Not quite the 'Mani'spinner
Sarita Tanwar, Mid Day
What’s it about: All that brouhaha about Mani Ratnam’s Guru being based on Dhirubhai Ambani life was not unjustified after all. The striking similarities are rather obvious and thankfully, the sensibility of the director salvages it from becoming a dreary documentary.
The film focuses on the rags-to-riches story of Gurukanth Desai (Abhishek Bachchan), the son of a failed businessman-turned-school master who goes abroad in search of his big dream.
After indulging in odd jobs for a few years, he manages to get a good position in a big factory but leaves it all to follow his vision — to start his own enterprise. Nothing comes between him and his goal.
He even offers to marry his friend Jignesh’s (Arya Babbar) sister Sujata (Aishwarya Rai), just because he wants the dowry money to start his business. He finds a friend in the forthright publisher of a newspaper, Manik Das Gupta (Mithun Chakraborty) who helps him wage his first battle against injustice, and there forms a relationship of mutual respect.
Only it gets spoilt a few years later, when Gurukanth begins to make compromises to earn larger profits and Manik makes it his purpose in life to expose him through his paper. Helping Manik in his mission is his dynamic editor, Shyam (Madhavan). Guru is the story of one man’s journey through anonymity, power and eventually, self-realisation.
What’s good: The master storyteller, Mani Ratnam, weaves his tale like a poem. Guru had all the trappings of a dull docu-drama, but Ratnam maintains his fine form… well, almost.
Like all his earlier films, Mani successfully captures a surreal look and feel through innovative shot taking and dazzling cinematography courtesy Rajeev Menon. Dialogues are clap-worthy and the screenplay is innovative and inspiring; there are scenes that take your breath away. And the crowning glory comes in the form of performances.
Abhishek and Aishwarya finally get their chemistry right. But this time, it’s Aishwarya who delivers a knockout performance from her first scene to the last. She’s not the one with the author-backed role neither does she have the best dialogues. But she blends beautifully into the character and is the surprise packet of the film.
Abhishek Bachchan is earnest and is a scene-stealer at times: Look for him in the scene where he tells his senior in the trading pit how he’s going to beat him at his own game. That one is sure to draw whistles in the theatre. He’s also fabulous when he confronts his loyalist Ghanshyam (Manoj Joshi) after the attack on Manik Das.
He brings forth all his emotions to the front in the hospital sequence after Ghanshyam’s suicide attempt. Mithun Chakraborty is magic personified; here’s an actor of caliber doing what he does best. It’s sad that the industry isn’t offering him roles he deserves. Madhavan, despite a small role, makes a big impact.
What’s bad: There’s nothing wrong with Abhishek’s performance, but for a film like this, maybe Ratnam needed a more mature actor. For a film that spans through generations, Abhishek looks a bit uncomfortable in the senior role. Also, the film has its powerful moments but they’re sporadic. Somehow, Ratnam fails to maintain the tempo throughout the proceedings.
This could be one of the few Mani Ratnam films where you could do away with a few scenes — like Abhishek’s Yammo Yammo song. Vidya Balan is wasted — her presence does not add or take away anything from Guru and as for Mallika Sherawat, dancing is certainly not her forte.
What to do: Guru may not be Mani Ratnam’s best, but watch it to rediscover Aishwarya Rai. Abhishek Bachchan is the bonus.
Rating: ***
