It is a fact that we all are going to die someday or the other. However, when someone catches hold of us and asks “how do you want to die?” we’d be easily offended. Even though we try to mumble something, the answer is tough to come by. Ask the same question to a cancer patient or a quadriplegic they might probably have the answer. Guzaarish is the story of a quadriplegic who answers this question. Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali stands up to his name with the film.

What’s it about: It’s been 14 years since Ethan Mascarenhas (Hrithik Roshan), a famed magician, loses his ability to move and feel anything below his neck in an accident! Even though now a quadriplegic Ethan has fought for his life since the accident. He hosts a radio show and encourages people to love and live full. He’s taken care by his loyal and loving maid Sofia (Aishwarya Rai) since 12 years, who never misses a chance to be on his side. Life seems good for him, but he has one last wish – to be killed with the permission from the court. He obviously finds it difficult to convince his friends – one his lawyer, the other his doctor and another, his new found student.

What Ethan doesn’t know is that there are people who look up to him, whom he has guided and encouraged to live on inspite of their problems. He doesn’t know he has to fight with himself, with loved ones, with society and with the legal system. For someone who doesn’t even know when he passes urine or stool it a tough fight! However, what he has is an undying spirit to live life his own way and die it the same way!

What is Good: It’s tough to write a review in a set format to explain what is good in very good movie. One thing is for sure, that death is clichéd subject in films. However this is the first film (in Hindi) that talks about euthanasia (mercy killing) and its necessity. There are moments of self pity that come through very raw black comedy; how they come is where the movie excels. For Hrithik Roshan, the dancing Greek God of India, it must have been tough to play a patient who is stuck on the bed. Yes there are moments he dances and does all that he can, but it is as a speaking vegetable that he is incredible! Aishwarya Rai, as Sofie, expresses a lot through her eyes. She takes everyone by surprise when she gives few fake orgasmic expressions (like Meg Ryan in When Harry Met Sally).

Whenever I see Shernaz Patel, I’m reminded of the age old Johnson and Johnson ad in which she expresses subtle emotions as a mom who just gave birth to her firstborn. She acts beautifully and brings a lot to the movie. Aditya Roy Kapoor as the overzealous students does a fair job.

All these characters merge well into the quest of a patient who seeks mercy killing. What is endearing to see is the way the sub plots are kept to a minimum, but we manage to find their mysterious influence on the story.

Here are some magical moments in the movie:

Ethan traveling in car from his home to the court is taken directly from Spanish original. Sanjay adds some originality making it even better than the original!

A dead body is placed beside Ethan and the entire shot is captured stunningly!

A funeral scene in which Ethan breaks into a song It’s a wonderful life

Ethan, giving his student a last lesson in magic, asks him to pull a white rug from under him! This scene encapsulates the entire spirit of the movie. Infact it is easily one of the finest scenes I have seen in the little number of movies I watched!

What is bad: Fact is the movie is very seriously inspired from the Spanish film Mar Adentro (The Sea Inside in English). The characters around the quadriplegic are changed to suit the Indian scenario, but the spirit of the movie has been kept the same. Many said that the movie was also inspired from the likes of The Illusionist and The Prestige. However both these films are in a different league, and Guzaarish hardly manages to brush them, in those ‘stage magic show’ scenes, but that's hardly a complaint! Nafisa Ali is too bad, except for one emotional situation.

Also the movie and its characters, including Aishwarya and Aditya Roy, sometimes come across as too loud for their own good. Monikangana Dutta needs to improve a lot, and a talented actor like Rajat Kapoor is wasted as a prosecutor. Infact, the entire court scenes are dealt amateurishly. However, director Sanjay Leela Bhansali keeps the mistakes to the minimum winning every lost moment again and again.

Technical Departments: The first best thing about the movie that anyone will notice is the amount of work the cinematographer Sudeep K. Chatterjee has done. Guzaarish is splendidly shot, and it is great to see the art direction team become a part of the cinematography department. Of course art direction is great too. One wonders why Aishwarya wears some out of the world dresses, though of course the jokes on her dress give us some relief!

Background music is good but I’d say Sanjay Leela Bhansali should leave music to experts. Where Bhansali wins is the way he uses his screenplay to bring out the sensuality of a relationship between a quadriplegic and his nurse and the beauty of friendship. Even though some situations are inspired form the Spanish movie, he manages to add a touch of originality making the movie even more touching.

Final Point: The last time I heard claps in a theater was for the Telugu movie Vedam. It didn’t become a hit. I heard claps again for Guzaarish. I wonder how it will fare at the box office, but it is really a must see for anyone interested in films. It is a good one for those who have seen the Spanish original too!