Article Updated 17 January, 2007 03:40:30 AM IST   Guru By Prema K ©2007 Bollyvista.com   ‘Guru’ is a rags to riches story told in Mani Ratnam’s inimitable style. This makes it a very inspiring film but it’s a commercial film with a few funny moments and where the hero is much larger than life. The film also has its share of emotional moments. The film starts well and drags post-interval but picks up in the last 15 minutes, particularly the climax. Now for the story. In a small village in Gujarat, a young man, Gurukant Desai (Abhishek Bachchan) dreams of making it big some day. His father, the headmaster of the village school, and who had earlier failed in a business venture, tells him that dreams never come true. But Guru dares to dream. His dream takes him to Turkey and then Mumbai with his wife Sujata (Aishwarya Rai) and brother-in-law Jignesh (Arya Babbar). Once in Mumbai, Guru realizes that the business world is a closed community ruled by a handful of rich and influential people who don't believe in giving opportunities to new players. Despite barriers, he starts a company called ‘Shakti Trading’ and climbs the ladder of success at a furious pace. This is what makes the film slightly superficial. Not much of Guru’s struggle is shown. He’s shown to move from one successful venture to the next. Manik Dasgupta (Mithun Chakraborty), the publisher of a newspaper, treats Guru as his son. But when he learns that Guru's means to make it big are not right, he along with the Editor of his newspaper, Shyam (Madhavan), decide to expose Guru's corrupt ways. Of course, the protagonist emerges successful in the end. The film has more than its fair share of flaws. What was the need for Mallika Sherawat’s item number? The Madhavan-Vidya Balan track too seems insignificant in the film. But the power-packed climax in a packed courtroom, where an enquiry commission is looking into the complaints against Guru, elevates the film to a different level. Guru’s emotional moments at Vidya Balan’s funeral and in the hospital when his trusted aide (Manoj Joshi) attempts suicide, are excellent. The performances. Mani Ratnam has managed to extract a competent performance from Abhishek. Abhishek has grown with this film. Aishwarya Rai is decent initially but shows a certain maturity in her performance as the film progresses. Mithun Chakraborty seems to be in form. Madhavan is good but there was no need of a love track for him. Vidya Balan is ineffective. A.R. Rahman's music is good. Cinematography is great. On the whole, ‘Guru’ should do decent business in the multiplex.   close   Print this Article http://www.bollyvista.com   http://www.bollyvista.com/article/a/29/7263