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| A
vintage Mumbai in Chennai for Manirathnam’s
Guru!! |
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you ever imagined what Mumbai would have looked
like in the 1950's? |
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Trams
on the road, buildings, people and
the very atmosphere exuding a sense
of the old world charm… That
is precisely what ace director Manirathnam
has brought alive in his forthcoming
film, Guru. The Mumbai of the 1950s.
With Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya
Rai, Maddy and Vidya Balan in the
lead roles, sources reveal that the
film traces the life of the Ambanis.
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A
majority of the shoot is complete, with
only two weeks' worth of shooting left. |
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Known for his meticulous precision for detail,
Manirathnam was intent on painting a picture
of Mumbai before the 1960s. And when an
image of a certain vision sits with explicit
clarity in the mind of a director like Mani,
there is no room whatsoever for compromise.
Huge sets at the YMCA grounds in Chennai
have been erected expressly for this purpose,
with art director Samir Chandar calling
the shots. The sets are massive, to say
the least, and the vista presented, lifelike.
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Old world roads have been laid out,
trams have been built, and even the
costumes are a replica of the times
gone by. The sets and the setting
look so authentic, that a lucky few
who caught a glimpse of the sets,
are spellbound by its sense of realism.
In fact, most people are not aware
of the existence of such a setting,
including a majority of the unit of
the film.
Manirathnam has taken time out to
explain the magnitude of the location
only to Abhishek, who trade experts
believe is lucky to have landed with
such an exquisite and unique character.
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We
are told that Abhishek's character
starts in the year 1959, when he is
20 years old, and the film traces
his life till he is 65. The older
Abhishek Bachchan in the film has
been characterized as a rotund personality,
for which a special make-up that takes
close to four hours to complete has
been used in the film. Industry experts
say that Guru will certainly be a
milestone character for Abhishek Bachchan,
and his value in the industry will
only shoot upwards. |
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However,
when Mani wanted to shoot a few scenes
and a song sequence in Mumbai, Abhishek
was forced to decline in fear of the
media glare. With scores of rumours
doing the rounds about his supposed
affair with Aishwarya Rai, he is afraid
that a song shot in Mumbai with Abhishek
romancing Ash will only add fuel to
the rumour mills that are working
overtime already. Abhishek has declined
a shoot in Mumbai earlier as well,
for the film Dhoom 2, and requested
the producer to look for an alternate
location with the unit ending up in
Brazil finally. |
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Respecting
the actor's wishes, Manirathnam too is looking
for other locations for the song, while
completing most of his film shooting in
Tamil Nadu and Karnataka. |
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