Jan 15, 2007 03:17 PM
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Justin Gatlin competes in a World Championship 100m race, but midway, gets confused, and fails to finish the distance!
Difficult to digest? Well, it may well be possible! Mani Ratnam has just made a movie with a brilliant source code, the right hard-wares and soft-wares, the right pictures at the back, a good OS, excellent peripherals, but then got crashed midway. He ends up in a way he hardly ever has, and delivers a mediocre-ratable Mani movie. Well, that was the obituary! Now, for the movie critique! (I shall desist from boring, full length narratives of the by-now oft repeated plot).
..A disgraced boy, having flunked his exams despite a headmaster dad;
travelling to Turkey for work; beating the local gambler at his own;
making a quick buck; kicking a promotion to return to 'des' and start 'bijiness';
getting married only for the dowry as start up money for his dream; doing the routine
Bombay Newcomer Act (growl, groan, fight, rise, enemies...blah);
growing from "2 kameez, 1 wife and 1 saala" to owner of the country's
biggest brand (Shakti Parivar); fighting on the strength of loopholes left by
the law makers in their laws; getting caught on the wrong side of
Excise and Customs; partial paralysis; fighting back and retaining the
top slot; aiming for the world when last reports came in .. and the
screen went black - that is the plot, in brief!
.. There was a boneless, jumpy actor in the yesteryears, logged out since long. He has a second coming (and it isn't about sex!) in Guru. A brilliant resurrection of a heretofore unknown acting prowess, Mithun Da's Guptaji is a die-hard and fiercely independent editor of The Independent, who has to turn against the very young man he once gave a lease of life and a foothold in Bombay's cloth business. But when a temporary absence from his chair sees his own press printing fodder that the by-now business magnate doles out, losing its spine of independent thought, guardian turns foe. The performer par excellence in this film is our former Disco Dancer, Mithun Chakraborty.
..A young actor who had to contend with a large shadow, that too his own father's, ere he found his own space in Bollywood. Abhishek Bachan excels, esaaying a difficult role with elan, easily churning out his best ever performance. Powerful dialogue delivery, great emoting and piercing eyes backed by the huge frame, AB Jr. fills the screen with his presence, portraying Gurukant Desai (Did someone say 'Dhirubhai Ambani'?) Just to say that he brought back memories of The Angry Young Man says volumes about how far his acting has come of age. Way to go, AB! "If only they don't ask me to dance", he seems to say, every time, even in a Bangh -ed up state!
... A World Beauty queen with flawless dancing skills and skin, expressive eyes and a wonderful chassis, in the role of a Gujju wife of a business tycoon single mindedly pursuing the 'World's No. 1 Brand' slot. Aishwarya Raiturns out a much-better-than-usualperformance in acting, while maintaining the excellence with her nimble toes and swaying hands. At least, this one is a believable role the beauty does. Perhaps she has already enrolled for some acting class at the National School of Drama! If only that role had been by Rani Mukherjee!
.. A dark hero with a great smile, from the land of Mani Ratnam, with multiple forgettable roles in Bollywood under his belt, in a leaner, meaner and better frame. Madhavan easily comes across as the fanatic journo who takes The Independent's fight out to the unchallengable Business King. Good performance, will be remembered.
... A slender beauty last seen and loved for her 'Good Evening, Mumbaai',in a role hardly requiring her to flex her muscles (especially since she is confined to a wheel chair!). Vidya Balancould have had it better, but plays second (handicapped) fiddle with ease, charm and grace.
... MS, in a sizzling role, with loads of flesh, batting lids and display of asss-sets and grand canyons. Well, not apna Faisal's baby, but this was Mallika Sherawat, in a guest appearance, grinding herself in a 'dance bar' of Istanbul! That was the 'bump'er starter-kit, and came free with the ticket!
... Give or take a few other sidekicks, and that is the star cast.
Rajiv Menon takes us around Gujarat, Bombay and Turkey with some scenic and lovely visuals.
Some excellent scenes like Guru visiting Mottha Bhaiat hospital, Guru answering the Inquiry Committee, Guru talking to his mother in a very interesting language of 'respect', Guru and wife's 'it-hit-hit'on the bed (yes, they actually show them at it! lol!) merit mention. So what if it is Guru, Guru all the way. The film is called Guru too! But that background chant of "Gurubhai Gurubhai Aavya Che..."reminded me of Rajnikant, in flicks like "Basha"! In fact, so much so, that I quickly commenced my own chant of "Good Boy, Good Boy, Bad Boy Che"... they sound the same! And, it suits Guru better - the remorseless, scheming, Machiavellian and business-centred Guru Bhai!
Songs are the worst irritant in this movie, with one almost every 10 minutes. Yes, that is better than the average Hindi flick, but then, we are on Mani Ratnam terrain, folks! Better be sound! But a couple of them stand apart, like the Dhum (or is it Tum?) Tara number. You may well be pardoned, when the first scene of Ash shows her in a rain-dance singing "Na Na Re Na", for thinking her acting skills were being spoken about!!
Check this link for details: https://msnspecials.in/guru/index1.asp
It is an eminently watchable movie, even though it doesn't really match up to the director's famed standards! But then, we are talking about a Hindi movie, with huge bankable stars in the lead. Deduct the Mani-effect, and Guru is certainly better than the rest around! Hence the 4-star rating. Had it been a Mani-fest, it would just be 2-stars!
Go see it, especially since Mani is half-producer here. If he doesn't make his buck, tomorrow may well be "All Chinta and No Mani" !
