who inspired her to move on - from being bogged down by a dark period in her childhood.

Kiara's movie would have been perceived by the audience as a statement she made - with Jug's narration of Maria's tale accompanying the scene.

Without the background, it is just another movie she made.

Another deleted scene shows an irritated Kiara boarding a flight after turning down her friend's offer of a business class seat.

What follows is an interaction with an entitled old man who asks her to take his business class seat so that he can sit beside his son, who is travelling economy.

When Alia insists on keeping her seat, he complains about how the younger generation does not respect elders and cannot adjust.

Kiara gives him a fitting reply saying respect should be everyone's right, regardless of gender or age.

The scene would have established how annoyed Kiara was and sent out a strong message to all those who saw the film - that age or gender must not guide entitlement.

But Shinde chose to keep this out too.

Dear Zindagi, with these crucial scenes, would be dearer to the audience, but of course, it managed well without them.