Movie Review : GURU (the real one)
Finally saw Guru. To put simply, it exceeds all expectations. And what does one expect of a film by the cream of the Indian Film Industry ( I hate the term "bollywood") ? Well, the best of course! Mani delivers a classic with Guru.
I wont go into the details of the story, as whatever we've seen and heard in the promos is exactly what the movie is all about. Gurukant Desai is a village lad who dreams of making it big. All he has when he goes to Bombay is some paltry sum of money, his newly wed wife and her brother. What follows is a rags to riches story, one of hope, dreams and the fire within to achieve. If Abhishek Bachhan got a career boosting role in Yuva, this one should consolidate his position as one of the "actable" actors. That Mithun Chakraborthy's name appears in the title credits before Abhishek's, speaks volumes of his performance. The veteran fits his role to the tee, and pulls it off with aplomb.
A fresh looking Madhavan plays Guru's nemesis. It sounds kinda repetitive to say he's matured as an actor..heck he was always a matured actor! I only hope he doesn't get labelled as a cameo performer in Hindi films! Vidya Balan impresses, though in a short role.
All those wannabes whose idea of a romantic scene is lush locales, saccharine dialogues and plenty of male and female tears should learn a thing or two from Maniratnam. The scene where Abhishek leaves his village for Bombay is one that deserves to be in the textbooks! Dialogues are to the point and carry the film forward wonderfully. Rajeev Menon's cinematography is excellent and one of the main reasons the film creates an impact, the others being a haunting soundtrack by A.R.Rahman, and crisp editing by Sreekar Prasad.
As for negatives, the film sags a bit in pace in the second half. Aishwarya Rai's acting(I save the worst for the last) is as usual: artificial. But it is better than many of her other performances that I've seen. And yes, you can see she is growing older.
Overall an excellent film to watch if you have the patience.
Rating: 8.8/10
Reference:
Kannathil Muthamittal: 8.8/10
Ayudha Ezhuthu: 8.5/10
Alaipayuthe: 7/10
I wont go into the details of the story, as whatever we've seen and heard in the promos is exactly what the movie is all about. Gurukant Desai is a village lad who dreams of making it big. All he has when he goes to Bombay is some paltry sum of money, his newly wed wife and her brother. What follows is a rags to riches story, one of hope, dreams and the fire within to achieve. If Abhishek Bachhan got a career boosting role in Yuva, this one should consolidate his position as one of the "actable" actors. That Mithun Chakraborthy's name appears in the title credits before Abhishek's, speaks volumes of his performance. The veteran fits his role to the tee, and pulls it off with aplomb.
A fresh looking Madhavan plays Guru's nemesis. It sounds kinda repetitive to say he's matured as an actor..heck he was always a matured actor! I only hope he doesn't get labelled as a cameo performer in Hindi films! Vidya Balan impresses, though in a short role.
All those wannabes whose idea of a romantic scene is lush locales, saccharine dialogues and plenty of male and female tears should learn a thing or two from Maniratnam. The scene where Abhishek leaves his village for Bombay is one that deserves to be in the textbooks! Dialogues are to the point and carry the film forward wonderfully. Rajeev Menon's cinematography is excellent and one of the main reasons the film creates an impact, the others being a haunting soundtrack by A.R.Rahman, and crisp editing by Sreekar Prasad.
As for negatives, the film sags a bit in pace in the second half. Aishwarya Rai's acting(I save the worst for the last) is as usual: artificial. But it is better than many of her other performances that I've seen. And yes, you can see she is growing older.
Overall an excellent film to watch if you have the patience.
Rating: 8.8/10
Reference:
Kannathil Muthamittal: 8.8/10
Ayudha Ezhuthu: 8.5/10
Alaipayuthe: 7/10
posted by Vijay Narain at 7:37 AM
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