Guru
Naomi Datta, Times Now
Much as Mani Ratnam may like to deny it – Guru is pretty much based on the life of industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani, with a few cinematic liberties thrown in here and there.
So Gurukant Desai (Abhishek Bachchan) better known as Gurubhai dreams big – he goes from being a petrol pump attendant in Turkey to setting up a business empire which ranges from polyester to petrochemicals in Mumbai. Along with him he gets the Indian middle class to dream giving them prosperity through the stock markets. In all this, his faithful companion is his wife, Sujata (Aishwarya Rai).
But Gurubhai is a visionary with a twist – he believes that the end always justifies the means, and that brings him into direct conflict with upright media baron, Nanaji (Mithun).
Yes, yes - Guru is pretty much Dhirubhai and Nanaji is the feisty Ramnath Goenka who fought a life-long pitched battle with the industrialist. The spat with Bombay Dyeing and the Wadia Empire too make an appearance – and really you do wonder how Mani ever expected anyone to believe that his film was a piece of fiction, “inspired not by one individual but many” (sic) Really? Like who? Take three guesses – Dhirubhai Ambani, Dhirubhai Amabani and Dhirubhai Ambani!!
But of course, at the end of the day after you’ve had your fun figuring out who’s who in the film, you have to judge it purely as a film – and that’s what we are doing next!
So does Guru work as a film? Before we answer that, let’s backtrack to a Ratnam failing – he picks up interesting subjects (Bombay, Dil Se) and then soft pedals. The result - good, but flawed films which sometimes run the risk of being wishy-washy. Take Guru. It is a great subject – an ideologue who will bend, flout and break the law if need be, but is the messiah of the middle classes.
So why is this film not the fascinating watch it should have been? Because Ratnam doesn’t get the complexity and contradiction of this man across – worse still, he attempts to justify the man’s deeds in a weak climax which puts forward the dubious premise that as long as you bring happiness to your shareholders, you can and should break the law. So insider trading, flouting custom and excise duties is well and good because it did finally get the cab driver to marry his three daughters off on the basis of your share price! Come on, Mr. Ratnam – that is naïve! Just give us a gripping film about a man who was a genius, but could also be a thug if need be. And let us make our judgment on whether we want to like him, hate him or justify him!
The stand out element in the story is really the relationship between Guru and his wife, Sujata. Like everything else in his life, it starts out like a transaction and then becomes the bedrock of his life. That piece of writing brings out the contradiction in the man like nothing else in the movie does. Aishwarya Rai hasn’t looked this beautiful for some time now and she adds a quiet dignity to Sujata – you forgive her for Dhoom 2 immediately!
Abhishek Bachchan – well, this is a very good performance by this actor – the problem is that when you share your gene pool with the illustrious Amitabh Bachchan, the minute you play an older man – you end up looking and acting like your dad! Mithun is good as Nanaji. The Vidya Balan track is unnecessary and she is wasted in the film. Madhavan is ok.
All in all – you keep hoping for some dramatic high point in this slow-paced film, which never happens. So why the three stars? Well, because it is superbly shot (Rajeev Menon), it is reasonably well-made and has some quality histrionics. It is not Mani Ratnam’s best – far from it - but even an average Ratnam film is finally a good film. So there!
Rating: ***
