Big, beautiful, dazzling

Not Bhansali’s cinema. Played at the highest possible scale, his drama unfolds in wave after wave of rapturous splendour. His characters occupy a space that defies definition and seduces audiences into celebrating a state of sublimity and splendour. Ethan’s inert physicality is alchemized into an ambience of animated joy. His spirit dances and sings at the sheer pleasure of every moment that is given to him to live. He radiates joy. We feel his profound happiness at the gift of life.

No film in living memory has brought out the sheer blessing of being alive with such spirit and glory. While Shah Rukh Khan’s Devdas in Bhansali’s opulent opera was a character broken in spirit, Hrithik’s Ethan in Guzaarish is irreparably damaged in body. But his spirit soars, his eyes light up like thousands of stars every time Sophie walks in.

That Sophie is played by Aishwarya Rai is a stroke of genius that goes a long way in giving Guzaarish its flavour of exceptional elegance. No other director brings out the quiet grace gentle smiles and hints of a smothered passion that could erupt any time, if only destiny didn’t choose to be so mean to the spirited.

The scenes between Ethan and Sophie, the backbone of Ethan’s spine-challenged life, radiate an inner beauty and wisdom and underline the director’s enormous understanding of the self-negation that a love relationship requires.

Guzaarish is Bhansali’s most tender and evocative film to date. It layers the pain of a dying body with the passion of an unstoppable spirit as manifested in Hrithik’s skilled and effortless performance as a quadriplegic who pledges to make every moment of his limited “sau gram zindagi” pleasurable for himself and those around him.

Barring Amitabh Bachchan in Black there has never been a better performance in a Bhansali film than Hrithik’s in Guzaarish. He grabs Ethan’s role and makes the dying character come alive in delightful waves of provocative histrionics. And if we’re talking chemistry of celebrating life. Monikangna Dutt is a looker. the proceedings. Suhel Seth, Shernaaz Patel and Rajit Kapur also make a lingering impact in a film that you carry home with you in an inviolable place in your heart.

A word about Bhansali’s music score. The songs communicate the rich tapestried emotions of lives that are determined to smile through an extraordinary tragedy. Every piece of music and song in Guzaarish echoes the film’s incandescent soul.

The film’s technical excellence, particularly Sudeep Chatterjee’s cinematography, is not dazzling and flamboyant in the way it was in Devdas. In Guzaarish, the appeal is far more delicate and subtle. The deep but sober colours on screen reach out to you to enrich your life in ways that cinema was always meant to, until it was waylaid by the hooligans and imposters posing as filmmakers.

Guzaarish is the real thing. A big, beautiful, dazzling emotional movie experience. You won’t see a better film this year.

Subhash K. Jha

Know Thyself As Soul

Sant Mat is a practical spiritual path based on meditation, ethical living, service to others & love for all creation. Its goal is to enable the soul to return & merge into its source; the purpose of human life described by mystics of all traditions. Discipline & dedication are essential, as is the help of a competent living master. Entry is via a preparation program. There is no charge at any stage.