Mani has used all his sensibilities and sensitivities to unspool a tale whose drama lies in the men and not in their methods. Mani's
genius lies in incorporating a cute and impish love into the broader ambit of an emotionless world of shares and supplies. Mani's
other great success is in getting the best out of his team. 'Guru' is a study of a man who is not afraid to chase the rainbow of
imagination. Daring to dream is the larger motif of the movie 'Guru'.
The story is obviously a takeoff from Dhirubhai Ambani's life and times. 'Guru' begins with the young Gurukanth (Abhishek) setting
off to the arty and a seed of inspiration. Guru throws up his job in Istanbul and comes down to his dusty hamlet in Gujarat. Here
Guru, who sees Sujatha (Aishwarya) in quaint circumstances, falls in love with her and marries her. But the bigger love is for the
money that she brings along as dowry. Guru of course wants to be the king. He understands the system, more importantly he
understands men and their minds. He strikes up friendship with a maverick press baron Mangaldas (Mithun Chakraborthy). Guru
makes a beautiful and bouncy relationship with the daughter of Mangaldas (Vidya Balan). What ensues is a high-stakes cat and mouse
game with Mangaldas using his hotshot scribe Shyam (Madhavan) to dredge up the details. It is a fight between two equal enemies.
Guru, despite playing by his own rules, wins popular support. The strength of the story is in the details that are too difficult to
explore and experience in words and overzealous adjectives.
Performance:
For Abhishek, this is the performance of a lifetime. He lives the complex character of Guru with rare ease. The Abhi-Aish love story,
cool and crisp at the start, grows up to be warm and wistful towards the end. Aishwarya, as ever, looks charming in song sequences.
Madhavan brought out the applicable form of act in an assignable manner and Mithun brings to life a media baron in a right way.
Vidya Balan, in a weepy role, looks comfortable. A.R.Rehman's magical and beautiful songs give more compelling contextual
beauty. Rehman's songs sound even better on screen and have been lovingly picturized by Mani and Rajeev Menon. The Hariharan
ghazal effort and the editing of Sreekar Prasad's is really crispy. The belly dance of Mallika is a treat for the audience. The dubbing
voices also went perfectly. Suriya's full-throated backing to Abhishek is really splendid.
