India's leading director, Mani Ratnam, clearly inspired by the life of controversial Indian entrepreneur Dhirubhai Ambani, again ventures into the Hindi scene with "Guru," a decades-spanning drama with a compelling Abhishek Bachchan as a ruthless Indian business tycoon who refuses to take no for an answer.
This first half shows Ratnam at his narrative best, smoothly covering a lot of story while always building character, and with a softer southern edge to the picture than usual Bollywood fare. The musical numbers (except for the one featuring Mallika Sherawat) also focus on character rather than pure spectacle.
Second half is less convincing dramatically, as Gupta and his editor (Madhavan) start their press campaign uncovering Guru's misdeeds, and in 1980, the middle-aged Guru is brought before a corruption commission. Though a lot is heard about Guru's bad practices, the viewer is hardly made privy to them, and thus unable to take an emotional position. Several sideplots and characters, including Jignesh, are underwritten or disappear completely.
The film is anchored by Bachchan's terrific performance. As always, Rai is lovely to look at, but she doesn't make much of her character. Mithun brings to life a media baron who hides his essential simplicity and sweetness in practised roughness. He really give Abhishek a run for his money. The rest of the supporting cast is uniformly good, with Babbar, Madhavan, Vidya Balan and the great Roshan Seth as the standouts.
Rajeev Menon’s camerawork as expected is exceptional. He experiments with various colours to suggest the progression of the timeline. Sharp widescreen lensing by him is aces. Score by Mani's regular composer, A.R. Rehman, is typically rhythmic rather than melodic, effectively propelling the drama. Rehman’s songs sound even better on screen and have been lovingly picturized by Mani and Menon.
Guru is unpretentious and doesn't labor to make a point. Its neither traditional entertainment nor a cinematic experience. But even if you have never heard of Ambani or know little about India and its history, you can still appreciate GURU for its terrific cast, its strong direction and script, brilliant camera work and excellent background score.
This first half shows Ratnam at his narrative best, smoothly covering a lot of story while always building character, and with a softer southern edge to the picture than usual Bollywood fare. The musical numbers (except for the one featuring Mallika Sherawat) also focus on character rather than pure spectacle.
Second half is less convincing dramatically, as Gupta and his editor (Madhavan) start their press campaign uncovering Guru's misdeeds, and in 1980, the middle-aged Guru is brought before a corruption commission. Though a lot is heard about Guru's bad practices, the viewer is hardly made privy to them, and thus unable to take an emotional position. Several sideplots and characters, including Jignesh, are underwritten or disappear completely.
The film is anchored by Bachchan's terrific performance. As always, Rai is lovely to look at, but she doesn't make much of her character. Mithun brings to life a media baron who hides his essential simplicity and sweetness in practised roughness. He really give Abhishek a run for his money. The rest of the supporting cast is uniformly good, with Babbar, Madhavan, Vidya Balan and the great Roshan Seth as the standouts.
Rajeev Menon’s camerawork as expected is exceptional. He experiments with various colours to suggest the progression of the timeline. Sharp widescreen lensing by him is aces. Score by Mani's regular composer, A.R. Rehman, is typically rhythmic rather than melodic, effectively propelling the drama. Rehman’s songs sound even better on screen and have been lovingly picturized by Mani and Menon.
Guru is unpretentious and doesn't labor to make a point. Its neither traditional entertainment nor a cinematic experience. But even if you have never heard of Ambani or know little about India and its history, you can still appreciate GURU for its terrific cast, its strong direction and script, brilliant camera work and excellent background score.
Rating: 7.0 / 10
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