Guru – Movie Review

Okay so I managed to watch Guru the 2nd day it released.I went in with loadsaa expectations..I have always loved Mani Ratnam..more so the non-terrorist type movies that he has made (Mouna Ragam , a tamil movie, is definitely his BEST work till date and it had no terrorists:)). And then there was Amitabh Bacchan saying he has never cried so much while seeing his son act ( I wonder what was the real reason behind those tears..”Is this MY son“? 😉 ) and it was by far his best work..Anyhow unfortunately Guru just does not measure up to my sky high expectations esp coming after Yuva! The gist of the story is how a young middle class boy utilises his sharpness/cleverness to create a gargantuan of a company inspite of all the red-tapism and bureacracy he has to face.There are some good points about the movie..One of which is that Mani Ratnam has taken up a “businessman” as the central character..and a rags to riches stories always excites everyone.Plus there’s Abhishek giving a pretty good performance (although I am sure he can do muchhh better)..Aishwarya has thankfully done as directed by Mani so she passes too.If you want to know only how “great” the movie is..go to GuruIMDB and let Me get into the negatives(IMHO)..I find many characters pointless really..Ppl might call it real life but I cant accept that Madhavan loses steam in getting “truth” out and pulling Guru down when he started off so well..and Why is Vidhya Balan there at all? (I think its the “in” thing for actresses to play characters with disabilityy. I can almost imagine the conversation between Mani and Vidhya..

Mani : I have a miniscule pointless role for you — the grand daughter of some newspaper guy who fights against Guru.

Vidhya : Umm well not interested..I only do “heroines” these days..

Mani : Let me throw in some leg disability

Vidhya : Well.ummm…alrite..I could give it a thought

Mani : Okay fine I can give you multiple Sclerosis

Vidhya : Yayy I am IN )

There are many scenes in the movie which are just not convincing enough.I felt like Ratnam somehow did not put ALL his effort into it or maybe he had so much of material that he did not know what to put in. Like I was never convinced that Gurubhai made use of a lot of unethical practices..forget lot..I mean probably my definition of unethical needs brushing up but I can remember just one scene where he was probably “bribing/blackmailing” the minister. Or I am assuming(In all my louu for Mani) that he did not want us to hate the main character of the story. And then there was the case of all share holders getting angry and jittery when Gurubhai addresses them, withstanding pouring rain and all.But soon after, he appears in the court and the same public starts loving him again..The usual inspiring monologue with the standing ovation in the end which propels the jury to declare him “not – so -guilty”.. On foresight, public sympathy will be on the side of the guy who got a stroke what say?? The 3 hours wasn’t completely absorbing and I could feel the THREEE HOURS..I mean It wasn’t one of those movies where you wish there’s more! It does have a “happy” ending though..hero wins the war and doesnt become any poorer..So Yayyyy for that..

Coming to looks/beauty/appearances, What happened to our miss. world Aishwarya Rai..She doesnt look all that appealing in this movie..neither did Vidhya Balan actually or any of the other female characters.Maybe Mani goes light with the makeup..Madhavan looked amazingg. WIth all the weight he has lost, he looks 10 years younger and I liked Mithun too..The character suited him to the T..He did a good job..Abhishek moulded himself pretty well though he could have gotten more into the character in the second half..All in all, I would give the movie at 5/10...The actors all put in some pretty good performance..Screenplay/Story deserved some more depth..and lasht but not the least, what the hell did Amitabh cry for again??? Not one scene worth getting “emotional”..