Sunday, November 21, 2010

GUZAARISH (2010)

There’re two opposite reviews about Sanjay Leela Bhanshali’s ‘Guzaarish’ that I’ve read in India’s two leading dailies. Times of India’s Nikhat Kazmi declared it an unusual film on many fronts and rated it 4 stars and on the other hand Express reviewer Shubhra Gupta claimed it lame copy of Javier Bardem’s critically appraised Spanish film ‘The Sea Inside’ and rated it with just 2 stars. After watching the film yesterday on screen, I would like to corroborate Shubhra’s opinion than over the top promoting words of Kazmi.

‘Romance decorated on artistic visuals’ is Bhanshali’s cine-forte but here he juxtaposed it with a man who is a paraplegic who’s wishing permanent relief from life’s suffering. All that hue and cries over his mercy petition and court drama packed with loads of emotional baggage runs in random order on screen. Here’s is a magician-lover who after an accident ended his affair with beloved-assistant and forced her to marry somebody else, all of sudden jumps to declare on his deathbed to marry his nurse. Hero-heroine must meet at the end is inevitable routine in Hindi films you see.

What’s the biggest flaw of the film is SLB failed to make emotional connection of audience with his protagonist which he so genuinely done in his ‘Black’. It’s not Hrithik but SLB who’s responsible for it. Here’s a queer case of a smiling paraplegic patient who after 13 years of his unfortunate accident declared his wish to die. Why? It’s a big question which SLB failed to answer. Why after all those years accompanied by his cheered radio following, committed close friends and above all world’s most beautiful cleavage showing nurse looking after him he wants to file a petition to court to let him die? Answer is plain vanilla-‘Suffering’. Sorry to say but I don’t feel suffering anywhere in the frames, neither inside nor outside of Ethan’s character; on the contrary he keeps laughing on and on even his last frame. Maybe SLB would say in future that viewers failed to find tears in those laughters!!!

In order to use full potential of Hrithik, SLB has given him multitasks to deliver. So Ethan Mascarenhas is a paraplegic patient on wheel chair, he’s the screen’s charming magician, he’s naughty-romantic patient, he’s preaching radio jockey spreading smiles to his followers and above all he’s benevolent Jesus Christ kind of superman who forgive his enemy too!!! Though against all flaws and odds I must admit that it’s only Hrithik Roshan who honestly and sincerely attempted all these over expectated jobs offered to him and he’s the sole reason why anybody sit throughout the film till final frame. Aishwarya’s act is really unimpressive and projected to fill the beauty on screen, the rest of the players are just okay.

As usual parts of SLB films, it has emotional baggage too especially that last ‘Death day celebration’ speech of Ethan, accompanied by his near and dear ones or that another emotionally blackmailing drama where an irritating lawyer is being locked for 60 seconds to fathom Ethan’s inner suffering in metaphorical magic box. It’s really bad script writing and editing where plot and theme runs random and Bhanshali tries to make it up with his impressive decorative larger than life frames on screen with worthy mention of fine cinematography.

For me SLB’s ‘Black’ was a moving experience. Though his last ‘Saawaria’ was bombed terribly at box-office and rejected by audience and critics, I must say it was a better film than this one. Mr. SLB, no more gimmicks next time please.

Ratings-5.5/10

5 comments:

j.c said...

hey.....somewhere u sound too irrationa...because bansali always loved to project reality.the circumstancial hidden but passionate love affair between voluptuos nurse and a patient ,is worth watching..and hritwik and aishwarya hav done justice to the role.to expose love melodramas are not needed..more than that the whole story involves around euthenisia(check the spelling)i.e mercy killing...still not accepted in India...court scenes were very intellectually depicted...specially the mother's dialogues where she defends her son...where she argues that WHEN ONE HAS RIGHT TO LIVE..ONE SHOULD HAVE RIGHT OF DIGNITY TO DIE ALSO"...don't u think in a civic society like us..we are still haunted with this question....well these are purely my views....learning still as I M GROWING OLDER...might be the question of death has started intervening after middle age

kkparekh_78 said...

Dear Jhuma,
Happy to know your comment on the movie.
In Indian Penal Code, under MURDER, there is a provision about MERCY KILLING for which the accused is not liable for MURDER but for CULPABLE HOMICIDE.

Yours,

Keyur K. Parekh

Luv said...

Its sad that the film doesn't add up, some of the parts are so beautiful, so very well done.

Its ironic that best passages in the films are of silences, rather than the overwritten dialogs.

j.c said...

@ MR PAREKH MERCY KILLING is not under the provision of culpable homicide ( SEC 299)as any offence which doesn't knowledge or intention which becomes a cause for some other person ddeath is called culpable homi cide.HOMI in latin means MAN and CIDE means CUT...in english we can classify as HUMANBEING KILLED BY OTHER HUMAN BEING.....as such very few country in world has this provision...SWIZERLAND ...AS SWISS GOVT. PROVIDES BEST FACILITIES IN THE WORLD...

HIREN DAVE said...

seems like the film's comment section landed to a battlegroud of legal terminology and explanations!!!