Guru: Mani Ratnam does it again

There aren’t many filmmakers like Mani Ratnam. After all, there aren’t many filmmakers who have the distinction of one of their films making it to TIME magazine’s Top 100 Films of the Last Century (the classic “Nayagan”, and just for perspective, the other movies on that list include Citizen Kane, Casablanca, Star Wars and ET).
What makes Mani so great is that every one of his films are class personified, but yet, he wont forget the roots of commercial Indian cinema – that it is meant to entertain. So despite making several films that are worthy of Oscar gold, his movies always have those ingredients which are typical of commercial fare – big budgets, exquisite commercial values, a marquee name A List cast, a bit of playing to the galleries, and of course, song-and-dance.
So it isn’t really a surprise that “Guru” is one of the best movies I have seen in a long, long time.
In what is essentially a career changing role for Abhishek Bacchhan, the son of screen god Amitabh Bacchhan, Mani Ratnam’s “Guru” is a sort-of biopic of the legendary Indian industrial tycoon Dhirubhai Ambani, the founder of Reliance Corporation. From a small town villager who immigrates to Turkey, selling oil cans on the streets of Istanbul, Gurukant Desai (Abhishek) returns to India to do “bijness”, and ends up creating a Fortune 500 company.
The movie chronicles how a dream can change an entire life, and millions of people too, with hard work and single minded determination. Guru is obsessed with money, and the only reason he marries his friend’s sister is because her father agrees to give a fat amount of dowry. But his wife (“The Most Beautiful Woman on Earth”, Aishwarya Rai) turns out to be a godsend, who stands shoulder to shoulder with Guru when they didn’t have enough money to have 2 square meals a day. Guru does his “bijness”, and he does so in style. He starts dealing in cloth, and with all the right moves, he aims to make his company make enough clothes that the entire country wears them – and this he does.
Of course, it is not a goody-goody propaganda story – Mani is too good for that. Guru isn’t someone who is a stickler for ethics. To achieve his dreams, he wavers out of the straight and narrow, and is actually proud of it. Like Guru himself says in the movie, “In my village, when people start talking bad things about you, consider that you are doing great progress”. With good connections within the bureaucracy, “Gurubhai” becomes a law unto himself. His mentor and newspaper editor (Mithun Chakraborty, an absolute revelation) is disgusted with the monster that he has created. He goes against his protégée, and takes it upon himself to expose to the world to what extent Guru can go to grab power.
The movie is filled with shots and lines that stick to you long after you’ve seen it. Look at how Mani uses weather to suit his purpose. In a beautiful scene where young Guru holds a blueprint of his first factory all alone in an empty field, it begins to rain, metaphorically signifying a bountiful harvest that will grow from that barren land. Sometime into the movie, when 25,000 beleaguered shareholders are demanding an explanation from Guru of all the corruption allegations, there is a heavy battering of rain, but this time it signifies gloom and bad days ahead. Brilliant, Mani.
Just like the Spielberg-John Williams combo, Mani returns with that musical genius A R Rahman, who delivers one kick ass soundtrack. The songs suit the situation, and when the background score decides to go into overdrive, it overwhelms even the visual scenes. Obviously no one could have done this better than Rahman.
But of course, we haven’t talked about the man of the moment – Abhishek Bacchhan. Being the son of the greatest actor India has produced is a HUGE act to follow. And for a while, it did look like Abhi didn’t have it in him, as most of his early films flopped. The last 2 years showed us a reassurance with Mani’s previous masterpiece, “Yuva”, and of course the cult bikes-and-babes series “Dhoom”. Guru simply proves, yes, he is the son of Amitabh. Some would say he did an equally good job in India’s tribute to The Godfather, 2005’s “Sarkar” but then, he was completely overshadowed by Amitabh who gave the performance of a lifetime as the family patriarch. No shadow this time though – Abhishek carries the role of Guru like a pro, from that naïve young man who comes to Mumbai for the first time, to that grey haired old cripple with a paunch. Something tells me there is a very proud father out there.
It is indeed a sad fact that despite Indian cinema being the biggest in the world in terms of audience numbers (one-third of humanity), it doesn’t get the worldwide attention it deserves because it doesn’t have the marketing muscle of Hollywood. The result is that even Hollywood drivel like John Tucker Must Die and Date Movie ends up earning more than the biggest Indian blockbusters. Oh well, it doesn’t matter – in which other country would there be imaginary weddings taking place all over to celebrate the real life wedding of Abhishek and Aishwarya?? We live for our cinema. And “Guru” is one of those movies that make us proud of our 120 year old filmmaking tradition.

