Tehelka - The People's Paper

Mani Ratnam has a knack for taking unusual subjects and never quite doing justice to them. Guru is, in that sense, a Mani Ratnam classic. Based on the life of Dhirubhai Ambani, it is by no means an objective assessment of its protagonist, which is perhaps precisely what robs it of both nuance and emotional power.

India’s first film to celebrate the mercantile spirit, Guru’s failures are Mani Ratnam’s, for the cast has done rather well

The film tells the story of Gurukant Desai, who is confident that his goal in life is to make money, at a time when such clarity was not the norm. After a stint learning the ropes of business, he marries Sujata (Aishwarya Rai) without seeing her, because she comes with a fat dowry (a result of her earlier attempt to elope with a Communist firebrand). He moves to Bombay and struggles to find a foothold in the textile market. With the help of newspaper publisher Manikdas Gupta (Mithun Chakraborty, making a comeback), he elbows his way in and begins a meteoric rise. Gupta becomes a father figure to him and Guru shares a sweet relationship with his multiple sclerosis-affected daughter, Meenakshi (Vidya Balan). By means fair and foul, he sets about constructing an empire, incurring the righteous indignation of Gupta who, with the help of earnest reporter Shyam Saxena (Madhavan, also Vidya Balan’s love interest), sets about exposing his misdeeds. The battle culminates at one end with Meenakshi’s death and at the other, with a commission of enquiry that more or less exonerates Guru.

Guru is India’s first film to celebrate the mercantile spirit, with a protagonist for whom everything is unabashedly bijness. His world is cast in terms of profits, prices and deals. Underlying this view, suggests the film, lies the conviction that good business makes everyone happy. The problem, though, is in the writing. The film never provides any event that could give us an insight into how Guru’s mind works or what dilemmas he faces. The end in particular is hysterically-filmed with an overactive camera and a hyperventilating background track that serve to expose the inadequacy of the content. Guru’s defense is staggeringly self-serving: that he did what he did to bolster the interests of his middle class constituency.

The film’s failures belong to the director, for the cast has done rather well. Abhishek puts in an almost great performance, though he never quite becomes the older version of his character. Aishwarya is subdued without being dull. Mithun is excellent and Vidya Balan and Madhavan acquit themselves well. I am loath to say anything about AR Rahman’s soundtrack since he has an uncanny ability to grow on you. What can safely be said is that Mani Ratnam lets us down in the song picturisation.

Guru is without question, a significant film. It is, by no means, a great one.