Intense, powerful, sincere and profitable. Review on Guru (2007)

Apart from the freedom fighters of our past, we really cannot boast of a personality on whom a bio-epic film can be made that can entertain the audience, inspire them and leave them all in awe of him/her. But for one man. The man who is the ultimate ‘rags to riches’ story, the man who formed the first Indian corporate giant, the man whose empire is now a legacy and a challenge for generations, the man who was a mentor,  a management book by himself, the man who was an inspiration, the man who was a GURU.

ManiRatnam takes on the challenge to depict on screen, and in 3 hours, the inspiring and challenging story of The Late Dhirubhai Ambani. Although, there are some fictitious elements (including a Mallika dance), the movie remains close to the real story of the birth and growth of Reliance Industries and the journey of its founder. Mani Ratnam does his best to envisage the eventful journey while keeping the viewer entertained. The rest is all Abhishek Bachchan, like never seen before. Here he is, as an actor who deserves nothing less than applause for his best act yet.

Gurukant Desai, an ambitious lad from rural Gujarat, dares to dream against his father’s advice and decides to go abroad to find his path. Thus, he begins his career in Turkey, as a petroleum agent who learns lessons on business, on ideas and on realizing dreams.  Even after being offered a promotion and heavier salary, he forsakes it all and returns to India to start some business of his own.  He gets married to Sujata (Aishwarya Rai), mainly to get the dowry that will serve as his capital. But at every juncture, he finds obstacles. He finds these hurdles in the system that prevent any liberty for an ambitious Indian who belongs to the middle class.  Guru shrewdly finds his way past all of these. His only goal is to move on….. Rapidly.  His only mentor, the satyavadi principled, *Nanaji * (Mithun Da),  soon becomes his biggest obstacle as he adopts unlawful practices and unethical means to make his business grow which doesn’t go down too well with the righteous editor. Nanaji’s apprentice, *Shyam *(Madhavan), plays the reporter whose goal is to expose Guru’s malpractices in the newspapers.

All this, along with the shareholders’ outrage, media’s pressure and corporate rivalry, take a toll on Guru’s life and we see him going through physical disabilities but at the end, it is his inner strength, his drive, his ambition and his vision that rises above everything else. We see this towards the end when Abhishek Bachchan delivers a powerful and memorable performance, supported strongly by Mani Ratnam’s direction and script.

Coming out of the theatre, a chill runs down your spine and you are in awe of this great character and are left amazed by an astounding performance by Abhishek who dawns like the sun after a dusky act in Dhoom 2.

Mani Ratnam knew what he was doing. Capturing Dhirubhai’s story and depicting it in this masala film loving country was a mammoth task.  He was impeccable with the screenplay. Yes, the director does take to his occasional escapades into Aishwarya’s character, Vidya Balan’s character and a few songs that do nothing but slacken the pace of the film.  Those were all unnecessary strings attached to this otherwise intense drama. Guru argues in front of a panel that accuses him of bending the laws.

He argues that he is simply a man out to do business in a free country but he is obstructed by laws that favour only the rich. He argues that his progress will result in the country’s progress.  How many ambitions can they punish? And for how long will people curtail their dreams? Dhirubhai made it big because he dreamt big. His practices may have been controversial but what he did was always in good faith of his shareholders and the country. It was our system that hampered the flourishing of more Dhirubhais and this is what one gets an insight into through this movie.

The business madness of the movie’s protagonist, his passion, his drive and his determination is reminiscent of what we have witnessed in Martin Scorcese’s Aviator. Mani Ratnam has not compromised in showcasing rural Gujarat, the attires of those times, the settings and the locations.  Musically, Guru is a disappointment. All the songs, unlike the ones in Mani Ratnam’s films are oddly placed and are not at all AR Rahman grade. This combination has given Dil Se to us but this time, something has gone terribly wrong. But the background score is perfectly suited to the dynamic theme and character.

Performances are exemplary. Mithun Da, the brilliant actor who has been absent from good films for long, returns with a pleasing performance in a justifying role. Madhavan is competent; Vidya Balan looks too glamorous for those times whereas her character was unnecessary in the film. Aishwarya Rai strikes back at her harsh critics with a mature performance, that is totally controlled by the director and she looks good as well. We all prefer watching her this way than in her ‘like… you know like what looks’. The lead couple’s chemistry is refreshingly real.

For Abhishek Bachchan, this movie was very crucial. Single hero in a bio-epic, with one of the most acclaimed directors at a brink of his career where he desperately needs a hit….. And this time, he works hard for it. Abhishek somehow really works on it to look like Dhirubhai and he comes as close as one can get after Mukesh Ambani. His style of walking, raising his hands, delivering an invigorating speech, his cold yet shrewd smirk and superb dialogue delivery contribute to a great performance.

Watch him as he delivers those dialogue punches to Contractor, as a happy ambitious lad in Turkey, as an uncompromising business leader in a factory and meetings, as a shrewd businessman who is challenged by his own mentor, a reporter and the press, as a physically disabled patient, as a recovering tiger in the court and finally as an older protagonist who rises above all odds. Abhishek stands tall in all confrontation scenes in the film remarkably, emerging an outright winner.

Guru may have some flaws but much like its inspiration- Dhirubhai Ambani, it rises above everything. It is powerful, dynamic, and sincere in effort, intense and profitable- depending on what you take back from the film.

• 9.291 on a scale of 1-10.