Guzaarish movie review: Completely out of character
While Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Guzaarish leaves no stone unturned to make you feel the pain of a quadriplegic man and even sway you to some degree, this highly intimate film strangely maintains a certain kind of distance that never allows you to be part of the journey.
Guzaarish History
After a super flop called Saawariya, Bhansali returns with the basic done-to-death formula that has been the source of his cinematic existence and while Guzaarish does venture into overdrive mode from time to time, thankfully, he treads cautiously. Exploring the trails of Ethan Mascarenhas (Hrithik Roshan), a former magician who meets with an accident that confines him to a wheelchair for most of his life, the film starts off quite well and gets into the thick of things. without losing time. . After fourteen long years of suffering a spinal injury and his declining health, Ethan decides to end his life. To the shock of his doctor (Suhel Seth) and the anger of his caretaker Sofia (Aishwariya Rai-Bachchan), Ethan asks his lawyer, Devyani Dutta (Shernaz Patel), to submit a euthanasia declaration. Between hosting his own radio show and living everyday life that includes a generous dose of flirting with Sofia, Ethan also decides to teach magic to Omar Siddique (Aditya Roy Kapoor), a Raj Kapooresque drifter who arrives unannounced at the Mascarenhas House. . .
The first twenty brisk minutes made Guzaarish jumps between sequences that don’t really add anything substantial to the basic plot. A series of flashbacks interspersed with lyrically choreographed shots through the Portuguese mansion in which Ethan resides reveal bits and pieces: his mother, his ex-flame, etc. of Ethan’s life goes on and only on the basis that we are supposed to fall in love with his man. Ethan, who had inspired millions since his accident through his radio show and writing a book, begins using his show to garner public support for him before challenging the injunction throwing out the guilty plea. of the. People from all walks of Goan life call out to him and inspire him to carry on as he tries to find someone who understands his plight. True to the rules of high drama, approval comes in the form of Estella (a finely carved piece of wood called Monikangana Dutta), his ex-flame who had left him at his request, and Mama Isabel Mascarenhas (Nafisa Ali) who suddenly and surrealistically reappears.
Traps in Guzaarish
No one captures suffering better than Sanjay Leela Bhansal, but to think that watching Hrithik Roshan’s anguish in a wheelchair for two hours is reason enough for Guzaarish to work is completely out of character. Roshan’s acting chops contribute greatly to Bhansali’s vision of Ethan, but one wished there were more than just a handful of scenes that would help the viewer feel the man’s pain. Yes, there are scenes like an unattended Ethan falling out of bed, raindrops from the ceiling drenching a defenseless Ethan, and Ethan lying next to his dead mother who dies as unexpectedly as she appeared, but these moments are fleeting and few.
One of the great things about Guzaarish that works wonders is the sheer chemistry between Hrithik Roshan and Aishwariya Rai-Bachchan. These two actors are so attuned that Bhansali is not only able to create wonderful moments between the two, but also uses them liberally in peppered montages throughout the film. By his account, Rai-Bachchan resembles a nurse and mannerisms, while Roshan constantly reminds himself that he’s the bean-filled super cool Ethan who’ll live no matter what. Shernaz Patel almost always gets it right, but Seth goes from bad to worse as the movie progresses. Annoying at times but passable, Aditya Roy Kapoor is like the classic hero of Sanjay Leela Bhansli; a cross between Salman Khan of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Ranbir Kapoor in Saawariya.
Final words on Guzaarish
The other problem with Guzaarish aside from not being able to connect with the characters is the script becoming meaningless in places. If Ethan knew that Omar was the son of Yasser Siddique (Ash Chandler), his competitor and the man responsible for his accident, and if the revelation about him wasn’t going to have any impact on the movie or the characters, then let it go. the end? Even the scene where Omar is surreptitiously talking to someone about how he gained Ethan’s trust makes no sense, since we never really got to know who was on the other end of the line. But in the world of Sanjay Leela Bhansali those things don’t matter. What matters is living life to the fullest, even if it’s only 100 grams! Overall, Guzaarish isn’t that bad, but he’s not worth dying for.
Guzaarish Cast: Hrithik Roshan, Aishwarya Rai, Shernaz Patel, Nafisa Ali, Aditya Roy Kapoor, Monikangana Dutta and Suhel Seth.
Guzaarish Screenplay by: Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Bhavani Iyer
Music Guzaarish and directed by: Sanjay Leela Bhansali
RATING: 2 / 5
Guzaarish Genre: Romance/Drama