Guzaarish

Sanjay Leela Bhansali has given us some good thought provoking movies, with a right mix of drama & memorable music. One of his strengths include his star cast and the powerful performances he gets out of them, irrespective of their standing in the film industry.
Guzaarish is the story of Ethan Mascarenhas (Hrithik Roshan), a magician who due to a fatal accident becomes a quadriplegic (for more explanations – check Wikipedia). His devoted nurse is Sophia (Aishwarya Rai) and they are in a huge mansion in Goa. Ethan has not got out of his house since his accident. Enter Omar Siddiqui (Aditya Roy Kapur – he’s so cute) to learn magic from him, but poses as a radio show producer just to gain entry in the house. Ethan is an RJ who also propagates how to live life despite the worst of conditions. Two more people are equally important in his life – his lawyer – best friend, Devyani(Shernaz Patel) and Dr. Naik.
Ethan has a wish, to end his life and gets a petition filed in court through Devyani. It gets rejected (quite obviously). He then uses his Radio show to get an opinion on his wish. Not many are supportive of his wish including Sophia. He then decides to make an appearance at court to justify his decision but again meets with a firm no from the law. In a dramatic twist, the final hearing is conducted at his house so that he need not be inconvenienced and all his near & dear ones testify his need to end his life. He also reminds everyone on who exactly was responsible for his condition.
Where there’s a will there’s a way is an old adage, which gives him the solution. He celebrates his last day of life and breathes his last, not before proclaiming his love for Sophia and marrying her. Even if it’s for a day of matrimony.
Anyone who has watched movies made by SLB earlier, will identify each movie with a medical condition or a color (Khamoshi – Speech & Hearing diasability, Devdas – Alcoholism, Black – Alzheimer’s Disease Saawariya – Blue). This is a little off the track since being quadriplegic is a result of an accident and the movie could have built a lil more entertainment with the magician angle. Euthanasia is relatively alien to the Indian audience and may have not made the connect.
What works:
Histrionics of the court session which gives the grounds of euthanasia
What doesn’t work:
No music to recall
Story not gripping enough
My rating: 2/5