If Rang De Basanti was an external question and ended on a melancholic note, Guru seeks the inner path and strikes a nightingale's chord with us. The Mozart of films, Maniratnam, gets to work again.
Brilliance. Sheer brilliance on screen. Maniratnam raises the bar of Indian cinema. Everytime this man crafts a film, it comes out a more colourful,stronger and more fresh than the last augustine attempt. "Guru" traces the life of a man, Gurukant Desai, from the 20's to the 50's. The man has a vision and he translates his dreams into reality. Hold it. Not your run-of-the-mill feature. This is where Maniratnam gets into exploring and examining a transitory human side to an otherwise astute and brave businessman. It is about the relationships, the mistakes, the failures, the odds,the challenges, the triumphs.The very phases that we pass through and fall, and yet come out stronger.It is about the growth and triumph of the human spirit over human spirit.
Gurukant Desai(Abhishek Bachchan), an ambitious young man, gets to fly to Turkey for work. Apart from his work, Guru discovers an instinctive business inclination. This propels him to turn down a job offer and fly to India. He dreams of initiating a business venture. And there starts our journey.
A journey that we all travel with and identify with.So many instances in the film remind us of ourselves. Anything more is going to ruin your chances of being swept by the film. I deliberately choose to refrain my words.
Abhishek Bachchan carries the film well enough,though not much convincing. The first half of the film blitzkriegs at a fast pace. The second half might seem to be a bit sagging, but it is slowed down to metaphorize the sudden cut in pace. The varying paces themselves don an important role. Reminds me of Akira's films. The screen play is suave,retro and well paced. I personally hold that a more impressive narrative could have spiced up the film. Mithun Chakraborthy shot at an 60/70 year old is convincing.
Shyam (Madhavan) and Minu (Vidya Balan) are simply stunning on screen. The silent resoluteness of a young journalist to take down Guru is well essayed by Madhavan. The confrontations between Abhishek and Madhavan are excellent.Vidya Balan simply holds you in awe with her child like demeanour and glistens in every frame she wheels into. The other protagonist, Sujata(Aishwarya Rai) has crafted a typical strong Indian woman with her roots grounded. Not easy, I should remark. Because you get the feeling that your mother is on screen. That's because all the characters in this film are self identifiable. This is a story of anyone who dreams, who lives, who marries, who has friends, who does business, who fails,who wins;absolutely anyone. That's the magic of this film. The BGM of the film is classic and a wanted retro feel is added by A R Rehman. Art direction is also appreciable and Samir Chanda has worked meticulously on the sets. The cinematography is par excellence.The camera angles when Madhavan and Vidya Balan share the screen space are noteworthy. Slight camera shakes and movements are deliberate as we whizz past through Guru's life.
Anyone who sees this film might be inclined to term this a Biopic,as I do, but it is to be understood that this Biopic is very identifiable with us, a self retrospective.
Not that it is guaranteed to set the cash registers on fire, but the art of cinema is taken above mere commercial purposes.
On the whole, its business with brilliance.
Do watch it.
