Growing into Guru SHARP FOCUS Guru
Director: Mani Ratnam Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Mithun Chakraborty, Vidya Balan, R. Madhavan 7/10 Uncork the bubbly, for Abhishek Bachchan, the son and heir of Bollywoods first family, has finally come of age as an actor. Gone is his stiffness, his clunky, wooden demeanour punctuated by occasional bouts of goofiness. In this, his second outing with Mani Ratnam (the first was the middle-of-the-road Yuva), Abhishek soars as he has never soared before and puts in a compelling performance as the protagonist of one of the most spectacular rags-to-riches stories of the last century. Abhishek really couldnt have wished for a meatier role to kick off 2007. Or a better directed film in which to essay it. Based on the life story of Reliance founder Dhirubhai Ambani, Guru is clearly one of Mani Ratnams best films so far. Tight and pacey, it tracks the meteoric rise of Gurukant Desai, a Gujarati cloth merchant who spins gorgeous dreams of success and achieves them with seemingly magical ease. But Guru is not just a man with the Midas touch. He is also an underdog prince, a middle-class David who takes on the Goliaths of the English-speaking, golf-playing club class of Bombays industrial elite. And comes out the winner. Needless to say, Ratnam romanticises his hero greatly and in the process blows the chance to explore the complexities of the character a little more fully. As he grows bigger and his factories more numerous, Guru becomes a master of corporate skulduggery and crooked business practices. But all thats par for the course, Ratnam seems to suggest in an imperfect world jealously guarded by vested interests, even a genius must resort to fraud to get ahead. You may or may not agree with that worldview. But its a gripping tale and Ratnam tells it well, ably supported by some polished performances from the cast. Mithun Chakraborty is perfect as the grizzled old idealist who runs a newspaper and is torn between his affection for Guru and his determination to expose him. Vidya Balan, who plays his wheelchair-bound granddaughter, turns in a fine cameo as well. And theres Abhishek who as Guru, goes from young and playful to corrupt and corpulent, skilfully portraying his drive, his can-do spirit, his meretriciousness and his humanism. Dont miss out on watching him grow up. The only weak link in the chain is Aishwarya Rai, Abhisheks reel-life wife and real-life bride-to-be. As usual, she is too much Aishwarya to be anything else, but hey, she sure does go on trying! http://www.telegraphindia.com/1070119/asp/etc/story_7281478.asp