Rating: 4.5/5

... AND FORWARDS

And like any year, 2007 is filled with so much anticipated movies, but here’s what I’ve shortlisted for myself, though not in any order

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix – Little Harry is all grown up in this fifth film, if the trailer is anything to go by. Personally, this book was the least favourite of the 6 so far, but who can miss a HP movie. I would have preferred to have Alfonso Cuaron come back for this one, but you can’t win everything. Oh I can almost feel that John Williams theme song building up the excitement…

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End – One of the things that I appreciated in POTC was that it was a completely original creation. It wasn’t based on a book, not a sequel, and not a remake. This trilogy will be complete this year, and we’ll miss Jack.

Spiderman 3 – I was personally not a big Spidey fan, because even though I liked the first two films, they didn’t exactly break any mould on the superhero genre, unlike the brilliant Batman Begins. Spidey 3’s trailer looks very promising though, with three villains. But more than that, Peter has to face the biggest problem of all – the significant other to Mary Jane named Gwen Stacy. Poor guy, he would’ve preferred another villain.

Ratatouille – I don’t even know what this movie is about. All I know is that Pixar is creating it. That should be enough.

Simpsons: The Movie – My most favourite TV sitcom is coming to the big screen, it’s been a long wait! As it is I laugh till my throat hurts at home, wonder what’s going to happen in the theatre. D’oh!

Sholay – I am a big fan of the original Sholay, which has become something like an icon of Indian pop culture as a whole. I have some reservations as to how Ram Gopal Varma would do justice to this cult classic, but I hope it’s good, no, bloody brilliant… for his sake. Amitabh as Gabbar – now that’s called a casting coup.

Lajjo – Mani Ratnam and Aamir Khan??!! What are we waiting for??

LOOKING BACK...

Now that the new year has come and gone, its time to look forward to the box office behemoths that 2007 has in store. But before we do that, lets look at 2006 in hindsight.

2006 was a humongous year for movies, both for Hollywood and Hindi films. Records kept breaking , but most importantly we got to see some really innovative tales unfold on screen. Big screen movie watching isn’t going anywhere. Here’s my top 5 list of the year

5. Cars – Yep, there is nothing like an animated movie from Pixar and Disney. In a year that was crammed with animated movies, it’s nice to see those familiar logos before the start of the movie, and like always, they delivered. Cars was the perfect feel good movie of the year, armed with a kick ass soundtrack to boot – I’m guessing “Life is a Highway” or “Real Gone” will win the Best Song Oscar this year.

4. Casino Royale – Finally, we got to see a Bond movie that was true to its roots. Sure Pierce Brosnan was a suave Bond, but his storylines kept getting strectched till it was hardly believable, almost becoming like spoofs of the Roger Moore era. Daniel Craig quite literally saved the day for the Bond fans with his gripping portrayal of the quintessential super spy. After all who could do it better than Bond… James Bond.

3. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest – When a movie breaks the $1 billion barrier, what’s there to criticize. Captain Jack Sparrow is one of the most original characters we have seen on screen after a long time, and with such terrific production values, POTC was the year’s most satisfying swashbuckling adventure.

1 & 2. Lage Raho Munnabhai & Rang De Basanti –
How often does two Hindi movies beat the Hollywood brigade? 2006 was one such weird year. I can safely say that these two movies were the gems of the year. I can’t remember the last time when I laughed so much in the theatre that it was almost embarrassing. Munnabhai is a triumph of writing, with such an ingenious storyline that even the most skeptic of skeptics couldn’t hold back their enthusiasm.
Rang De Basanti reaffirmed that Indian cinema can be both classy and commercial at the same time. Aamir Khan once again showed why he’s a class apart from the rest. I still feel the sepia toned flashbacks in and out of history is one of the most beautifully executed shots I’ve ever seen. Last heard, Rang De has got itself a BAFTA nomination, and two of its wonderful AR Rahman songs “Luka Chuppi” and “Khalbali” has been shortlisted for the Oscar Best Song list. What’s the bet it’ll win?