Thoughts on ‘GURU’
‘A MANI RATNAM FILM’ tag is to commercial cinema what the 916 mark is to jewellery. One may or may not like the final product, but can be rest assured that the customer will not be taken for a ride. Here too, Mani delivers a decent film which does not insult the intelligence of the movie goer. Having said that, if a question arises about GURU being Mani’s finest or is an example of great cinema, the answer is, most certainly NO. This film too suffers from the trademark Mani Ratnam’s Dilute the theme for the sake of entertainment syndrome. But first, let’s look into the positives of GURU.
For me, the pillar of GURU is Abhishek. He has given a performance which is unlikely to be matched again in his career unless he works with Mani again. Very few actors in India are capable of getting in to the soul of the character they play with such ease. One could all but touch and feel Gurukanth Desai in this movie. His was a stupendous performance without any over acting. Another revelation was Mithunda. I dont remember the last time I saw him in a decent hindi movie and he has delivered a thorough performance in his role as an ageing newspaper publisher with his own philosophies.
Rajiv Menon’s thematic cinematography ensures the audience feel the meteoric ascent of Guru and the way he stabilizes in the later part. Rahman comes up with a brilliant background score in this movie. I am of the firm view that when it comes to BGMs, there is only one king - IR, but ARR’s contribution in this film was very impressive and he keeps improving in this department. And Mani should be credited with getting the best out of all these folks as only he can.
So does all this make GURU as great a film as was hyped about?
GURU is the story of a selfish businessman who makes it big. First, the director chooses not to explain why Guru is what he is through the situations in the film. And I don’t see if Gurukanth Desai is forced to deviate from the law of the land because of the circumstances or is just plain greedy. So when exactly does he decide to deviate from ethics and legalities? Does it happen after he gets rich or when he is struggling in his growing business? The grey shades of GURU is known to us mostly through dialogues, and acts by other characters. Clever film making it maybe, but like all cleverness it stands exposed at some point. Or maybe I should watch the film again, but at this point, I am of the view that the movie is deliberately vague on an aspect which is core to the story. The end result is, i could not empathize with the character as much as i would’ve liked to.
On the other hand, Mani packs in lots of situations in Guru’s personal life - his interactions with his father early on, his wife, friend and loyal supporters. The director deliberately draws as much parallel to real life Ambani saga as is possible without attracting lawsuits just to keep the attention of the audience. In other words its just one trick up Mani’s sleeve to keep the audience engrossed when there really is no pace in the movie. Not to mention songs, of which the ‘Mayya Mayya’ number stands out, thanks to Mallika Sherawat and Rajiv Menon’s camerawork. So all this, while entertaining, distracts and dilutes the core of GURU.
Aishwarya Rai does her best to act, but blame it on my prejudice, for me she is always a model who appears in movies, period. And what’s with that song ‘Barso Re’? I mean, its more than resembles an ad shoot. It’s as cliched a mani heroine intro sequence as one could possibly be.
Madhavan does a cameo but again nothing remarkable there too. And I could not really understand the need for Vidya balan’s character. Maybe I am not intelligent enough, but only Mani can explain the relevance of Vidya balan’s character and the love angle with Madhavan to the main story. My best guess is, he should’ve needed some prop to stop Guru from levelling scores with Madhavan, and so he has gone back to the old trick he used in Nayakan. Only this time its terribly worse. Can any of you imagine a Nayakan where Nasser is shown romancing with Kamal’s daughter? That Vidya balan’s character and the Madhavan romance eats up valuable screen time without adding anything significant to the storyline.
To come back to the brighter aspects, Guru still has the famous Mani Ratnam touches, for eg. the scene when Guru runs up the stairs with his friend before his journey to Mumbai, the sequence at the station when Ash joins Guru in the last minute, the Ash-Abhi bedroom scene, the scene when Mithunda makes his employee remove his clothes and last but not the least, Guru’s exchanges with the contractors. The director’s sensitivities remain intact or has only improved. If only he had a good screenplay writer, sigh!
To sum up, GURU is like one giant onion, a genetically modified onion perhaps. Like all onions, it comes with an interesting shape. And like all products of Mani Ratnam, scores high on the visceral impact at first glance, and scores adequately well on keeping the audience engaged during the three hours. But only when you try to see what’s inside it do you realise it’s after all an onion which only gets progressively smaller as you peel it.
February 9th, 2007 at 11:20 am
enna saar? i thougt another entertainment post na indha madri oru post potturukkel? cha i thoght 100 cmts post, fierce debates ellam ethurparthu i came to ur blog
February 9th, 2007 at 11:21 am
//the 916 mark is to jewellery//
Nice comparison !
When I heard that it was a film about Ambani..I was very apprehensive b’cos of the bad experience with “Iruyar”. Thank God its not in similar lines.
You have given a great review with clear analysis and unbiased opinion.
//always a model who appears in movies, period//
ditto here!!
Hey! Mani always like to have two good-looking chick in his movies..! One is the main role and one to do the item number. That explains VB’s presence.(Never told us who did the item in this one..)
Enjoyed your onion analogy…
Rest after seeing the movie !!
February 9th, 2007 at 2:44 pm
Hey PK,
Yennadhu idhu???
As Vatasan says, innoru “entertaining” post venum-nu ketadhukku ippadi podareley ?
Voracious Blog Reader
February 9th, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Oh..Nice post here…
But the previous post was even nicer..Thought you would post something as like your previous post..
