Guide

Guide is a very interesting film. In so many forms. Raju was a character who is really interesting. I saw this redemption arc with him. He initially begins as this simple guide who meets Rosie. Rosie is an awfully interesting character who is initially an oppressed wife, her husband Mr. Marco is so dislikeable it's no joke. Every minute they fight we feel sympathy for her. So it was fascinating to see her gain her own autonomy, something rare in Bollywood cinema. The song Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamana Hai was truly that claiming of who she was. She gained her own power and the freedom to express who she was rather than conform to someone who she was not. And it makes her so fascinating. She gains her feminine independence. We see scenes where people ridiculed her for wanting the desire to dance, it was considered to be a level with a whore. But she fought for that. And it truly shows that art was precious to her she even said to Raju that art meant a lot to her and these people. It's so fascinating too because in a society where gender roles expect a woman to be an obedient wife, Rosie breaks loose and becomes who she feels she is. Rosie shifted from a depressive suicidal woman into a powerful woman.

In the process we see Raju and Rosie fall in love. Their love is passionate and intense. Their extramarital affair is also somewhat noticeable too, very controversial for this era no doubt. But I think we sympathise with her. They do have a dynamic relationship. Raju stands up for her, feeling that she has the right to live the way she should be. Making Raju a very progressive character. Even his family disagrees with his idea but he still stands by it. He's a very charming and charismatic character. However as their relationship turns we see the two grow distant. He supported Rosie's ambitions but now sought to have power over her. I think he was somewhat insecure because again it was Rosie bringing the bread home while he was greedy and corrupt, spending money on gambling. His excessive pride leads to his arrest. And we see Rosie however still forgive him and accept him. She truly sympathises with him and loves him because if she did not then there's no way she would be able too. Rosie is one of the most remarkable female characters ever. She goes onto a self discovery and love of herself journey. And it's fascinating. Especially sometimes in such an oppressive society.

I think the final half was very interesting. I was seeing this redemption arc. Raju after being released from prison wanted to leave all his past behind and begin a new life. The idea that life goes on and on, life is immortal is so present through the second half. Having the idea of faith propelled the final half. Taking an entirely spiritual turn. Raju becomes this saint who's afraid that his true identity might be problematic for his followers. The villagers have a remarkable unwavering faith of Raju that makes him feel that he has the opportunity to save these people. He fasts for them and gives up all for them, truly making him a powerful character. He searches for the meaning of life much beyond the materialist life hebhad lead before. And became a figure for enlightenment and transcended barriers. He almost became godlike in this part of the film. Like a Jesus figure or something. The final scene is so interesting as it rains, we ask ourselves is it a coincidence or a miracle, is it because of Raju, is he this holy spiritual figure or the regular early man we saw in the beginning. It's an interesting scene, and ends on such an ambiguous note, it's a really great scenes.

The surreal imagery and the montages is just perfect, the lighting in a lot of the scenes were perfect. I think Dev Anand gave one of the greatest performances ever. We truly see him shift front his heavily charismatic and charming character into this figure who suffers and ensures pain. He is just perfect and full of energy in this film. It's great to see. Waheeda Rehman delivers such an interesting performance. Her character broke stereotypes of women at the time and was highly ahead of her time. Waheeda gave truly one of the greatest performances. She has such a quiet discomfort and a sense of suffering in some of the early scenes as we see the troubled dynamic with her problematic husband. But then we see her full of life and energy as she dances and finds the joy in life, as we see her rebirthed. In a lot of the dance sequences there's so much vitality and energy, like she has to be one of the most impressive dancers ever, I had never really seen her go off on such an impressive dance sequence, as I did in this. The songs were fantastic my favourite will always be Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamana Hai, and I really liked Piya Tose Naina Laage Re, that sequence was perfect, full of technicolour and splendour. The sheer set designs and the costumes were impeccable and impressive. The technicolour is something worthwhile, the sunsets are stunning and the colours and of course I need to mention the choreography and Vijay Anand's direction, who I think is a notable director and I definitely need to see more of his work. This is an impressive film that I would love to rewatch sometime again.

