Guru (2006 film)
All you want to know about Guru (2006 film)
Guru (Hindi: गुरू, IPA: [gʊɾuː]) is a 2007 Hindi film directed by Mani Ratnam. It stars Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, R. Madhavan, Vidya Balan and Mithun Chakraborty in pivotal roles. The movie also has Mallika Sherawat in a guest appearance. The movie was also dubbed in Tamil and Telugu. The film was released on January 12, 2007, and premièred at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.[1]
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Production
Guru was written and directed by Mani Ratnam, while Vijay Krishna Acharya wrote the Hindi dialogues. Shooting for the film took place in Mumbai, Turkey, Badami and Melkote (both in Karnataka), as well as in Chennai, Pollachi,Madurai,Chettinad region Tamil Nadu, and Athirapilly in Kerala. The music is composed by A. R. Rahman, with lyrics by Gulzar. Cinematography for the film is handled by Rajiv Menon.[2]
Guru has been described by Ratnam and others involved in the production as a film that is reflective of a man's desire for ambition and success, and how times have changed from the period immediately after the country's independence to the present. Some reports have speculated that this film is a biopic of, one of India's biggest Industrial tycoon, Dhirubhai Ambani. Like Guru, Ambani also had roots in Gujarat as the son of a schoolteacher, went abroad to work for the gas company Shell, and returned to India to import polyester. In addition, the surname "Desai" attributed to Guru in the movie is a common surname of the Anavil Brahmin caste to which Ambani belonged. There are also differences between the two stories. Ratnam has described Guru as inspired by stories both past and present.
Synopsis
In a small village of Idhar in Gujarat, a young man dreams of making it big some day. His father (Rajendra Gupta), the headmaster of the village school, tells him that dreams never come true. But Gurukant Desai (Abhishek Bachchan) never stopped dreaming.
Beginning in 1951, Guru tells the story of a ruthlessly ambitious villager who moves to Turkey first and Mumbai later with his wife Sujata (Aishwarya Rai) and brother-in-law Jignesh (Arya Babbar) to fulfill his dreams. "Guru" tells the story of Gurukant Desai.
In Mumbai, truth dawns upon Guru that the business world is a closed community ruled by a handful of rich and influential people who don't believe in giving opportunities to new players. Despite barriers, he starts a company called Shakti Trading and climbs the ladder of success at a furious pace.
Manik Dasgupta aka Nanaji (Mithun Chakraborty), who publishes a newspaper Swatantra, treats Guru as his son. Guru likewise looks to Manik Dasgupta as a father figure who gives him support during his early struggling days in Bombay. He also develops a strong friendship with Manik Dasgupta's granddaughter, Meenu. Meenu develops multiple sclerosis as she grows up, and becomes confined to a wheelchair in the latter part of the film.
As Gurukant Desai's business grows into one of the largest in India, he ruthlessly pursues success. He smuggles in parts for his polyester mills, illegally creates goods, and manipulates stocks to make a higher profit. But when Manik Dasgupta learns that Guru's means of success are not always honest, he, along with a reporter of his newspaper, Shyam (Madhavan), decide to expose Guru's increasingly corrupt ways. The stress of his battle with the newspaper causes Guru to have a stroke, and he is paralyzed on his right side. Meanwhile, Meenu is slowly weakening from her illness, and eventually dies. In the end, Guru is brought before a government inquiry into his unethical actions, but he persuades the panel to clear him of most of the charges, and the film ends with Guru continuing to dream of future, and even greater, success.
Historical Similarities
In the film Abhishek Bachchan portrays Gurukant Desai, who resembles Dhirubhai Ambani, the owner of Reliance India. Dhirubhai traveled to Yemen in his early years to work from junjoi ; In the film, Gurubhai travels to Turkey to escape his father's criticism.
