Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Madhavan, Vidhya Balan, Mithun Chakraborthy Director:Mani Ratnam Producer:Mani Ratnam Music:A.R.Rahman Date Of Release: Jan12th, 2007
Mani Ratnam is in supreme command as he tells a gripping story in his trademark unusual style. He has used the Art Direction of Samir Chanda to perfection as he recreates the Mumbai Best trams of 1960s, coal engine powered trains and the old model cars on the marine drive promenade. Mani has used all his sensibilities and sensitivities to unspool a tale whose drama lies in the men and not in their methods. Mani's other great success is in getting the best out of his team. 'Guru' is a study of a man who is not afraid to chase the rainbow of imagination.
'Guru' is clearly inspired by life of the founder of Reliance industries Dhirubhai Ambani. For like Dhirubhai, Guru bhai hails from a village in Gujarat who wins over Mumbai with his native intelligence. After being the badshah of Polyster and being the leader of share market, Guru Bhai asks his loyal share holders, "Banna chahte ho Hindusthan ki sabse badi company." An encore follows. Next stop is petro chemicals factory for which once again he uses coercion to make the ministers come on his side. A newspaper publisher Manik Dasgupta (Mithun Chakraborthy) and a firebrand journalist Shyam (Madhavan) expose many irregularities in the functioning style of Guru Bhai. Manik Dasgupta (Or Nanaji), a Gandhian, was the man whom Guru earlier considered as his father. Even though they respected each other personally, their ideologies clashed. Guru's wife Sujatha (Aishwarya Rai) is the pillar of support that always stands by him in the biggest of crisis. He also has a few selected men who belonged to him for reasons more than mere business interests. Guru makes a beautiful and bouncy relationship with Meenu(Vidya Balan). What ensues is a high-stakes cat and mouse game with hotshot scribe Shyam to dredge up the details. It is a fight between two equal enemies. Guru, despite playing by his own rules, wins popular support. The strength of the story is in the details that are too difficult to explore and experience in words and overzealous adjectives.
Performance:
Abhishek through 'Guru' has made a performance of lifetime. He lives the complex character of Guru with rare ease. The Abhi-Aish love story, cool and crisp at the start, grows up to be warm and wistful towards the end. Aishwarya, as ever, looks charming in song sequences. Madhavan brought out the applicable form of act in an assignable manner and Mithun brings to life a media baron in a right way. Vidya Balan, in a weepy role, looks comfortable. A.R.Rahman's magical and beautiful songs give more compelling contextual beauty. Rehman's songs sound even better on screen and have been lovingly picturized by Mani and Rajeev Menon. Dance of Mallika is a treat for the audience. Rajeev Menon's camerawork and Sreekar Prasad's editing as expected are exceptional.
