Guru, A Mani Ratnam Film, Music by AR Rehman

Stars Abhishek Bachan, Aishwarya Rai, Vidya Balan, Mallika Sherawat

Sep 10, 2009

Guru was the first Bollywood hit of 2007, and is perceived to be based upon the real life story of Indian industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani.

There is a decidedly biographical slant to the narrative of the film Guru. The protagonist is painted not in black and white, but many shades of gray.

Behind Every Successful Man is a Woman

Gurukant Desai, popularly called Guru (Abhishek Bachan) is his family's disgrace. He has little academic inclination and fails miserably at school, much to the dismay of his father who is a teacher.

After a bitter quarrel with his father, he migrates to Istanbul, Turkey to pursue a lucrative job offer. There his street smart ways, sharp eyes and quick mind earn him a job promotion. However he turns down the promotion to return to India and start his own business.

On his return, he meets a young woman (Aishwarya Rai) running away from her family to elope with her lover. The girl meets with heartbreak when her lover refuses to cooperate. Her family offers a handsome dowry to get her married off elsewhere, and Guru, who desperately needs substantial capital for his start up business, offers to marry her.

Although strangers, Guru and his young bride grow closer after marriage. Their marital bliss is shattered when she stumbles upon his real motive for marrying her. She walks out on him.

The rest of the story focusses on their reconciliation and Guru's subsequent climb up the ladder of materal success. But he also makes enemies on the way up and has to do some arm twisting to get the right breaks . His misdeeds finally incite a court case with the threat of severe penalties.

Guru is Biographical

Abhishek Bachchan in the male lead does a competent job of portraying an industrialist in both the earlier and later stages of life. Aishwarya Rai again looks stunning, this time in wholly Indian attire, but her role has little dramatic potential. Vidya Balan too has limited scope in her supporting role. The focus remains on Guru and his single minded pursuit of wealth. The court case climax, although somewhat didactic, is well directed and a refreshing change from the usual Bollywood melodrama.

AR Rahman's music is rather uneven although it shows flashes of brilliance in the Shreya Ghoshal rendition 'Barso Re'. The placement of two songs in quick succession in the opening reels (Barso Re picturized on Aishwarya, and Maiya Maiya on Mallika Sherawat as a belly dancer) slows down proceedings in the beginning. It gives the impression that the director bowed down to commercial constraints, before the real story picks up. Once we get to the point, the film is an engrossing watch.

The copyright of the article Guru, A Mani Ratnam Film, Music by AR Rehman in Asian Films is owned by Biswita Mozumdar. Permission to republish Guru, A Mani Ratnam Film, Music by AR Rehman in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.