It
is an encore of triumph for India’s finest director
on celluloid. Mani Ratnam has once again cast his
magical spell on the audience. Guru has truly lived
up to its hype and expectations. It is a journey into
the life of Gurukanth Desai who rises from nadir to
zenith. Abhishek Bachchan carries the film on his
shoulders. Immaculate performance from Bachchan junior.
He has lived the life of Gurukanth with aplomb.
Story
The story begins in 1950 when a young Guru from
a small village in Gujarat travels to Turkey
to make a living, returns with Rs 15,000 to
his village. In a situation where the presence
of Rs 15000 could help him revitalize his dream
of initiation of a business domain he gets into
a wedlock with his friend’s sister Sujatha
(Aishwarya Rai), accepting Rs 25000 as dowry.
His hard work pays rich dividends and slowly
but steadily he climbs the rungs of success
ladder and becomes an accomplished industrialist.
Means don’t matter to Gurukanth; it is
only the ends that he eyes on.
He
builds his business empire through a lot of contraventions.
His rise in life is dotted with illegal constructions,
land acquisitions to name a few. Success lures Guru
and he clings to it never renouncing it for anything.
Manik
Dasgupta (Mithun Chakraborthy) publisher of
the newspaper Swatantra is a very good friend
of Guru. But the moment he realizes Guru’s
ulterior motives, he campaigns to expose Guru
with his editor friend Shyam (Madhavan). This
forms the base of the story.
Performance
It is Abhishek’s movie all the way. His
dexterous body language, facial contortions,
perfect dialogue delivery assures the audience
that no other actor could have assayed this
role so perfectly. Papa Bachchan is bound to
feel proud of his son. Abhishek has arrived
indeed. Aishwarya Rai is as angelic as ever.
The exhilarating on screen chemistry between
the lead pair works to the advantage of the
film.
Music
Already a chart buster. The rapport that Mani Ratnam
shares with A R Rahman has once again been emphatically
proved in this film. It makes one wonder if Rahman
has a special kitty for Mani alone!!! Mallika Sherawat
satisfies her fans with a sizzling ‘Maiya maiya’
number. Barso Re and Tera Bina are mellifluous ones
while Hariharan hypnotizes listeners with ‘hey
airathe’ number. Background score screams of
Rahman stamp.
Cinematography
and Dialogues
Cinematography by Rajeev Menon who has transformed
Tamilnadu and Kerala to appear like Northern
provinces. The different shades and tones to
highlight the mood of the scene are seamlessly
carried out by Menon. Dialogue writer Vijay
Kumar Acharya sparkles in the last half an hour
of the film.
Downside
The emphasis on the character portrayal is wanting
in the story line.
The
reason for the misunderstanding between Guru and his
brother-in-law has not clearly been conveyed. Vidya
Balan and Madhavan are wasted.
In short, Guru is a film not to be missed. Worth watching…
