Guzaarish: Movie Review

GUZAARISH

*ing Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Music & Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali

When Guzaarish opens there isn’t the long mandatory casting, it’s just the producer’s logos and then the title and then the screen goes black. Pitch black.

Then somewhere from near the left, the screen seems to almost tear towards the middle and you realize its Sophia (Aishwarya) drawing the curtain in a paralyzed Ethan Mascarenes' (Hrithik's) room. Then with the eternal Charlie Chaplin song Smile (from Modern Times) playing you see a montage of shots of Ash caring for the quadriplegic Hrithik.

The movie is filled with such similarly stunning scenes which look like gorgeous paintings.

Sanjay Leela Bhansali can certainly frame a scene.

Pity there is not much more that he seems to be able to do anymore.

He is certainly not without talent. His Khamoshi (about the deaf & dumb) was way superior to the overrated and over styled Black and his Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam had more pain & longing than in all the garishness of Devdas. But here he seems to be like a wannabe European director.

I don’t want to sound elitist here but I have a strange theory.

All vernacular students always say they are as good if not better than the convent educated ones. Rich, spoilt snobs is what they usually refer to them as but somewhere deep down this animosity hides a want on their part to belong too.

To be one of the boys, to speak English as comfortably, to flaunt labels with élan (why else do you think small town boys and girls love their fake Versace’s and D&G’s).

SLB is also a small town boy and after his initial commercial success he has started to crave for critical acclaim. He wants to be the Indian Zeffirelli, the Indian Kurosawa, the Indian Kieslowski. It would be so much better if he just tried to be the Indian Bhansali.

Calling Bhansali a wannabe is probably a bit strong but just look at Guzaarish.

Hrithik’s house looks like an old church on the exterior but is styled like a Tuscan villa on the inside, the characters speak more in English than Hindi, they are all named Rosy, Maria, Sophia, Ethan or Neville, Ash plays a nurse but is dressed like a Spanish flamenco dancer who is ready to burst into song and dance at any moment (which incidentally she does do), her hair and make up is so perfect it’s a wonder she finds time to attend to him (which is probably why the poor guy hasn’t shown any improvement in 12 years) and with such a repertoire of Indian music at his disposal and for a avowed fan of Lata Mangeshker its strange he needs to use English songs like ‘Smile’ and ‘Wonderful Life’ (sung by Hrithik himself and sounding much better than his disastrous singing debut where he had droned on and on about some ‘Kites in The Sky’).

Hrithik is a very good actor and when he is not grinning maniacally, he actually manages to convey a lot of the pain and suffering like at the end of the Udi song or when he is interacting with Omar. But these moments are far and few in between.

Which brings us to Aditya Roy Kapoor.

This boy has a lot of talent and behind that strange afro is also a very camera friendly and charismatic person. He manages to steal almost every scene he is in and with Ash and Hrithik its saying a lot.

The Kingfisher swimsuit model Monikangana Dutta also makes her debut and while she hardly has a couple of scenes she is not as wooden as most models usually are. Infact when she is dancing (by the way why are Magicians dancing anyway) with Hrithik on stage she actually reminds you of heroines from the past. There is a certain timeless quality about her face.

Ash is as beautiful as ever but has matured into a more sensuous beauty and in some scenes she actually reminds you of Penelope Cruz in Almodovar’s films. But all she seems to be doing in Guzaarish is flashing her eyes; at Ethan, at Omar, at the Lawyer, at the Judge, at the servants, at everyone, so much so that when her husband arrives towards the end and slaps her, you almost thank him for putting us out of this misery of bad acting.

It is much easier to relate to a poor hardworking nurse if she is dressed like one and not in monochromed Sabyasachi creations.

Hell in the last scene she is dressed like a Latin seductress with Ukrainian hair.

Is there anything good about the movie I hear you ask?

Well there is a short 3 minute dance solo that’s shot like a dream with Hrithik floating and dancing with a ball and somehow not managing to look like a pansy.

There’s Ash dancing with her hands in a bar called Martins but which strangely has a big Buddha head on stage.

There’s the set design which, in isolation, is beautiful to look at. Isolation being the operative work here as it has no correlation to Ethan's supposed financial condition.

The saddest part is the whole thing about euthanasia. This has been trivialized so much that you wonder if it is just a plot move to dramatize the whole movie.

Of all quadriplegics, Ethan seems to have the least reason to petition for mercy killing.

He seems to be hale and hearty (inspite of what the podgy doc keeps popping up to tell us), he has the latest breath activated wheelchair, he has a nurse who hasn’t taken leave in 12 years and for a paralyzed man who cant tell when he has passed urine or stool he seems to always get aroused while getting a massage...... so apart from sheer boredom and/or sexual frustration I didn’t see why he needed to die so urgently.

Hell, he even has a radio show of his own. He is a frickin celebrity RJ.

The court scenes are a joke. The first one at court has the 2 lawyers behaving like juvenile kids emotionally screaming in the absence of sane argument. Then after Sophia has had her moment of screaming at the judge (in English) the next court scene moves to Ethan’s house.

Why?

Apparently because His Honor felt sorry for Ethan's outing but also because why should Bhansali have the drab courtroom and the dreary dock when he can frame his characters in the courtyard of the Mediterranean villa with Ethan seated at the foot of a sweeping staircase.

Its frivolous nonsense like this that makes this movie so sad.

Pretentious. Pretentious. Pretentious.

Shit even Golmaal is better than this. At least it’s not trying to be something it isn’t.

If we all petition Bhansali for a better movie next time will he listen to our Guzaarish?

If wishes were horses even Ethan would ride.

G'bye till next time.