Guide

This film featuring Dev Anand in the title role is a film with a philosophical bend so well blended with the storyline that you may very well miss it if you are not a good cinema reader... this film is a story about a young charismatic guide who earns his living by guiding art lovers through the ancient relics of Ajanta and Elora-a very ancient cave sculpture site. He falls in love for a very talented but uncared wife of a sculpture researcher who suddenly on his visit to this relics stumbles upon a priceless discovery of very ancient cave sculpture..his passion for his work and the consequent neglect of his wife sets the stage of a accidental love between the guide and the young and beautiful wife aptly portrayed by the charming Waheeda Rehman.This love is a result of the appreciation and recognition of the potential of the talented wife who has a penchant for dance and music...The saga enfolds and leads to the lady becoming a famous dancer thanks to the management of the guide who is now totally in love with the dancer....The husband repents and tries to woo his wife back and dedicates the original manuscript of his work on the cave sculptures to her and the guide...also he sends her the royalty earned from his work...the charmed lover the guide in order that the wife may not return to her husband...endorses the check on her behalf by forging the signature...so that she does not know about the change of heart of her husband...this lands him in soup and he is arrested on charges of forgery...she refuses to bail him out just because he had acted wrongly...the story takes a philosophical turn and the happy go lucky guide wanders off after the jail sentence..the wife does love the guide and waits for him but he goes away disenchanted with his life...he reaches a desolate village and with his knowledge and wit finds himself as a guide of the ignorant people..they put full faith in him and turn to him in any crisis...but then the village faces a famine and they ask him for rain......that is not in his control but the villagers have faith..they ask him to go on a fast to woo the god...he pleads but the faith of the villagers forces him to take a fast..not eat anything or drink anything till it rains...he sets the stage for his death...but he knows he is a farce and does not want to die...then comes the struggle between his conscience and his outer self...this is the best part of the film and this is what makes it a classic..........tears flow in my eyes and there is rain.......but the man dies...the guide guides himself to glory..from powerlessness to strength...from life to death........see it to love it.....

When I travelled from India to US this was the only Hindi movie DVD that I carried with me. To me this is a "complete movie", as a movie should be. It entertains me by taking me through a wide gamut of emotions, it stimulates me spiritually and philosophically (indian faith, western existentialism are all there) and it is technically brilliant.

Each scene seems to be individually composed and you can see the effort that director vijay anand and his crew put in. Raju speaks to us in one of the scenes "there is not much difference between me and you". And as he speaks this you see the statue of Krishna in the background and Raju's index finger stretched as if holding a sudarshan chakra. Brilliant!!! Subtle things like these that you have to watch out for. The name "Guide" itself conveys a different meaning at different times in the movie; a railway guide, a personal guide and then a spiritual guide.

It is very sad that a brilliant director like Vijay Anand could never come out of the shadows of Navketan and despite giving us some of the most important and influential movies of our times was ignored. People in west respect their classics and make an effort that Billy Wilder, Hitchcock, Orson Welles, Chaplin etc. are not forgotten. New directors openly admit how much they have been influenced by these people. But in India, what is not on MTV is not worth remembering. In another 10 years no one will remember Vijay Anand.

In India, this movie is considered a textbook for directing films. I would say it's a textbook for acting, editing, song-writing, and music direction. If Vijay Anand's direction made this movie a classic, S.D. Burman's music made it unforgettable.

Of course, before the movie came R.K. Narayan's story of Raju, the guide; a story that lent its honesty to the film: The protagonist is not infallible, he is human. He doesn't get everything right. He is not loved by everybody. He cheats, albeit in love, and pays the price. He attempts to cheat again when he tries to run away from the village where he is being considered a saint and is being expected to fast for rain. That's when he realizes he has run enough attains peace.

Without going any more into some of the more abstract reasons this is my all-time favorite film, I'll point out some of the more obvious. Only the genius of S.D. Burman could create "Din Dhal Jaaye", "Tere Mere Sapne", and "Piya Tose Naina Laage Re" - all for the same film! It is rumored that R.D. Burman ghost-composed some of the songs (especially "Aaj Phir Jeene Ki") as his father had taken ill at some critical point in the film. Regardless of which Burman did it, I am thankful for what he did.

Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman are two of my most favorite actors. With this movie, Dev Anand silenced his critics. His acting, especially in the last part of the movie, is heart-wrenching.

I disappointed to know that S.D. Burman did not win the Filmfare award for Guide. Not that awards matter - Pink Floyd never won a Grammy (well if you don't count the one they got for "Cluster One", which was just and instrumental).

Based on an acclaimed novel, 'Guide' takes us through a journey guided by the protagonists Raju (Anand) and Rosie (Rehman). Simply said, the story is about Raju, the tourist guide, who falls in love with an amateur dancer, Rosie, who's married to an archaeologist. Dance is Rosie's passion but due to her husband's discontent, she gives it up in the hope to please him and remain be devoted. Eventually, he abandons her and she seeks solace in Raju's companionship. Raju encourages her to follow her passion. However, the neighborhood, his family and friends object to their relationship and the fact that she's living in his house. Even his mother leaves him. With the help of Raju, Rosie becomes a successful dancer and a star while Raju spends the earnings on gambling, drinking and other such dealings. Rosie, though somewhat bothered by Raju's bad habits, she somehow tolerates them. Stardom has never been her ambition and she continues her dance only for the passion. Then, when Rosie's ex-husband makes his entry, it becomes too much for Raju to handle and here things change from bad to worse.

