Kathmandu:

Movie: Guru (Drama)

Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Mithun Chakraborty, R Madhavan, Vidya Balan

Directed by Mani Ratnam

Playing at cinema halls near you

This is yet another story of yet another smart Alec. It revolves around the witty, street savvy, determined and hard working Guru Kant Desai (Abhishek Bachchan), who dreams of having his own business. He is determined to own the biggest business empire in India and is all ready to do so — either by hook or by crook. With his business strategies that involve everything from greasing corrupt officials palms to exporting empty boxes to show that he is doing great business, Guru Bhai succeeds in achieving his goals in a very short span of time.

The story begins with Guru as a young chap fr-om a village in Gujarat, who decides to work his way up in the business wo-rld of Mumbai. He is supported by his wife Sujatha (Aishwarya Rai), who believes in his dre-ams and his abilities. Manik Das Gupta (Mit-hun Chakraborty) believes in him and is hi-ghly impressed by the inner fire that burns in young Guru Bhai.

However, Guru is ready to do anything to achieve his goals. This trait in Guru’s character clashes with the Manik’s ideology of righteousness, who is a pucca satyabadi. For Manik, black is black, and white is white, there are no shades of grey in his vision. And with help of a young reporter Shyam Saxena (Madhavan), they decide to bring Guru’s Shakti Corporation down.

This is the basic plot of the story which grips one in the first half, while the second half tends to get a little too tedious and confusing.

Mani Ratnam repeats Abhishek Bachchan after his powerhouse performance in Yuva. The author-backed role provides the Junior B a good opportunity to showcase his talent, and has done full justice to the character.

Aishwarya has infused life into her role — be it as a rebellious, out-spoken village belle or as Guru’s supportive and inspiring wife. This is a refreshing change after her sexy and glamourous role in Dhoom 2. The Ash-Abhishek chemistry cannot be mistaken.

Veteran actor Mithun in the role of an unbiased newspaper owner is successful in leaving a mark in the film. R Madhavan as a reporter, who believes in reporting the truth, has done commendable work, whereas Vidya Balan as Mithun’s handicapped granddaughter is wasted in the movie. Mallika Sherawat looks hot in the saucy item number and provides the needed glamour quotient to the film.

The cinematography is outstanding whether it’s the freshness and greenery of the village or the raw and dusty look of the Turkish market (where Guru goes to earn his first penny) or the industrial look of the 80’s Mumbai.

AR Rahman is back with his trademark soothing genre after the the bhangra mix of Rang De Basanti. He is par excellence to say the least.

The item number is foot tapping and is influenced by Turkish music. Jago, the opening number, is haunting and the fabulous lyrics stay in one’s mind long after the movie ends, while Bin tere makes the audience hum along.