Movie review of GURU

A leader in every sense of the word - Guru is based on the life and times of one of South Asia's greatest business minds - Dhirubhai Ambani. The tag-line: Villager, Visionary, Winner... pretty much sums up his story, and a legacy called Reliance. From humble beginnings to an empire worth $15 billion, this guy had one heck of a journey.

The late magnate was reknowned as one of south-Asian commerce's founding fathers, and the ultimate success story - of boy done (very) good. It had the distinction of being the first Indian company to go public, hold AGM's in stadiums, and the only South-Asian company to feature in the Forbes 500 list.

This tale follows the story of Gurukant Desai (Bachchan) a young man from the small village of Idhar in Gujarat, who dreams big right from the start, facing several hurdles and an obstinate system to see his extraordinary dreams bear fruition.

The dubbed versions of the movie in Telugu & Tamil, are also being released simultaneously with the Hindi version.

Synopsis

Guru is the story of a young man in a small village of Idhar in Gujarat, who goes from rags to riches due to his sheer determination and personal drive, despite being faced with many business barriers. Abhishek Bachchan plays the title of Guru Kant Desai in the film the man who is a villager, becomes a visionary and finally a winner. The gorgeous Aishwarya Rai plays Sujata, the wife of Guru in the film.

The veteran Mithun Chakraborty plays Manikdas Gupta (Nanaji), the owner of a newspaper The Independent. Madhavan plays the role of Shyam Saxena, a young and dreaming, a 22-year-old news reporter, who is against Guru and his ideologies. Vidya Balan plays the role of Meenu, a handicapped girl who is the wife of Shyam Saxena but admires Guru. Mallika Sherawat plays a dancer in the film and also has a hot item number to her credit.

Guru started his journey from a modest village in Gujarat to Bombay which was soon flourishing as the financial capital of India. It was year 1958, and those were the days when the rich ruled the world of business and newcomers hardly had any place in the sun for them. But Guru knew it was achievable, and he surely had ways to find a way for himself, whether by hook or by crook.

And the one who was with Guru in his journey throughout was Sujata, who at one point of time was hesitant to marry Guru but it was a matter of time when she fell in love with him after being together as a couple in a one-room chawl. Her relationship with him became so strong over the years that regardless of what others had to say about him, for her Guru was the one who stood for love.

Nananji ran a newspaper called The Independent and years back was pretty impressed with the kind of fire that he could feel within Guru. He knew that Guru was a young lad who had it in him to be successful and though his walk towards his destination seemed too fast, he attributed it to his young blood. He was warned about some of Guru's so-called evil ways but for Nananji, Guru was spotless. Until he realized the truth...a bitter one at that. And now he wanted to fight to bring it to fore for all to see. Even if it threatens to destroy Guru....or even himself.

The same realization had struck Shyam too who didn't really have much love lost for Guru due to the way he worked and wanted him to be punished for his unethical and materialistic ways. He was ready for a fight and was all set to enter the arena for he believes that good should be done to people. He likes it when somebody does something good for the people and society. But he believes that it should be done within the bounds of the law. He believes that there is a reason why there is law and there is a reason why people make laws. He opposes anyone who breaks the law -- without caring who that person is. So, he stands to oppose Gurukant Desai when he breaks laws. This reporter knows the power of words and the media.

Apart from Sujata, Guru also had support in the form of Meenu, a young woman who limped and could be seen on a wheelchair. From her childhood, she had seen Guru and while she could see Nanaji and Shyam being critical of him, for her he was the man to be respected and admired since he was the only one who never asked her about her handicap. Also, she could see that Guru's journey to the top was full of obstacles and hence a lot of things happened en route which in an ideal scenario should not have happened.

Set in the picturesque beauty of the 1958, Bombay, Guru comes to the city as a young man with only two shirts, a wife, a brother-in-law and Rs.15,000 to start a business. But all doors were shut for a newcomer. Indian business and trade were run by a handful of the rich and the privileged. Only they were given the licenses. They had the quotas and they controlled all government trade. It was an exclusive club where it was impossible for an ordinary middle class newcomer to enter, let alone succeed.

Guru had to kick the doors open or cajole them to open. He did both and would not take no for an answer. And that's because he never knew the word 'no'. Despite all barriers, he started his own company called Shakti Trading in a 350 sq feet room, with one telephone, one table and three chairs.

Forty years on, Shakti Corporation became the first Indian company to enter the Forbes top 500 list. People asked him how this happened and he said think big, think ahead and think fast.

Cast: Mithun Chakraborty, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Mallika Sherawat, Madhavan, Vidya Balan, Sachin Khedekar

Producer: Mani Ratnam, G Srinivasan
Director: Mani Ratnam
Lyricist: Gulzar
Music Director : AR Rahman
Cinematography: Rajiv Menon
Choreography: Brinda, Saroj Khan
Action: Vikram Dharma
Visual Effects: Prime Focus
Story, Screenplay: Mani Ratnam

Official website: http://www.guru-thefilm.com/
Release date: January 12, 2007

Source: IndiaFM