Historically, the media war waged against Dhirubhai Ambani was fought by Ramnath Goenka's newspaper The Indian Express. In the film, the paper is named the Swatantra Samachar, and is headed by Manik Das Gupta (Mithun Chakraborty). The reporter portrayed by Madhavan's Shyam Saxena resembles S. Gurumurthy.
Another image that resonates historically are the Contractors mentioned in the film, who closely resemble the Wadias. The younger Contractor shares similarities with Nusli Wadia.
Cast
- Abhishek Bachchan as ... Gurukant Desai
- Aishwarya Rai as ... Sujata Desai
- Mithun Chakraborty as ... Manik Dasgupta
- Vidya Balan as ... Meenakshi 'Meenu' Saxena (Jalkukdi)
- R. Madhavan as ... Shyam Saxena
- Arya Babbar as ... Jignesh
- Roshan Seth as ... Judge
- Mallika Sherawat as ... Jumpa - The Dancer (Guest appearance)
Awards
- Best Playback Singer (Female) - Shreya Ghoshal - Barso Re
- Best Music - AR Rahman
- Best Background Score - AR Rahman
Characters
Below is a vignette of each character in the film :
- Gurukant Desai - Guru Kant Desai, simply called as Guru, belonged to a small village called Idhar situated in Gujarat. Coming from a humble background which comprising a headmaster father, he was always taught to be content with what one has got rather than aspiring for something that may not be achievable by any means, whether it is materialistic or non-materialistic. But Guru had different plans. He wanted it all. So whether it was dreams, house or a village to live in, Guru always dreamt of something bigger. And all this since he was confident that he had it in him to achieve that, especially with a belief that he was the one who would be writing his own destiny. And soon a simple villager was en route to be one of the biggest visionary ever.
- Sujata - Sujata was at one point of time, hesitant to marry Guru but it was a matter of time when she fell in love with him after being together as a couple in a one-room chawl. Her relationship with him became so strong over the years that regardless of what others had to say about him, for her Guru was the one who stood for love. In the end, she was his pillar of strength, providing him utmost support and courage to face life.
- Manik Dasgupta (Nanaji) - Nananji ran a newspaper called Swathantra and years back was pretty impressed with the kind of fire that he could feel within Guru. He knew that Guru was a young lad who had it in him to be successful and though his walk towards his destination seemed too fast, he attributed it to his young blood. He was warned about some of Guru's so-called evil ways but for Nananji, Guru was spotless until he realized the truth. And now he wanted to fight to bring it to fore for all to see. Even if it threatens to destroy Guru or even himself.
- Shyam Saxena - The same realization that had struck Nanaji struck Shyam too who didn't really have much love lost for Guru due to the way he worked and wanted him to be punished for his unethical and materialistic ways and along with Nanaji, he began publishing exposé's on Guru, revealing the truth behind the success of his business. According to Shyam, Guru had flirted with the law and the lawmakers, doing anything and everything to enhance his business, even if it did cross the law.
- Meenu - Meenu is a young woman who limped, due to suffering from multiple sclerosis, and is wheelchair-bound. From her childhood, she had been extremely attached to Guru. Although Nanaji and Shyam were always being critical of him, questioning his ways, for Meenu, he was the man to be respected and admired since he was the only one who never asked her about her handicap and loved her unconditonally.
Music
| Guru | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Studio album by A. R. Rahman | |||||
| Released |
November 18, 2006 (India)
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| Recorded | Panchathan Record Inn | ||||
| Length | 39:22 | ||||
| Label | |||||
| Producer | A. R. Rahman | ||||
| A. R. Rahman chronology | |||||
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The soundtrack was released in November 18, 2006. Guru, a musical by nature, has music composed by A. R. Rahman with lyrics provided by Gulzar. Like many of Rahman's soundtracks, Guru comes with a variety of songs. The music and lyrics met popularity upon release. The songs vary in their musical style, from the Turkish inspired Mayya Mayya to the folk-ish Ek Lo Ek Muft and the love ballad, Tere Bina.
