Mercy Killing ,Yes…But “Guzaarish” Was Not A Sad Film

 You would think  playing a man on a wheelchair would  make any normal  actor wretchedly unhappy.Not Hrithik. Not  in Guzaarish.  Though he played a  paraplegic  in  the film Hrithik’s character  was  always  smiling, joking  , fooling  around and  generally spreading sunshine, so much so that contrary to  general belief, the  actor  was  never in  a  calmer more content  frame  of  mind.

Said  Sanjay Bhansali, “Guzaarish was   not a sad film at all.  It’s  a film about living positively, about  enjoying every second of  the time God has  given us on this earth.It  has   its  very serious moments…naturally. But the overall mood is very  positive and happy , on camera and off the sets.”

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and  her  favourite director were  back together  on  the same chummy  footing as  Hum…Dil De Chuke Sanam and Devdas. They were  constantly  talking  joking and  gossiping. And  Hrithik , though new to the set-up and guarded to  begin with,  was often a party  to  the idle chatter.

“We were  all the time   in such a  fun  zone that for a visitor  it’d  be hard to   believe we were making  a  film on a  serious issue. And  it was not a  film about  death. It’s about life and   savouring every morsel of it, ” says Bhansali.

 In terms of mood and treatment  Guzaarish  was closer  to Sanjay Bhansali’s  Hum…Dil De Chuke Sanam than Devdas.  The operatic mood of Devdas and Black and  the play-on-film  treatment  of  Saawariya were discarded in Guzaarish.

Says Sanjay, “There were many  quiet moments, no  lengthy dialogues and lots of sunshine . It was all very mellow muted and happy. And that’s the way we were  on the sets. I  kept wishing people  would stop  seeing us  as a  glum  unit   shooting endless scenes of tragedy and pain.” 

 On  the sets  Hrithik and Aishwarya were seen  constantly  having a good time. Says  the  director, “It was a different  theme, mood and sur from Dhoom 2 and Jodha- Akbar for them. The characters speak in  Hindi and English, like all of us do. They’re normal people. Neither larger than life  not smaller.”