Hat Tip: Bharath.

NOTE:- I am changing my Review format…..i ve made somethings more concise and included some essentials in the begining !

Story of a man who wants to grow unstoppably.

You may just watch it once !

Gurubhai (Abhishek Bachhan) is working in turkey since he is very young. He proves his mettle in the company where he is working for. But he believes in working in his own country and so returns to india in his teens. His dad who is a headmaster discourages him from setting up cloth business since he had failed in the same. But nobody can stop guru from achieving his mission. He strikes a deal with his friend to marry his sister(aishwarya rai) for a dowry of 15 grand and in return makes him a half partner for his business. The three of them move to mumbai and from day 1, guru is on his brass tracks. With the help of mithun chakravorthy who is an honest newspaper editor, he sets up his shop in the central business region of mumbai. Once in, he employs all methods including corruption, bribery, blackmailing, etc to grow unbounded. He becomes every business man’s favorite and gains extreme popularity for his entrepreneur skills. With the help of public issue (starts the concept of shares) he sets up his own polyester manufacturing company “Shakti Exports” and goes on to become a business tycoon. He bribes @ necessary places, exploits the system loopholes, etc and publicises to grow as the largest company in the country. With healthy share holders under his belt and loads of self confidence it all seems to become true. The bigger fish in the ocean try to subdue him with money but he does nt surrender. But his interests conflict with mithun chakravorthy and hence here starts a rivalry thread. The son in law of mithun, maddy cleverly exposes the illegal trade secrets of Guru. What seems to be as a black cloud for him darkens further when he is affected with paralysis. The rest of the film deals with how Guru jumps all the hurdles and still strives towards his goal.

The story which is inspired from the life history of Dhirubhai Ambani is a very big one and had to be condensed into a 3 hr cinema. To some extent, the director mani ratnam has succeeded in doing so. But in the process, he has forgotten patience of audience. The racy 1st half effect is mitigated by the rather slow and boring second half. Ambani who had a business rival (Wadia of bombay dying) is not portrayed in an interesting manner in this movie. The rivals are shown in the movie as a weakling. The strategies employed are interesting only in the 1st half but the 2nd half misses the same. There are lot of unnecessary sentimental threads roped in which contribute to slow narration and uninteresting 2nd half. The climax has a very good speech by Guru in the court in front of the commission dealing with the allegations of his unethical business practices. With the commission deciding to fine heavily, it is not justified as to how guru still protects the share holders. Similarly, there are couple of more unconvincing parts of the plot.

The artwork of the movie is brilliant. The whole movie has the 1950s backdrop and the feel is translated excellently on screen. The songs are pictured well. Music by A.R Rehaman is good and the background score deserves a special mention. Dialogues are very catchy and apt. Few of the gujarati accent dialogues might be difficult to comprehend for a section of the audience. The film boasts of rich production values and excellent technical values.

Artists performances is a plus for the movie. Though it might not be a commercial hit, abhishek bachchan walks out with all the honours. His impeccable guestures, superb histrionics and lively portrayal of the character is excellent. The characterisation of all the artistes in the movie is very good. Aishwarya had a little more than a limited role but she performed aptly with grace. Vidya balan and madhavan are adequate for their roles. However, the sentimental threads involving vidya balan and abhishek-ash tend to slow the movie at the strategic point which is a big let down !

Mani Ratnam adding his touch is not unusual but the point in the movie, where he has added it spoils the show to some extent. The movie which starts of great, proceeds excellent till interval bang slows down tremendously in second half. The speed of narration is again justified with a brief but a brisk climax. By the end of the movie, the director leaves behind quite a few unjustified facts. The movie is definitely not a pick for the normal viewers but for those who are searching for pure essence or the real “Film Lovers”. Normal Viewers may watch it once for the idea behind the movie.

The movie provides no comedic entertainment whatsoever. There s hardly any comedy thread (which is usual in mani movies) and is not as focused too as movies like Sarkar. The slack in second half would contribute to its partial box office failure to large extent. On the whole, its not a commercial hit though has some elements which can contend for national awards.

Abhishek’s Performance.

A.R Rehman music.

Artwork and sets.

Minus
Slow narration

unnecessary side threads off track.

lack of commercial entertainment values.

–
luv,
bharath