The story isn't told in chronological order but due to brilliant writing and Anand's direction, it is easy to follow and keeps us engaged as the events unfold proving once again that Anand is one of the greater storytellers. The songs are among the memorable classics (beautiful lyrics) that are spectacularly picturised (thanks to the amazing cinematography and the dazzling locations) and support the narration. The characters are so brilliantly written with different layers showing us very real human beings. None of them are perfect and very easily relatable.

Dev Anand and Waheeda Rehman have acted together in a number of films, yet 'Guide' remains the most memorable film as their chemistry is simply electrifying. Not surprisingly, the characters Raju and Rosie have been immortalized by the two fabulous leads. Dev Anand as Raju delivers his best performance, while Waheeda Rehman as Rosie underplays her part to near perfection and portrays Rosie with élan and I loved her expressions in the song just before Raju is arrested.

Finally, 'Guide' remains one of my favorite classics that I'll recommend to anyone. In my humble opinion it is one that will surprise you with it's storytelling and characters and one that will stay in your brave brain for quite some time.

Based on R.K. Narayan's famous novel, The Guide, Vijay Anand's Guide is a doubtless classic of Hindi movies. In a way, the movie broke tradition by presenting a relationship between a simple man who works as a guide and an unhappily-married woman he assists. The film's most remarkable feat is the lack of over-perfection. The characters are devoid of any heroic qualities. They are, like everybody else, flawed and imperfect people who have their ups and downs, and not typical self-sacrificing figures. The first scene when Dev Anand's Raju is released from prison made me predict that in typical Hindi-film style, he was actually there for no reason and was probably accused for no fault of his own. After all we are so used to seeing movies in which the lead characters are imprisoned either because they sacrificed themselves for somebody else or because they were deceived. Here Raju really did commit a crime. It's interesting how the story moves through several ironic turns. In the first half we see that Waheeda Rehman's Rosie is emotionally dependant on Raju as in him she finds a friend and confidant, and he is the one who inspires her to fight for her dignity and is her only support system. Later in the film, the story turns over when, with the help of Raju, Rosie achieves fame as a dancer. She is stronger, and feels more confident. There we see that it is actually Raju who is dependant on her, both emotionally and financially. He loses himself to drinking and gambling and is an altogether different person. Well, so is she, and that's what gives us a fascinating look at the complexity of their relationship.

The second half is, by my estimation, much stronger than the first, but that's a good thing (the trouble is when it's the other way around). In many ways, the second half, namely the parts showing the conflict in Raju and Rosie's new life as a couple, is reminiscent of many classic Hollywood pictures involving relationships. The narrative structure is done well, never daring to torture the audience and instead making everything easy to follow despite many complex proceedings. Yes, there are moments which I felt were unnecessary and the film may be quite overlong, but otherwise it is well-edited although, of course, it is more a case of good storytelling, and due credit for the consistency goes to Vijay Anand for writing such a good script and directing it so well. The dialogue is for the most part excellent - it is rich and meaningful, and it's easy to see why many of the film's lines are famous to this today. They bring depth to the story and never sound cheesy or corny, just very appropriate and convincing. The film is also one of the most remarkable cinematographic achievements of the times, and the colour cinematography makes for an easy watch. The music, by S.D. Burman, is sublime, and rightfully each song is considered a classic. The songs are executed with impressive energy and colour, they never feel out of place, and are all situationally relevant as they enhance the meaning of the story. My favourite number is of course the highly popular "Aaj Phir Jeene Ki Tamanna Hai", just because I saw it as an uninhibited celebration of the human spirit, and it is just an exhilarating and joyful number.

Raju and Rosie have been known as iconic characters, and due credit for this must go to the actors, though they are well written. Dev Anand, as already mentioned, plays an imperfect man who is still rather classy as a character and it is a demanding part for any actor. This is the role of a lifetime for this popular actor, he sinks his teeth into it, and delivers. He is convincing even in the most crucial moments, where a lesser actor could have failed, and brings character to Raju. Waheeda Rehman shines as the conflicted Rosie, in a performance that, in spite of being so restrained, conveys so much of her inner pain and dissatisfaction from life. Her transformation is very convincing, as later in the film we see an altogether different woman, who is indifferent to her surroundings and to Raju as well. It never looks peculiar, where it could have because we saw a much more warm side of her character early in the movie. It goes without saying that her dance numbers are simply superb - they are some of the best portions of the film and they contribute significantly to the building of her character. Each one of them constitutes an expression of her state of mind, whether happy or tormented, and there is a certain fervour in her expressions and moves that explosively brings out her otherwise repressed energy and emotion. Anand and Rehman are supported by several actors who provide strong support even if not all of them are great actors. Kishore Sahu is good as Marco, Rosie's ignorant husband, although he has several weak moments. The glorious Leela Chitnis is wonderful as Raju's loving mother.

Guide is a great film, though I would never call it flawless. In all fairness I found myself disappointed a bit with the conclusion of the story although I did see the redemptive tone of the ending. It is of course handled very well, but the chapter where Raju is mistaken as a holy man just didn't work for me as much despite the spiritual side of it. I still appreciate Guide and believe that fans of Hindi movies, and even foreigners who have not seen Indian movies, will enjoy this movie. It is a fine dramatic musical, and all I think is left to say is well-done.