Before I start my review let me make it clear that I am NOT going to waste time giving a gist of the story as every other person does. This is an objective review which needn't incorporate that element at all.
To begin with, I'd like to mention a fact that not many people know. Guru is Mani Ratnam's 2ND biopic. The first one was in tamil called Iruvar(which also, incidentally, had Ash as lead actress). I honestly suggest people go and see that movie before watching Guru.
Guru as a film has a reasonably good storyline. It is based a little bit upon the late Dhirubhai Ambani's life and also brings out certain other elements like the life and advance of the editor of the Independent newspaper.
I shall base my review upon each actor/actress and their role in the movie.
Abhishek Bachan:Starting off as a failure in the village school, Gurukant Desai(Abhishek) goes on to become the honcho of the largest Indian company of that time.
The role of Guru in the film is the key to the entire film. And on the whole, compared to the others it is the only role that is really fleshed out properly. Abhishek does a very good job acting as Guru. Incidentally, he had to put on weight to develop a tummy to realistically represent the aging Guru. One of the only weak points on the whole film is his dance numbers which are better left out.
Mani Ratnam has directed Abhishek well and really brought out the role of Guru clearly.
Aishwarya Rai: To be honest, Ash is too much of a doll to represent a village girl. The role of Sujata was originally meant to be filled in by Nandita Das(who would suit far better) but ws later replaced by Ash. Needless to say, Ash's song, "Na Na Re" was just ok and the dance performance put on by her was below standard. After watching the flowing moves of Mallika Sherawat in the film's item number "Maiya Maiya", Ash makes one weep by really doing a terrible pseudo Bharatanatyam(which is hardly Gujarati). When one visualizes the branch of a tree with broken twigs hanging on for dear life in the breeze, one is actually visualizing Ash's terrible classical dancing skills.
Another contrast is the aging of Guru and Sujata. While Guru develops white hair and puts on weight, Sujata remains a stick and wear a wig with splashes of white/mehendi as and when she pleases to do so. I mean, give me a break. Can't such a simple element of realism be nicely represented by the like of someone as eminent as Main Ratnam?
Mithun Chakraborty:Nanaji as he's referred to most commonly in the film, Mithun Chakraborty really acts well to portray the chief of a newspaper out to look for a scoop. He stops at nothing even though he realizes what he is doing willl affect him. Mithunda puts in a very very good performance with the right attitude and perfect portrayal of a leader who will stop at nothing.
Madhavan: The role of Shyam Saxena is played by Madhavan. Madhavan really puts in a good effort to bring realism into such a role which can be difficult at times. It remind's me of the role played by Anil Kapoor in the film Nayak. The only shortfall is that, Madhavan was not given enough time to highlight the role clearly considering that it did play an important part in the film.
Vidya Balan: After watching the entire film, one is left with just one thought. Was this role really necessary? Her role as the wife of Madhavan and sister to Guru had a very vague significance in the entire film, the only connection really being the time when she says to Madhavan, "I bought 1500 shares of the Shakti Group. I have to think about my future." Apart from that one line, her role really is not significant. Either that or else Mani Ratnam has not really fleshed out the role enough.
Those were the prime star cast in the film Guru. I must mention Mallika Sherawat's dancing was really good in the item number.
Now to come to certain other shortfalls.
The film showcases Guru as a person who will stop at nothing to make money and "empower" the Indian people. But what one doesn't realize is that, the style in which the film is made indicates that such goals can be reached even by utilizing the terrible evil called corruption? At the end of the film, when the court lets Guru go, the feeling one gets is, "Ah! Good! Ultimately good always wins!" But seldom does one stop to think that Guru abetted a lot of corruption on his way to becoming No.1.
Another incident occurs when Guru decides to marry Sujata. He initially married Sujata just for the Rs. 25000 dowry in order to start his business. This really is an insult with regard to two factors:
1) It is an insult to the rights of women
2) It okays the dowry system which existed in those times in India
These two factors are issues that people fight for everyday and producing such a film which portrays it in such a sad manner is really disgusting to say the least. It is unacceptable.
Another anecdote is when Guru is walking up the courtroom stairs for the final hearing. A taxi driver stops him and says, "I married off my three daughters with Rs.25000 made on your shares as dowry". Does this not refer to a blatant advocation of the dowry system?
Mani Ratnam has a lot of hard questions to answer.
The camea work and cinematography in the film is poor. It is suited mre to a light film like Swades with a lot of eye-candy shots. There was nothing to write home about on this front.
Well, having said this much, there are a few positives that do come to one's mind.
The music in the whole film was good. Except for the bhang dance song, all other songs had something related to the film. Kudos to Gulzaar for penning very good lyrics for the songs in Guru. I must say, one should listen to the background music at some points. A R Rahman's music is really good.
The film provides a realistic view of India in that era. Many of the flashback shots are done well. Mani Ratnam does put in a good effort to bring out the abject poverty that Indians were in when the whole country was ruled by contractors and landlords. Also, the element of casteism and social structures is highlighted beautifully.
All in all, Guru was really a film launched to aid Abhishek's and Aishwarya's sagging film career and could have done far better with another casting. Add to that the fact that Aishwarya and Abhishek's engagement was announced soon after the release of Guru to fuel the hype.
Guru is in short an overrated, overhyped film with little to write home about.
To all readers, in spite of my heavy criticism, I would suggest you go watch the film to get a feel of what I'm talking about.
Having thus written this much, I await ratings and comments of all kinds on this review.
Regards,
Adi.