Anyways, be assured that we are adherent readers of your blog…
February 9th, 2007 at 6:08 pm
PK, what I really like about your reviews is your capability of being totally unbiased inspite of being a fan. I know you are big fan of Mani Rathnam but you seem to have been a very unbiased in your comments (In the past I have read your unbiased comments on IR too). It really takes something to remove that “fan cap” for a while and post a true comments. Hats off (for taking the cap off??)!!
February 9th, 2007 at 8:48 pm
Perfect review!!
February 9th, 2007 at 10:59 pm
so saar, i will now explain the significance of madhavans love interest.
first, we know that it is abishek vs Maddy. and the ending there is no clear winner, since abishek is convicted of a few crimes in the end. here the reason why abishek wins the battle is because his life looks promising, with a loving wife and 2 kids, while maddy on the other hand is a looking at a lonely future, with no wife nor kids, in indian terms, his life is over. (now dont ask me why he cant remarry, he can, but then its unlikely for a character like maddy, who married for love. Mani is saying he wont find love like the way again). thts the significance of the romance.
idhu enaku terinja nalu paisa mattter.
PS: PK ive got support, so please make a post on some swarasayamana topic. al ur supporters expecting that
February 9th, 2007 at 11:33 pm
Tht was a very nice descriptive LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONG review
February 10th, 2007 at 11:20 am
PK,
I am a big Mani Fan and I watched it the first week with my family..and believe me..even the kids loved it. No blood, No flesh..but for the Meyya Meyya song…nice sub titles, good direction/screenplay ( though had touches of Nayagan)..superb photography…Rajiv Menon trademark ( but I didn’t like the court scenes in the end when the camera panned a lot…), Nice music, superb rerecording ( good mention by you too).
But when I sometimes thought about the movie I realized how Mani had woven a story with small incidences..which have gone deeply into my mind…! Mani is a master story teller…simple yet powerful..and Guru is a Masterpiece of his..
Abishesk - grew from a scale of 1 to almost 10 .!! I’ve never liked him earlier.
Aishwarya Rai - Played second fiddle..but Mani / Rajiv Menon have shown how they can film a beauty…( not the flesh alone).
I liked Mithun’s Role, Madhavan’s role and even the tiny bit Prathap Pothen played.!
To end - I was working at Madras Stock Exchange during the scandal days..and I could relate to everything…!!
Good one PK - From a Hot debate to a nice review.!!
February 11th, 2007 at 4:22 pm
My take on the Vidya Balan character : I thought it was to bring out the softer side of Guru. We see Guru the businessman in a lot of angles but that’d just make him a mere money making machine..My guess is that Vidya Balan’s character is to build Guru’s character…
February 12th, 2007 at 12:23 am
vatsan,
konjam andagariya nee?
sree,
nandri hai. but make sure u go and see the film
prabhu,
February 12th, 2007 at 1:25 am
aanionaa?? ennayya solreenga?? dheivame.. epdi ungalukku ipdi oru comparison vandhadhu??:)-
February 12th, 2007 at 3:36 am
It was nice reading your review. Haven’t seen the movie yet. So, no comments on the content. But, very well presented.
I was particularly waiting for a new post from you as I got sick of the arguments in the previous ones.
February 12th, 2007 at 4:27 am
i found the movie boring while watching it
but thinking of it in action replay, i thought it was good
i wondered like u what vidya was doing in the movie..
but vatsan’s comments throw new light to me.
i like to listen to barso re song.. picturisation pathi solla theriyalai
February 12th, 2007 at 8:44 am
Ravi,
nandri
Actually, i reviewed this movie only bcos i thought it was worth reviewing
I wont say i dont have any biases etc. But when i write something i try to be
J,
Danks
vatsan,
i think u r reading too much into that!
Ponnarasi,
thanks!, it was meant to be that way
February 12th, 2007 at 8:47 am
NV sir,
yep, me too a mani fan. But ennamo, this movie was good but naan edhirpartha andha punch illai.Otherwise i totally agree with your point abt clean and no violence etc
Subha,
Your take makes sense, but i still feel the director could’ve utilised the screen time for something more relvant to the subject. And also that still leaves the romance angle unnnecessary
February 12th, 2007 at 8:49 am
Monu,
andha Barso Re song kitta thatta ad madhiri daan irundhudhu! in theme and visuals it was no different from Chinna Chinna Aasai in Roja!
February 17th, 2007 at 12:36 pm
Nice unbiased review PK sir..
But i dont expect Genius like Mani quite often coming with biography movies like Guru,Iruvur and Nayagan for commercial purpose.
I expect more from Mani, like his previous wonders Mouna raagam,roja,Alai payuthe,Anjali and Kannathil mutha mittal…
April 20th, 2007 at 2:11 am
PK
Finally I managed to see this movie 2 days back.
I must say I am very much impressed by the cinematography of Rajiv Menon and the performance of Abhishek Bachan. AB has done an amazing/surprising job (but no wonder, that he was in the master’s hands who know how to extract the best out of his crew).
I felt the timing of Tere Bina really odd. In a sad moment of separation, the song comes up with them dancing and I suddenly lost the emotional connection with the scene.
Another thing Mani could have done better is the court scene. The background music was totally un-necessary (Mani would have thought the bg music would tighten the scene but the scene actually lost grip because of this and the camera panning focus less). I was thinking of my favorite court room scenes from the Hollywood movies like Philadelphia or A Few Good Men. Mani could have done something in those lines to make it more grippy.
My two cents.
April 20th, 2007 at 3:43 am
balar,
i agree on yr take on mouna ragam, anjali.
thanks
jo,
thanks buddy