When out on a concert in Hong Kong, Rahman bought with him an accordion, which can be heard through out the whole soundtrack. The song Tere Bina is dedicated to the memory of Pakistani qawwali maestro Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan since it was his 10th death anniversary.[3] Rahman had also tuned Ay Hairathe to the lyrics of Hazrat Amir Khushroo Ay Sarbathe Aashiqui which Gulzar had modified. Rahman had also personally trained Lebanese singer Maryem Tollar to sing Mayya, a song which was born when Rahman went for the Hajj in Makkah, hearing a man near a river who kept on saying "mayya mayya mayya" (water in Arab). Intrigued by how Indian the word sounded, he told Gulzar to incorporate the word into the tune he had created while touring in Toronto, Canada.[3]
The soundtrack has proved a success, staying at the number one spot thirteen weeks after its release, despite receiving stiff competition from other albums released.[4]
The song Shauk Hai has been used in the movie, but was not released on the audio CD.
The soundtrack release of Guru also incorporated bonus tracks from Rahman's other albums Rang De Basanti, Lagaan, Kisna, Zubeidaa and Meenaxi.
Track listing
- "Barso Re" (Shreya Ghoshal & Uday Mazumdar) - 5:29
- "Tere Bina" (A. R. Rahman, Murtuza Khan, Quadir Khan & Chinmayee) - 5:09
- "Ek Lo Ek Muft" (Bappi Lahiri & Chitra Sivaraman) - 4:58
- "Mayya" (Maryem Tollar, Chinmayee & Keerthi, Devika Mathur - Dialect Coach) - 6:02
- "Ay Hairathe" (Hariharan & Alka Yagnik) - 6:09
- "Baazi Laga" (Udit Narayan, Madhushree, Shweta & Bhargavi Pillai) - 4:59
- "Jaage Hain" (K. S. Chithra, A. R. Rahman & Madras Chorale Group) - 6:33
- "Shauk Hai" (Sowmya Raoh) - 4:32
- "Dhoom Dhamaka" (Chorus)
Response
Box office
Guru struck a hit at the box office. Guru opened well upon release, gaining momentum as the days went by.[5] In the United States, Guru, opening on a limited release, registered very good collections in its opening weekend, fetching 3 crores during this period, with a very high screen average.[6] By its seventh week, the film has netted 41.65 crores in India,[7] collecting 13 crores in the U.S. and the U.K..[8] As of 23rd February 2007 Guru, released Jan 12, has grossed approximately Rs.150 crores across the country.[9]
Reviews
Guru has generally received good reviews. The New York Times called the film an "epic paean to can-do spirit."[10] The New York Post gave it three out of four stars, and the Los Angeles Weekly called it the best Hindi film since Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India.[11] Richard Corliss of TIME Magazine compared the film to Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life and said that one of the main highlights of the film was its climax. He further noted "For movies to celebrate an entrepreneur is rare..."[12] Taran Adarsh of IndiaFM.com claimed in his review that "Guru ranks as one of Mani Ratnam's finest efforts and one of the best to come out of Hindi cinema,"[13] but also claimed there were "under developed characterisations of Shyam Saxena and Meenu", played by R. Madhavan and Vidya Balan respectively. Praising both the actors for their performances in the film, he added "Madhavan's role could have been stronger and Vidya Balan also suffers due to a weak characterisation", something Raja Sen of Rediff.com agreed with.[14] Sen also said that "the point in the end when Gurukant Desai vociferously likens himself and his fight for more to Mahatma Gandhi's freedom struggle was ridiculous." Khalid Mohammad questioned what he viewed as the message at the end, asking "as long as public welfare is on the agenda, it doesn’t matter if you use bribes and cross legal limits?."[15] Abhishek Bachchan received almost unanimous praise for his performance while Aishwarya Rai also garnered good feedback.
