Breathe
a
sigh
of
relief.
During
a
year
when
cacophonic
crassness
masquerading
as
comic
entertainment
has
been
sanctioned
by
critics
and
the
masses,
Guzaarish
comes
along
to
remind
us
that
excellence
of
the
highest
order
is
alive
and
throbbing
in
our
cinema.
Ironically,
this
wonderful
work
of
art,
nuanced
and
magical
in
its
portrayal
of
an
unstoppable
spirit's
quest
to
juice
life
to
its
fullest,
is
about
dying.
If
the
journey
towards
death
in
art
can
be
so
mystically
explored
then
let's
embrace
mortality
as
a
stepping
stone
to
immortality
and
a
film
about
dying
as
a
sign
of
cinema
not
dying
on
us.
Not
yet.
Only
those
who
suffer
the
numbing
pain
of
isolation
would
know
what
it
feels
like.
Dilip
Kumar
in
Devdas,
Guru
Dutt
in
Pyasa,
Meena
Kumari
in
Sahib
Bibi
Aur
Ghulam
and
Nutan
in
Bandini
communicated
to
the
audience
the
indescribable
pain
of
solitude.
Ethan,
as
played
by
Hrithik
Roshan
in
Guzaarish,
is
so
bemused
by
adversity
he
can
actually
look
at
his
own
suffering
with
dispassionate
humour.
Guzaarish
is
a
joyous
rapturous
ecstatic
celebration
of
life.
Those
familiar
with
the
art
of
Sanjay
Leela
Bhansali
know
how
ably
and
ecstatically
he
transports
his
characters
into
a
universe
of
seamless
drama
played
at
an
octave
where
most
cinematic
symphonies
crack
up
and
topple
over
into
high-pitched
extravagance.
Not
Bhansali.
Not
his
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
Shahrukh
Khan's
Devdas
in
Bhansali's
opulent
opera
was
a
character
broken
in
spirit
Hrithik
Roshan'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
Bachchan
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
and
the
understated
beauty
of
this
screen-diva's
personality
with
as
much
intelligence
and
spontaneity
as
Bhansali.
In
Guzaarish
Aishwarya
is
far
more
delicate
and
nuanced
in
conveying
the
unspoken
pain
of
a
love
that
has
no
tomorrow
than
she
was
in
Devdas.
Aishwarya
imbues
her
role
with
a
resplendent
grace.
Love
in
Guzaarish
is
expressed
with
subtle
smirks,
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
Roshan's
skilled
and
effortless
performance
as
a
quadriplegic
who
pledges
to
make
every
moment
of
his
limited
sau
gram
zindagi
pleasurable
for
himself
an
those
around
him.
Barring
Amitabh
Bachchan
in
Black
there
has
never
been
a
better
performance
in
a
Bhansali
film
than
Hrithik
Roshan's
in
Guzaarish.
He
grabs
Ethan's
role
by
the
solar
plexus
and
makes
the
dying
character
come
alive
in
delightful
waves
of
provocative
histrionics.
And
if
we're
talking
chemistry
between
Hrithik
and
Aishwarya
then
let's
get
one
thing
clear.
This
ain't
Dhoom.
It's
something
far
deeper
and
satisfying.
The
other
performance
that
catches
your
attention
is
Aditya
Roy
Kapoor's.
He
is
natural
vivacious
and
in-sync
with
the
film's
spirit
of
celebrating
life.
Monikangna
Dutt
is
a
looker.
In
her
limited
space
she
lends
some
appeal
to
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
Bhansali's
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
impostors
posing
as
filmmakers.
Guzaarish
is
the
real
thing.
A
big
beautiful
dazzling
emotional
movie
experience.
You
won't
see
a
better
film
this
year.