Itni si Guzaarish ...

There we were, after a leisurely walk, soaking up the crisp, sunny morning, bidding alvida to the last of the Eid holidays, tucking into one of the best breakfasts in the world – puri bhaji & kadak masala chai – when my friend, bless you Satya, called to say, ‘see Guzaarish!’
So we did & Sanjay Leela Bhansali, apologies, dear sir! I was quite the cynic, post a slightly over the top ‘black’, followed by the oddly hued, blue ‘saawariya!
Applause!
• For the gutsy, slightly cheeky, immensely likeable portrayal of a quadriplegic – Hrithik Roshan breathes life into “Ethan” – who, tongue-in-cheek, labels his ‘project euthanasia’ as “Ethanasia!”
• Your heart goes out to Ethan, who helplessly needs to ask his caretaker, to pick up a vase & smash it, to vent anger, on his behalf!
• Some heart-warming moments – the farewell toast by Hrithik, cheerful, irreverent, yet full of love; kudos to him, the director & the dialogue writer!
• But the piece-de-resistance is Madam Ashwariya Rai Bachchan! She proves that she is a director’s actor & saves her best for Bhansali!
• Looks like she also got SLB to remove the steamy love scene b/w her & Hrithik – all we got was a tiny leep2leep kiss!
• She is beautiful, understated, steely, calm & what’s amazing is that her eyes convey her love, loyalty, total commitment & adoration of her patient – my vote for the best caretaker ever!
• Some strong cameos – the faithful SLB camp loyalist – Shernaz Patel, playing the best friend everyone wishes they had, Nafisa Ali as the mother, surprise, surprise, Suhel Seth as the genial doc & not a bad job, Aditya Kapoor, as the protégé …
• Hrithik Roshan as ‘Merlin the Magician’ is magnificent! Oo la la, he does magic like Sorcar & moves like a dream!
• Bhansali’s music – maashaallah … pretty neat & spot on! The guy is one ‘Akshaya Paatra’ of talent!
• Some awesome dancing : Ash to the Sunidhi Chauhan sizzler & Hrithik, looking like a Juliard student or something, all pointed toes & graceful moves in a contemporary jazz, ballet kinda piece!
• Lots of feel good dialogues, the kind used as facebook posts of ‘live life fully, laugh uncontrollably, kiss slowly …’ type! You never get to see Ash’s long legs, but Ethan always dreams about them – rather cute!
Thodey flaws bhi hain:
• Which period is this movie set in – everyone looks contemporary, except Aishwariya, who seems like shez stuck in a time warp!
• Is Ethan rich, as the sprawling mansion, the swanky car & servants suggest, or is he on the brink of bankruptcy?
But all this, the towel dropping in Saawariya, sab-kuch maaf, because this is a sensitive, sincere, straight from the heart narrative about the right of a man to live with dignity …. & to die too!
Itni si ‘guzaarish’ hai … see it!