Guzarish- a film review

GUZARISH – A Film Review


Whatever happened to the art of good story telling in cinema? Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s (SLB) ‘Guzarish’ is a movie that has some rivetting scenes at best, but suffers from a poor sense of narration and plot. Some of these scenes are composed almost like paintings. But one is left wondering at what could have been Bhansali’s motivation in using them. For if the purpose of mise-en-scène was to impress the condition of the characters or the situation on the audience, then it begs the question whether there is a coherent story to tell here at all?

The "request" in ‘Guzarish’ comes from a quadraplegic (Hrithik Roshan) who seems fairly well adjusted to his circumstances, suddenly wanting to call it a day. One is not to miss the play on his first name, Ethan and his plea for Euthanasia. Bed ridden yet jocular at most times, he runs a popular life affirming radio programme and is well looked after in a sprawling but dilapidated mansion. There are interesting visuals of him strung up on a wooden board to be kept vertical (reminiscent of a crucified Christ?), hung in a canvas hammock for his hair wash and having his pyjamas changed by a prim nurse. The grand exposition of this castle like mansion, set starkly against a bleak sky seems something straight out of Wuthering Heights. Add to that the nurse, Maria (Aishwariya Rai) who seems down right sinister in the initial scenes, as she stomps around sternly in her frills and flounces. She also seems to be part wanton, with bright red lips and all. But it transpires that it is more for effect! The emphasis on the visuals make the sequences seem quite unconvincing. Contradictions abound.

One gets the impression that the director is unsure about which road to take in his story telling. He gets stuck with the picture he has created with a story that does not match. The rain drenched castle and the thunder and jagged lightening do not lead anywhere. The cheerful albeit bedridden protagonist is at variance from a person contemplating euthanasia. Add to that the brooding Maria who is ferried across the dark waters after duty and sundry special effects that seem to auger a windswept tragic tale. The scene seems set for some good story telling!

Alas, that is where the director, SLB flounders. He leaves us clutching at straws as he gropes for a way out of the scenario he has created. Coherence goes out of the window and what we end up with is a mockery of the poignant issue of euthanasia. It leaves us cold. Any depiction of the despair and soul searching that must precede such a decision in a person is completely missed. The 'request' to end one's life seems tantamount to maybe a request for a cup of tea.

If at all there is a high point in the film, the sequences of Ethan the magician leave you asking for more. His act with a transparent ball is fluid poetry in motion. As also the levitating candle light act, which proves to be the turning point of his life. These are Hrithik specialities as only he knows how. He also displays some worthy moments of manic behaviour of a bedridden man but they are not sustained in the narrative to be very significant. As for the older looking Aishwariya, she hardly gets the scope to display her talent from her director who claims that she is his muse.

The card board like caricatures of the supporting cast: the lawyer friend, Devyani (Shernaz Patel), the doctor friend, Nayak (Suhel Seth), the mother, Isabella (Nafisa Ali), the wicked rival (Ash Chandler) and his son (Aditya Roy Kapoor), former assistant and lover Estella (Moningka Dutta) and the abusive D’souza (Makarand Deshpande) do not help either. If there is one person who rings true as a character, it is the public prosecutor (Rajit Kapoor) who seems authentic in the delineation of his role.

All the others strike false notes in stories that seem contrived. For instance, Ethan’s mother, Isabella’s story. She is made to live away from her seriously handicapped son. She makes a sudden appearance out of nowhere and is soon made to pass away so that we can be treated to a Goan funeral. But not before she has made an impassioned plea to the judge about allowing her son to choose a dignified death. We have Maria’s abusive husband, D’souza appearing all of a sudden, with the tell tale cigarette stub heralding his presence in Ethan’s house. He hits and drags his wife away, demanding restoration of conjugal rights, while the helpless Ethan watches from the bed in horror. Then, we see a still bruised nurse turn up for duty, saying that her divorce has come through and that she is now free. This leads us to another convoluted sequence of Ethan requesting his nurse to marry him. Almost in the same breath as it were, he reiterates his request for euthanasia as well. She acquiesces to both requests blithely!

And so the ‘Guzarish’ is poised to be accepted and the newly wed Ethan is literally swamped by most of the above mentioned characters, who fall all over him rugby style, onto his bed. At this supposedly poignant moment, forgive me , if I was amused to see some of them hanging onto each other for dear life on the bed. As for Ethan, he probably had his request granted sooner than expected with all that weight falling over him in one go!

As for us, what a let down, SLB. Surely we deserved better.