Joginder Tuteja, Bollywood Trade News Network

While media buzz has already begun around Hrithik playing a paraplegic in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's GUZAARISH, the fact of the matter is that he is not the first actor in Bollywood to be playing this part. Not too long back, Jimmy Shergill was shown to be suffering from the same physical condition in BAS EK PAL (2006) where he played the part of a paraplegic man.

As Rahul, he was shown to be paralyzed from waist down due to an accidental bullet being fired by the character played by Sanjay Suri. In a serious role, Jimmy was quite convincing but since the film failed to set the cash registers ringing, the performance by and large went totally unnoticed.

Says Onir, the director of BAS EK PAL, ''Jimmy had played the part with a lot of conviction. I remember how he used to be on the sets when the camera was not rolling. He used to be bubbling with energy and keep the spirits of the unit high. But the moment he used to get on his wheel chair, he would just turn into Rahul. His was quite a nuanced performance and he played it to perfection.''

Well, once looks forward to how Hrithik approaches his part in GUZAARISH. Knowing his penchant for making very good preparation for his roles, especially the ones where the character is physically or mentally challenged (remember KOI MIL GAYA?), one expects nothing but the best from Hrithik. Moreover, Sanjay Leela Bhansali too has handled his physically challenged characters quite well in his earlier films (KHAMOSHI, BLACK) so it becomes quite obvious that he would treat GUZAARISH too with utmost maturity and sensitivity.