What does life mean to us? Is mere breathing considered to be life? This is the question raised very loud and clear in the most anticipated movie of the year: Guzaarish- story of Ethan Mascarenhas. After painting the celluloid with Black and Blue the ace director Sanjay Leela Bhansali is back with his grandeur. This is a movie which would tickle your grey cells to think if it’s high time to debate and re-look into our judicial system to make euthanasia or mercy killing legal?
Firstly coming to the movie, "Guzaarish" is a story about a wheelchair-bound magician who once used to fly. A patient of quadriplegia, who has to be nursed day and night. SLB is back with his magical formula which got him most of the accolades- a handicapped person for whom life itself is the villain. Guzaarish works on many levels and fails on many as well. Surprisingly, the movie which highlights how imperfect and cruel life can be, everything seems to be unfailingly perfect. He looks too glowing and perfect for someone who has trouble breathing, whose lungs, liver and kidneys are deteriorating... Hrithik Roshan tries to wring every ounce of sympathy in us by laughing in the face of tragedy. It’s only designed to make you love him and feel for him. Only… you don’t after a point. You never really get inside Ethan’s head beyond a certain level and remain disconnected with him throughout the film. Aishwarya is a stunning picture of fire and grace, walking away with certain scenes by her sheer vitality. His student, the wanabe magician, Aditya Roy Kapoor, dresseed like Raj Kapoor in “Mera Naam Joker” is a natural and a delight. One can see the beauty of incandescent Goan landscape that literally transports you to an art gallery. The cinematography is so beautiful that you can feel the goan breeze on your face.
Beyond all this good cinematography and bad performances, there is an important question which the movie leaves behind. Is mere breathing considered to be life? Should Ethan and likes be allowed to die simply because they don’t want to live anymore? What does freedom of life mean to us? Isn’t the right to live is closely linked to the right to death since death is an event of life itself? It’s high time that we think about it and take a pioneering step. I agree life is scared and we ought to live it to the full extent. Is it possible for us as a society to recognize and assert the fundamental importance of life while at the same time recognizing and asserting the right of a terminally ill patient to die with dignity? This is something that our judicial system need to see on the humanitarian grounds and take a call.