Guide is a very interesting film. In so many forms. Raju was a character who is really interesting. I saw this redemption arc with him. He initially begins as this simple guide who meets Rosie. Rosie is an awfully interesting character who is initially an oppressed wife, her husband Mr. Marco is so dislikeable it's no joke. Every minute they fight we feel sympathy for her. So it was fascinating to see her gain her own autonomy, something rare in Bollywood cinema. The song Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamana Hai was truly that claiming of who she was. She gained her own power and the freedom to express who she was rather than conform to someone who she was not. And it makes her so fascinating. She gains her feminine independence. We see scenes where people ridiculed her for wanting the desire to dance, it was considered to be a level with a whore. But she fought for that. And it truly shows that art was precious to her she even said to Raju that art meant a lot to her and these people. It's so fascinating too because in a society where gender roles expect a woman to be an obedient wife, Rosie breaks loose and becomes who she feels she is. Rosie shifted from a depressive suicidal woman into a powerful woman.

In the process we see Raju and Rosie fall in love. Their love is passionate and intense. Their extramarital affair is also somewhat noticeable too, very controversial for this era no doubt. But I think we sympathise with her. They do have a dynamic relationship. Raju stands up for her, feeling that she has the right to live the way she should be. Making Raju a very progressive character. Even his family disagrees with his idea but he still stands by it. He's a very charming and charismatic character. However as their relationship turns we see the two grow distant. He supported Rosie's ambitions but now sought to have power over her. I think he was somewhat insecure because again it was Rosie bringing the bread home while he was greedy and corrupt, spending money on gambling. His excessive pride leads to his arrest. And we see Rosie however still forgive him and accept him. She truly sympathises with him and loves him because if she did not then there's no way she would be able too. Rosie is one of the most remarkable female characters ever. She goes onto a self discovery and love of herself journey. And it's fascinating. Especially sometimes in such an oppressive society.

I think the final half was very interesting. I was seeing this redemption arc. Raju after being released from prison wanted to leave all his past behind and begin a new life. The idea that life goes on and on, life is immortal is so present through the second half. Having the idea of faith propelled the final half. Taking an entirely spiritual turn. Raju becomes this saint who's afraid that his true identity might be problematic for his followers. The villagers have a remarkable unwavering faith of Raju that makes him feel that he has the opportunity to save these people. He fasts for them and gives up all for them, truly making him a powerful character. He searches for the meaning of life much beyond the materialist life hebhad lead before. And became a figure for enlightenment and transcended barriers. He almost became godlike in this part of the film. Like a Jesus figure or something. The final scene is so interesting as it rains, we ask ourselves is it a coincidence or a miracle, is it because of Raju, is he this holy spiritual figure or the regular early man we saw in the beginning. It's an interesting scene, and ends on such an ambiguous note, it's a really great scenes.

The surreal imagery and the montages is just perfect, the lighting in a lot of the scenes were perfect. I think Dev Anand gave one of the greatest performances ever. We truly see him shift front his heavily charismatic and charming character into this figure who suffers and ensures pain. He is just perfect and full of energy in this film. It's great to see. Waheeda Rehman delivers such an interesting performance. Her character broke stereotypes of women at the time and was highly ahead of her time. Waheeda gave truly one of the greatest performances. She has such a quiet discomfort and a sense of suffering in some of the early scenes as we see the troubled dynamic with her problematic husband. But then we see her full of life and energy as she dances and finds the joy in life, as we see her rebirthed. In a lot of the dance sequences there's so much vitality and energy, like she has to be one of the most impressive dancers ever, I had never really seen her go off on such an impressive dance sequence, as I did in this. The songs were fantastic my favourite will always be Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamana Hai, and I really liked Piya Tose Naina Laage Re, that sequence was perfect, full of technicolour and splendour. The sheer set designs and the costumes were impeccable and impressive. The technicolour is something worthwhile, the sunsets are stunning and the colours and of course I need to mention the choreography and Vijay Anand's direction, who I think is a notable director and I definitely need to see more of his work. This is an impressive film that I would love to rewatch sometime again.

this movie is just like a river, the character in this film might just be a human but that human goes in so many trajectories, from being a simple tour guide to falling in love with a dancer who wanted to be liberated, to eventually going to Jail and ending up as a Godman in another village, the man was just like water, weaving into different banks and places and it all culminating like in the film where the person sort of merges into singularity, same as a river when it goes into the ocean, it’s the only way I can explain this film really.

this movie is just like a river, the character in this film might just be a human but that human goes in so many trajectories, from being a simple tour guide to falling in love with a dancer who wanted to be liberated, to eventually going to Jail and ending up as a Godman in another village, the man was just like water, weaving into different banks and places and it all culminating like in the film where the person sort of merges into singularity, same as a river when it goes into the ocean, it’s the only way I can explain this film really.