Guru (2007)

best movie i've ever seen.

In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

An old-fashioned movie made with new-fashioned finesse.

Mani Ratnam's every film is special, irrespective of B.O. Outcome, be it Roja,Bombay, Dil Se or Yuva. He also is known to bring out the best from his actors, Abhishek too got a filip in his career with YUVA. Abhishek was going through a bad phase in late 2006 with second rate films and performances in flops like UMRAO JAAN and DHOOM 2(A blockbuster but he got criticised), GURU was a film he gave his all, he put on weight and also cut off his by that time famous stubble.GURU is a biopic on Dhirubhai Ambani, though certain things may doubt that claim but yet we watch it as a drama It starts off well, from the young Abhishek in Iddhar Village who goes to Turkey with dreams and then his wanting to be a businessman are well handled, his relationship with his dad(Rajendra Gupta) and stepmother are well handled, his marriage scene too is well handled, though romance is given too much focus here, perhaps to cash on the that time engaged couple. The turn of events are well handled, however Mani doesn't spoon feed but let us think as to how he made it big, his illegalities are all not clearly shown but let us to imagine. However the climax(similar to AVAITOR) is well handled but could be less filmy Also a few flaws like Abhishek-Arya Babbar conflict and his disspearance is not well explored, Also Madhavan-Vidya track could be betterDirection by Mani Ratnam is good Music by AR Rahman is superb, Ae Hariyatri is superb, while the famous song Tere Bina is superb, Ek Lo Ek Muft could be avoided, rest are okay The theme song Jaage Hai is superb, Maiyaa too is good Camera-work is superb, the lensman have captured the locales of Gujarat and also the period between 1951-1980s perfectly.Abhishek Bachchan as I said gives his all, he is superb and his transformation is brilliant, but sadly he reminds us too much of his father, his mannerisms and his accent at many times are too much imitating his father(like he did mostly those days) but yet a brilliant job Aishwarya Rai too after her irritating act in Dhoom 2 redeemed herself,giving a natural performance Madhavan is brilliant, despite his character's weak sketch,Vidya Balan too is superb It was a great joy to see Mithun in a demanding role and he is simply brilliant, Roshan Seth is good, Rajendra Gupta is as usual,Manoj Joshi,Sarita Joshi and others are all good,Dhiritman Chaterjee is good,Arya Babbar does a good job though his role could be better

Versions-Hindi, Tamil and Telugu . IN DVDs subtitles may be available Actors: Abhishek Bachan, Iswarya Rai, Madhavan, Vidya Balan and Mithun Chakrvarthy.Direction: Maniratnam.Maniratanam is always fascinated by morally ambiguous characters and such morally ambiguous characters are the main protagonists in some of his films. His Thalapathi is of a mafia pair. Nayakan is on Bombay slum don. Guru is on robber baron. The screen play is excellent and the production values are of international standard. The photography is a delight to see and the music by Rahman was as usual full of rhythm. The first song “Nannari” by the female protagonist is much better than “Jodi” song later. Iswarya Rai – herself and her dancing are feasts to the eye. Bachan runs through the role competently. The cameo roles of Madhavan, vidya Balan and Mithun chkravarthy are powerful.----SPOILERS HERE I have a quarrel with the denouement. Guru was hauled up before a commission based on the exposure by the newspaper baron (Mithun) and his journalist (Madhavan). Guru gives a reply to the inquiry in spite of his stroke; what you can derogatorily call “Bashan”. He starts “another man broke the law years back but I am not a Mahatma”. He has the audacity to compare himself with Gandhi. Gandhi broke the laws which he perceived unjust to the Indians not surreptitiously but openly giving notice to the government, Gandhi did not use either strong arm or soft arm tactics on the officers to get his way. Guru also gives a populist reason that earlier in his life getting rich has been only for rich people and the establishment is jealous that an ordinary middle class man tries to become rich. He also spouts the highly populist view of third world corporations beating the first world corporations. At the beginning of the inquiry Guru’s wife who speaks for Guru requests the commission chairman to talk in Tamil (I saw the Tamil version of the film) as she and her husband are village people and do not know much English. What hypocrisy? Ultimately the inquiry commission sets him free with a fine of only 63 lakhs. In the final scene Guru claims that his empire belongs to the shareholders who also became rich in the process and his business has become the top in India and will also become a top class organization in the World.This is all usual libertarian crap from the mouth of a corrupt businessman. This film gives wrong message to the youth. It is OK to break the laws as long as you are successful. At least in Nayakan there is a suspicion of some remorse. At the end of the film Nayakan, his grandchild asks him “are you a good man or a bad man”. Nayakan replies “I do not know”. Guru succeeded during the environment of License Raj. Then the government (read high level officers) had hand in all matters and it is therefore necessary and easier to corrupt morally weak officers. Because of this also Guru did not face any competition. . But once liberalization started and competition increased I don’t think if Guru has now started his business with his morally ambiguous views, he would have survived. It is during this liberal period great organizations like Infosys, TCS, Wipro, Satyam Bajaj Auto, TVS etc came up fast with perhaps minimum shenanigans.GURU is an excellent film with a wrong pernicious message.----spoilers end

(Karthik Narayan) The bhais have invaded Bollywood –"mum-bhai", then "Aslam Bhai" and later, Munnabhai. Now, Gurubhai. While Munnabhai moved the nation with his silly humor and good natured bhai-dom, Gurubhai places India on the world trade map.In 'Guru' Abishek Bachchan manages to consolidate his career, after the success of Dhoom 1 and 2.Guru is that rare movie where a businessman's success is related positively to the success of a nation.This is the rags-to-riches story of a man who dares to take on the system. The road to success is not smooth and the protagonist overcomes obstacles by by-passing the system. Naturally, he gets into trouble – how he overcomes that forms the rest of this story. He struggles to lead a decent family life in the midst of busy schedules and chaotic stress. Friction with his mentors and relatives leads to distortion of relationships. "Gurubhai" has only Paisa, profit or munafa in mind while doing his polyester business and much later, with new lines of businesses like petroleum.Success comes with a price – the honesty and straightforwardness disappear and Gurubhai takes on another avatar, closely watched by Nanaji (Mithun Chakraborthy) and his pet reporter Shyam Saxena (a chocolate faced Madhavan plays this cameo to perfection).Madhavan meeting "gurubhai" for the first time & taking on the challenge of exposing Guru's corrupt practices to the world is good cinema. Ash looks gorgeous. The music by AR Rehman is pleasant - one stand-out song is the "barso re megha" song by Shreya Ghoshal. The sweetness and melody fuse to give sheer magic.Gurubhai leaves you with a distinct taste of victory achieved after chasing it mercilessly.The Bhais are definitely here to stay.

Meet India's most powerful man, screams the headlines. You want to believe the statement primarily because the man at the helm of affairs is none other than Mani Ratnam, one of the finest talents India has produced. Irrespective of how his films are received by the paying public, you cannot deny the fact that a Mani Ratnam film is special.As a story, GURU is tremendously inspiring and makes you feel all the more confident to encounter challenges and hurdles that may crop up in a journey called life. But by no means is GURU a documentary, as a section of the film industry/media would want us to believe. Sure, GURU chronicles several vital facets of an industrialist's life, but the marriage of enlightenment and entertainment is brilliantly executed here.A.R. Rahman's music is in sync with the film. 'Maiya Maiya' at the start of the film (Mallika Sherawat) is sizzling, while 'Barso Re' (Ash's introduction) and 'Tere Bina' are melodious to the core.