Guru - The Review

The last time I watched 'Guru' was umpteen years ago. I don't remember much of the movie now, except that it starred Mithun Chakraborty as the protagonist who made mincemeat of countless villains. It was a very 'regular late 80's to early 90's kinda movie' and the only thing I really remember was this golden jacket that Mithunda sported while dancing to some cranky background score that went 'Guru.... Guru...'

Years later, Mithunda manages to make a comeback of sorts with Guru, directed masterfully by Mani Ratnam. Of course the movie is not about Mithunda, it's about the protagonist - Gurukant Desai, also called Guru or Gurubhai, played to perfection by Abhishek Bachchan. The plot is not too loosely based on the story of how Dhirubhai (was that an inspiration for Gurubhai?) Ambani made his fortune with idyllic settings in Gujarat and Turkey and finally, Mumbai. AB jr is superbly supported by Aishwarya Rai (was his wife), R Madhavan & Vidya Balan (who get separate sub plots).

The movie is essentially biographical in nature and essays the story of a man who dares to dream.. against the wishes of his father and seemingly against the wishes of all those who come in his way. Driven by pure ambition and a zest for success, our man travels from Gujarat to Turkey and then to Mumbai to realize his dreams. Enroute, he gets married, makes friends, makes enemies, gains trust, loses it and finally regains the vote of the people. The movie is replete with parallels to Dhirubhai's life, down to his working at Shell, his starting of Reliance with Rs.15,000, his split with his cautious partner, the Mercedes-Benz, the Reliance IPO and alleged subversions... down to a taxi driver thanking Dhirubhai, oops! Gurubhai because he could marry his three daughters off by selling shares of Shakti Enterprises.

The cast performs beautifully, indeed the director's hand is seen throughout - from the rain drenched Ash dancing with abandon to the faithful recreation of Old Mumbai, down to the 'courtroom' drama in the end of the movie. The chemistry between AB Jr & Ash is definitely a thumbs up. Rajiv Menon has done a terrific job with his astute camerawork - the idea of using a handheld camera simply rocks! The finale of the movie features a 5 minute tirade by AB Jr. against the 'institution' - something that reminds you of both the Big B and Al Pacino in Scent of a Woman.

Overall, the movie is worth watching. Once, at least. But then, I rarely recommend watching a movie more than that :)

Related Links
1. Ambani wants to know more about Guru
2. Guru not about Dhirubhai: Ratnam
3. Mani shares his thoughts on Guru
4. Dhirubhai Ambani on Wikipedia