Posters of Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan-starrer Guzaarish displayed at Mona cinema in Patna on Friday. Picture by Ranjeet Kumar Dey

Patna, Nov. 19: Hrithik Roshan has cast a spell on Patnaites with his new film — Sanjay Leela Bansali’s Guzaarish.

Hrithik’s histrionics captured everyone’s imagination, though the movie may not have inspired similar reaction from the audience.

Abhijit Kumar, a medical practitioner, said he liked the way Hrithik portrayed the suffering and the intense feelings of the character quadriplegic Ethan Mascarenhas — a magician based in Goa, who advocates euthanasia.

Kumar said: “The director has done well to showcase the feelings and sufferings of Hrithik’s character. His performance is laudable.” Sonali Singh, a student and Hrithik-fan, said the leading man had delivered a winner. Singh said: “Guzaarish has something new to offer — it is way better than other Bollywood films released recently.”

Singh said Hrithik’s performance was well complimented by other actors such as Shenaz Patel and Nafisa Ali as well as the set design and cinematography.

Manju, a professional, said she liked the subject of the film because it was different and bold. She said: “The narrative makes you sit up and think, how people like Ethan are suffering.” She said Hrithik’s performance was cathartic. “His suffering made me cry but his words made me laugh. His character imparts the teaching of true love and quick forgiveness,” Manju said.

An example of Ethan’s forgiveness in the movie is when he teaches Omar Siddiqui (played by Aditya Roy Kapoor) magic. Omar is the son of Ethan’s one-time best friend, who had orchestrated the accident because of which Ethan was bedridden for life. Shenaz plays Ethan’s friend and lawyer and Ali plays his mother.

But the film did not appeal to everyone.

Dheeraj Sinha, a member of the audience, said: “The pace of the film is too slow. Like most of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film, the scenes were too dark. He should have had at least some bright scenes.” Sinha said the song Udi main udi and Hrithik’s performance were the only two high points in the film. Baby Kumari, another viewer, agreed with Sinha. She said she would never see the movie again as it was not entertaining enough.

Swaraj, a diehard fan of Hrithik, disagreed. He said: “Hrithik’s acting makes up for everything.”