One of my favorite films of Dev Anand is Guide. I feel in love with the way he brings a lot of life and reality in the character of Raju Guide in the film. This film is well written, beautifully shot and well-edited, over all a brilliant execution, if the film product is to be the proof of the film's director's actual imagination. But yes, I still believe as it draws to it's climax it falls back on some typical Bollywood clichés.
Guide is the story of Raju Guide (Dev Anand), who is one of the most sought after guide of Udaipur, who is smart and a glib-talker. The film though begins by showing Raju coming out of a Jail, he has been released after serving his sentence there. He is in dilemma as to where should he go next, return to his mother and home-town, or return to his love whom he had cheated and lied to, or should he opt to leave it all behind and search for a new path. As he goes on in his journey of new path, the slowly of Raju Guide, his life and love, before he went to jail is revealed to the audience.
The flashback begins as Raju guide goes to station to receive his new clients Mr and Mrs Marco on the station. Mr Marco (Kishore Sahu) is an old archaeologist, who has come to the town with mission to discover some unknown caves in the region. Rosie i.e. Mrs Marco (Waheeda Rehman) is quite young and feisty, she doesn't wish to be subdued by her over bearing strict and rigid husband. The problems in their relation is very much visible and well understood by the Guide and the audience.
As the film progresses we see that with Raju Guide's help and with her own self-will to attain freedom, Rosie is able to free herself from the shackles of a love-less social marriage. Raju takes Rosie away from not just her loveless marriage but also his city, that is unable to understand the relationship and bonding between a guide and a married woman. But that is not enough for either of them.
Slowly problems of ambition, new found success, ego-clashes, etc. soon start to creep in their relation as well. Rosie touches new heights with her dance and acting, while Raju turns her self-appointed manager, and then begins the ego-clash of genders; where one doesn't want to be subdued and the other is constantly in agony to gain its socially asserted superiority over the other. After a sad incident that leads to furthering the problems between the two, taken over by gambling and drinking, in a weak moment makes Raju forge a cheque with Rosie's sign and her finding out about this act of cheating, that finally sends him to prison.
This is where film join backs to its beginning thread where Raju is now running away from Rosie, her life and her society. He reaches a village in a sad depleted condition, where naive locals consider him a 'mahatma', a 'sadhu'. What follows next is something that shouldn't be given away as it is a journey that every Hindi cinema and Dev Anand lover should take for themselves by watching the film (if you still haven't).
Guide, is one of the most magnificent and remarkable films of Indian cinema. It throws up a lot of issues, all at once, all together. It is based on R.K. Narayan's novel The Guide, but the film has very little to do with the novel other than just borrowing the characters and the setting. The film is a bold attempt by the director Vijay Anand, as it depicts themes like a married woman having an affair, and a man and woman getting into a relationship outside the boundaries of marriage; all this is especially remarkable considering the fact the film was made and based in 1960s, when such themes were still considered to be quite progressive and western.
The film makes no attempt to show any 'hero-like' character, it is about frail human beings and their follies, and that is what makes it more relatable to the audiences. Even though they don't understand or empathize the situations in which the characters in the film are shown, they for sure would understand and sympathize with the follies that these characters commit. The film's characters are all shown as plain human beings, who are open to commit their own sins, and are still able to continue without being apologetic about it.
There is a woman who firstly allows herself to be objectified and bound by her husband, and who later misunderstands the angst of her lover; there is a man who 'as per social norms' falls in love with a married woman and gets into a relationship with her and is then also consumed by his own jealousy of her rising successes and his mediocrity; then there is a mother who is so consumed by 'social norms' and society's pressures that she fails to understand her own son and his love and therefore banishes him out of her home.
There are no 'heroes' in the film, it is all about frail humans having their own battles with their own mistakes and vices. This is something that the character of Raju is able to showcase the best; and along with him even the others are able to come out of their own fights with their mistakes in life. Yes, it is here that the film become a typical bollywood cliche that only a 'man' can be source of his own and thus everyone else's repentance as well.
