Just like what Guru is used to getting in the movie...real-life hero Mani Ratnam has got *dugna* returns for his GURU...and has recovered lost ground...badly lost though through his *Ayutha Ezhuthu* and *Yuva*...
A genuine film I should say....in just 2 words...a true film critic appeasing movie....so you should figure out that my senses have been gladdened by this movie...which happen only when I watch Shankar's movies...and for the first time...I get this feeling for a Mani movie....I am impressed to the core...and without doubt one of the best contemporary Indian Movie directors....easily on top of the country..:-)....Congratulations Mr. Mani Ratnam..:-)....an excellent work of art...
As the promos promised...this was about the rise of a commoner to places where commoners aren't used to frequenting....and it was precisely what it said...if I had to say in a line....
but what is most impressive about this is ....the juxtaposition of the life of Guru and the progress India made in these years....in addition to the emotion, drama and struggle both the protagonist and the country have gone through.... its a personal style statement from the magician Mani Ratnam...:-)
Abhishek Bachchan...has..as expected...shouldered the film completely....and definitely needs to be credited....for he has gone far enough to be considered a serious acting talent in the industry...and is reaching out to his father's place....with such films in the future...an absolute stunner of a performance...and gives as much weight needed for the character of Gurukanth Desai...and is every bit Guru..than Abhishek....a straight A grade for AB...infact the solitary reason the movie was saved from the clutches of a documentary and as a matter of fact is so enjoyable is only because of the heavy weight characterization of Gurukanth Desai...and the flawless rendition by Abhishek...again...so happy for AB...:-)
Now comes Mani Ratnam...he is definetly the front runner but by the pure acting merit of AB...Mani has been relegated to the second most significant contributor to Guru....Wow...what can I say about this creator...infact my first review for any mani product of any form.....have never felt like what people say when I saw prior mani films...but this one needs to stand apart from his legendary creations...this is definitely a corner-stone in Mani's career...His screenplay is absolute honey on screen...wooo.....what valuable lessons for budding screenplay writers....the movie never ever sags for pace for all of its melo-dramatic undertones...great pace!!!...and particularly the scenes where guru addresses his share-holders...those scenes were so so realistic....and was like *AS SEEN ON TV*...;-)....I'm lovin it.....certainly a DVD candidate in my video library!!!!
Mithun Chakraborty...aka mithun da.....can't really comment on this legend as I literally don't know any thing about Mithun da outside of this movie....but all I can say is that he pulled his weight quite effectively...and has pulled out an effortless display of histrionics...now... you don't call anybody a legend without a reason...i am not sure if its the character that led mithun perform a stunner or if mithun has lent that stunner onto the character...anyways..its the movie that gets its third most significant contributor...and befittingly Mani chose to credit Mithun Da as the first of the actors in the title card!!!..a mark of respect for the superstar!!!!
Allah Rakha Rahman...what a gift for humanity and Indian cinema....his songs lilt to the core...and whenever a song came on...I was completely high on octane...and started to croon along with the song...and got a couple of scorns from my neighbour seat...but I gave a damn to it...and continued to sing along which is what I do for all my musical favourites.....Every song is a masterpiece when is on screen...the only jarring note is that the voices of the playback artistes...didn't quite suit the on screen pair of AB and AR....yeah...Tere Bina with ARR crooning was kinda odd for the stature of AB...but the song is nevertheless a genius....Ek Lo Ek Muft....with Chitra crooning wasn't that great for Aish....yeah....they could have been take care of...As an album...Guru gets full marks....but somehow this sync has slipped......so here you go with the 4th most significant contributor to the film....
Rajeev Menon (Cinematography), Madhavan(Shyam Saxena), Vijay Krishna Acharya (Dialogues)....have been the next most significant contributors...in no specific order....yeah....rajeev menon's mastery is visible in every song....each fitting crisply into the tone of the movie...no jarring notes there....good....
Madhavan..must be extremely giftedto get meaty roles in Mani's films....but luck doesn't stay if you aren't worth it..and the corollary is true with Madhavan....his role is a neat sketch...which he does to picture perfection....
Vijay Krishna Acharya's dialogues have been so so vital for the movie to be so impressive...that if I forget a mention of this....I am inadequate a critic....I loved almost all of the critical spells...but the most standout dialogue is the one, when Madhavan laments that *The Independent* is responsible for Guru to be *paralyzed* literally.....and mithun da also laments about his son guru's health, when Madhavan asks Mithun da if they should stop the new article (against guru)...when Mithun Da replies....*no...no....if you are sure that what you write is true...dont bother hesitating....truth should be out!!!*..... this singular dialogue sums up the character of Manikdas Gupta....and the moral value it flaunts....
Characterization for the story...is the next significant contributor...probably the root cause of all the above contributions...fabulous would be an understatement....I loved the confidence with which the young Guru made waves....:-)...the older Guru was more of an assertive, tactful and to-the-core business man.....the younger guru was intelligent, swift and self-confidence personified...was so refreshing to look at such heros on screen.,...and for once wasn't ashamed of using the word HERO for the character..how wonderful it would be if everyone had that confidence up their sleeve...:-).....next up is Mithun Da's character....wow....super cool role to be in...these two sketches are worthy to shore-up the movie...even if it had faltered as opposed to its current genius...;-).....A bit of irony was that with such powerful sketches up the sleeve, the story failed to show Mithun Da or Madhavan'c character come to a logical conclusion...:-)..atleast I would have wanted that!!!
Aishwarya and Vidya Balan need metion...they have done their bit to the movie.....and one of the most striking aspect of the movie was...the richness and innovation of the title card...I was completely floored by the graphic...and for once wished the title card lasted forever!!!!!....it seems when there is a powerful magnet like Mani at the epi-centre of the action....talented and skilled resources..automatically conjoin to form a whirlpool of a movie....which is testimony with the work of art called *Guru*...
The one aspect I wasn't personally happy with the movie...was the moral values that it advocated at the end....though GURU succeeds and justifies his acts....he nevertheless flounders as a moralist at places...which needn't have been glorified and justified...and more so...the judges who were so critical and un-prejudiced until that 4.5 minutes rhetoric of guru towards the end....acquitting him of most of his charges....hard to digest in an otherwise almost flaw-less movie....the main reason for this lament though...is that the character of Gurukanth Desai was so..so..powerful that without this moral-value affliction...he would have been an immortal sketch....but may be Mani wanted it to suit some real-life character..;-)....and make it more human.....hmmmm...
Nevertheless....I would rate Guru as one of the best movies...I have seen in a long long time...:-)
Congratualtions to the entire GURU team!!!!...a landmark movie in Indian Cinema History...more so because it seems to resemble a landmark personality in Indian Economy and Indian History!!!!
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