Source: Hindustan Times
Date: March 10,2011
Says Hrithik, whose Ethan in Guzaarish pleaded for euthanasia like in the Aruna Shaunbag case
Recent developments in Aruna Shaunbag's on-going case have shook the country once again. Even though the Supreme Court turned down her plea for mercy killing or active euthanasia, actor Hrithik Roshan feels that “any act that ends consistent suffering must be condoned.“
The actor recently played the role of a magician, Ethan, in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's last release, Guzaarish. In the film, Ethan too files a plea for euthanasia, only to be turned down by the court.
“Euthanasia must be allowed in cases that merit it.But a strong system needs to be set in place to process the information, and decide whether a person needs it or not,“ says the actor,adding that processing the cases will be of paramount importance. A few days ago, the Supreme Court took the decision to turn down a petition seeking Shaunbag's mercy killing saying that the hospital staff had expressed willingness to continue supporting her.
However, the court also made it legal to withdraw a life-support system to those in a permanently vegetative state, known as passive euthanasia.
“This is a good beginning.In time, as we evolve as a society, it will become easier to see reason in the concept of euthanasia as a boon for those who are suffering to a degree which you and me cannot even imagine,“ adds Roshan.
Ever since Bhansali started making the film, the issue of mercy killing has constantly been in the news. Around the release of Guzaarish, the filmmaker had stated that “it has never been handled in Indian cinema before, but it is a very important subject.“
According to the filmmaker, human suffering cannot be comprehended simply. “If you can make an entertaining film with big stars and a big platform, and still talk about it as a sensitive issue, then that is what we are doing. We are not propagating it or taking sides,“ Bhansali had said.
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Hrithik makes a guzaarish
Source: Times Of India
Date: March 10, 2011
The concept of mercy killing has always fascinated filmmakers. It was the central theme of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Guzaarish, in which Hrithik Roshan played a paraplegic seeking euthanasia. So, when the Supreme Court gave its landmark order on euthanasia on Monday, it generated a lot of interest in tinsel town.
Hrithik said euthanasia should be allowed in India: "Any act that ends consistent suffering in any form must be lauded. Mercy killing—in its passive version—must be allowed in cases that merit it. But a system needs to be set in place to process the information and make a decision. This is a good beginning... euthanasia will be a boon for those who are suffering to a degree which you and I cannot imagine."
On Monday, the Supreme Court, while rejecting journalist Pinki Virani's appeal for euthanasia for Aruna Shanbaug, a former nurse who has been in a permanent vegetative state since she was sexually assaulted by a ward boy at KEM Hospital 37 years ago, paved the way for passive euthanasia in the country.
Guzaarish told the story of a young magician who suffers spinal cord injury during a performance. He appeals for euthanasia, but is denied permission. Bhansali's message was that euthanasia is about seeking the right to decide on one's life.