The film has another very poignant theme, that is of the 'dislocation of home'. This is actually the destabilization of the idea of home, that very much keeps in mind the society of 1950s, where the young generation was beginning to express its digression from home and families. The film not just points towards broken relations (relation between Marco and Rosie; then between Raju and his mother; and finally between Raju and Rosie as well); but also towards the 'homes' that are broken/destabilized in that effect.
One of the most beautiful scenes, in terms of both the story as well as the way it has been shot and edited, is the scene where Raju, who has been fasting for long, has a moment of internal consciousness. It is the time when Raju mind and heart, which have constantly been at war have a chance of confrontation. This is actually a confrontation between Raju's ego and the eternal goodness of human nature; it is presented as if it is Raju is having a dialogue with himself. It is this particular scene that gives the director, the artists and the technicians a great scope to further their creative visions. So this scene is one is particular that one should carefully watch out for while seeing the film.
The film I feel had it's certain hold-backs too. Like in the end the 'hero-figure' finally emerges in the form of Raju, somehow even though the Director tried his best he couldn't resist the temptation of making it the most-cliche part of the film. Hero repents, let's go of his own ego, forgives those who did him any wrong, and then finally achieves the 'unnecessary' or 'falsified' status of saint-hood. Another thing about the film is that as much as the first part of the film is fast-paced exciting and engrossing; the second part is more stretched out, preachy and slightly dragging in the narrative. These are the parts where Dev Anand's film digresses from R.K.Narayan's novel. In the novel, when Raju the guide dies there is no reference to whether the drought in the village got over or not, and whether the was resentful of his acts or not, and that whether he died as a 'saint' or not.
Guide is beautifully shot film. It is like a bursting riot of colours on screen. The cinematography, the music, the lyrics and the choreography are very very essential parts of this film. They are not just accompaniments to the film's narrative but as well a crucial part of it and work really well in enhancing it. The film is as much remembered for its beautifully shot dance sequences and its soulful lyrics, penned by Shailendra, that have had a great support of the maestro such as S.D. Burman. The songs were given voice by excellent singers such as Lata Mangeshkar, Mhd. Rafi, Kishore Kumar, Manna Dey and S.D. Burman.
The songs tell the story as well. Songs are either representing either a character's state of mind; or well most importantly a sign of Rosie asserting her freedom. Most commendable out of all songs is 'Kaaton se keech ke yeh aanchal....'.
It is a well choreographer, well shot and beautifully captures a turning point in Rosie' s life. The song is shot in careful low angles, this shows Rosie asserting her freedom finally by dancing freely, something was made off-limits to her by the binds of her marriage to Marco. Song has been shot in beautiful locales of Udaipur.
Guide was also India's official entry to the 38th Annual Academy Awards (Oscars) in the category of the Best Foreign Language film. It was also the first film ever to sweep away the top 4 honors at the Filmfare Awards that year (not that Im any fan of Filmfare or another bollywood 'commercial' awards or have any faith in them, but this is just an interesting piece of info on Hindi films). The film went on to win the Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director and the Best Film Awards; along with this it also won the Best Story, Best Cinematography and Best Dialogues awards as well.
The film is about fragile human beings, the film is about issues that were quite progressive for its time, the film is about the beautiful cinematography, the film is about the graceful dances and soulful music. It is totally a film that you can definitely watch over and over again.
Guide (1965)
Director: Vijay Anand
Starring: Dev Anand, Waheeda Rehman, Leela Chattnis, Kishore Sahu, Anwar Hussain, Gajanan Jagirdar
Edited by: Vijay Anand & Babu Sheikh
Cinematography by: Fali Mistry
Music by: S.D. Burman
Lyrics by: Shailendra
Written by: Vijay Anand & R.K. Narayan
Produced by: Dev Anand
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