A Review Of 'Guide': The Serendipitous Journey Of A Reluctant Swami

In the climax scene of the film Guide (1965), when a couple brings their sick child to the Swamiji (Raju, played by Dev Anand) to find a cure, Raju, deeply distressed at the plight of the people in the drought-ridden village, has a conversation with God. He pleads with god to show mercy on his subjects and appeals to him to take his life but relieve the villagers from their grief. The villagers, surrounding the Swami and his temple, begin to sing a song with the words “Hey Ram”, which reminds the spectator strongly of the last words uttered by Mahatma Gandhi before his passing. As the song reaches its crescendo, Raju has an epiphany where he hears the voice of God and is urged to leave his worldly belongings behind.

As Raju’s life leaves his body, there is sound of thunder and the villagers are drenched in the rain. Raju’s plea has been accepted; the villagers are granted what they have been praying for, while his life is taken. The interesting aspect of this film’s climax is its ambiguity in terms of belief. If the spectator believes, then it is Raju’s fast unto death that brings the rain to the drought-stricken village; but if the spectator doesn’t, then the rain that relieves the villagers is merely a serendipitous occurrence, while Raju’s death is a tragic loss. 

Guide as a film is premised on this idea of serendipity. Raju guide’s meeting with Rosie (Waheeda Rehman) is a matter of chance, and so is the revelation that Rosie is a dancer. Once he is out of jail, him being discovered as a baba by a villager is also by happenstance, and so is the return of his loved ones to him by the end of the film. But the most serendipitous occurrence in the film is Raju’s chance encounter with spiritualism.

What makes Guide stand out among the very many films that feature godmen of various hues, is the fundamental reluctance of its protagonist to embrace his role as a spiritual guide of the village that he comes across on his journey from jail to nowhere. As the first song of this musical, sung by the legendary composer S.D. Burman himself, addresses Raju, he is merely a musafir (traveller). He sets out on an aimless expedition in the direction of “Anjanpur” to find a new life for himself, away from all the harm and hurt he has caused his loved ones. Driven by hunger and destitution, he happens to discover a path that leads him from his previous life of material possessions and worldly greed, to an other-worldly spirituality. In the process, he finds himself tasked with the upliftment of the villagers in the place where he finally finds shelter, which is a dilapidated and abandoned temple.  

The film shows Raju wanting to get rid of the position attributed to him by the villagers on various occasions. When he is expected to fast for twelve days to bring rain to the village ravaged by a drought, he calls his most faithful devotee Bhola (Gajanan Jagirdar) and reveals the entire truth about his earlier life to him. While Raju intends to show Bhola that he is an ordinary human being like the rest of them, with his own fallacies and mistakes, Bhola in turn becomes all the more convinced about Raju’s divinity. Comparing him to Rishi Valmiki, who turned into a saint after being a dacoit, he says, “Gyaan ke raaste bade tedhe hain” (the pathways to knowledge are often crooked).

During his fast, Raju tries to run away and contemplates cheating on his oath by eating some food, but it is the thought of betraying his devotees that eventually makes him stay true to his commitment. Even in his most poignant dialogues with himself and God, his scientific scepticism is transformed into faith because of the devotion of his followers. Hence, unlike other films that invariably portray the godmen as infallible figures, Guide’s Raju is an unlikely Swami whose spirituality is firmly grounded in the beliefs of his devotees. 

Another aspect that distinguishes the godman of Guide is the clear distinction the film tries to establish between the kinder faith of the Swami, who propounds a religion of humanity (he embraces his long lost Muslim friend, much to the surprise of his followers), and the hierarchical religiosity of the traditional Hindu pandits in the village, who Raju berates for “fooling the people for generations”. In the scenes where Raju has an internal dialogue with himself, the background displays multiple religious symbols, as a way of separating his divine philosophy from traditional Hindu beliefs. Through Raju’s inner contemplation, the film attempts to engage in a debate between scientific rationale and faith, which is an unlikely sight in films that feature godmen. Even after such a debate, the film respectfully leaves the conclusion open-ended for the spectator to decide where their beliefs lie. 

R.K. Narayan, who authored the original book called The Guide, was unimpressed by its film adaptation, stating that it strayed from the central theme of the book and “glamorized” the characters. Even so, the film became a landmark success, owing not just to the redemption it offers its protagonists, who were otherwise doomed by their fates, but also to its remarkable soundtrack, which breathed life into the visuals of the film.