Trivia
- In Telugu language, it was released as Gurukanth.[16]
- During a scene, Aishwarya Rai fell and had a few bruises on her hands and feet. Filming had to be suspended for a few hours while she received first aid.[17]
- S. Bharathi, a lawyer in real life, plays the role of a marriage registrar in the movie.[18]
- For the Tamil release of Guru, Tamil actor Surya Sivakumar lent his voice for Abhishek Bachchan's character and veteran actor Nassar has voiced for Mithun Chakraborty's character. Actress Rohini has voiced lines for Aishwarya Rai, while Madhavan has voiced his own lines.[19]
- Guru is India’s first film to have a mainstream international premiere in Canada. Director Mani Ratnam as well as two of the film's Indian stars Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai were extended a personal invitation by the Toronto mayor David Miller.[20]
- Guru is the only movie to be shot at the premises of the famed 'Express Estates', the 21 acre stretch in the heart of Chennai City (opp. to Spencer plaza), the home of The New Indian Express and Dinamani, as the film demanded a period look for their settings of a media house, which the old office buildings provided. Incidentally the buildings were brought down to dust weeks after the filming was over in the premises, since the Media Group moved to a shiny new location in Ambattur.
- The Helicopter used during the scene where Gurukanth Desai goes to Delhi to meet minister, has cleverly been scripted by the film makers to look like Reliance Industries aircraft (RLC) but the Bell 206 L3 (H) helicopter is actually registered to Raymond Ltd. a Singhania family company, it was put into service on June 1990.
- In the version that was played out in theatres across the world, Gurukant Desai (Abhishek Bachchan) and his wife Sujatha (Aishwarya Rai) are shown to have twin daughters. But in the original version, Aishwarya first gives birth to a stillborn child. The birth takes place after she leaves Guru in the city, to go after her brother.
- After the film’s release, it was rumoured that Mithun Chakraborty was upset with Ratnam for cutting out on his screen-time despite shooting with him extensively. One of the scenes that were chopped off shows the first time Mithun’s character Manikdas Gupta begins to turn against Guru after being instigated by Textile tycoon Roshan.
- In the film, Sujatha visits Manikdas Gupta at his house with her daughters. Her intention is to bring peace between her warring husband and the newspaper tycoon. What is left out of the movie is this scene where Guru is angry with his wife for going to his nemesis’s house.
- Vidya Balan and R. Madhavan’s roles were also chopped off to bring the film within the set duration.
- Veteran actor Roshan Seth came back into main stream Indian commercial cinema with his crisp role as the Judge.
References
- ^ Canadian Press (2007-01-11). "Thousands attend 'Guru' premiere". Toronto Star. Retrieved on 2008-08-15.
- ^ "Guru". Guru production.
- ^ a b "Rahman on how the music of Guru was born". The Telegraph. Retrieved on 18 February 2007.
- ^ "Top Ten albums for the week". IndiaFM. Retrieved on 18 February 2007.
- ^ "Indian B.O.: 'Guru' strong in parts". IndiaFM. Retrieved on 18 February 2007.
- ^ "Overseas: 'Guru' is a smash hit". IndiaFM. Retrieved on 18 February 2007.
- ^ "Domestic Box Office". IBOSNetwork. Retrieved on 18 February 2007.
- ^ "Overseas: Realism bites the dust". IndiaFM. Retrieved on 18 February 2007.
- ^ Glamsham: Like Guru, Mani knew 'Guru' would be a hit
- ^ Webster, Andy (2007-01-15). "Polyester and Power at Play for a Mogul and His India". NYTimes.com. Retrieved on 2007-02-09.
- ^ Times, Hindustan (2007-01-17). "Guru opens with a big bang in the U.S.". Hindustan Times. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
- ^ Corliss, Richard (2007-01-12). "Guru - Review". TIME Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-02-09.
- ^ Adarsh, Taran (2007-01-12). "Guru". IndiaFM. Retrieved on 2007-01-17.
- ^ Sen, Raja (2007-01-17). "Guru". Rediff. Retrieved on 2007-01-12.
- ^ "Good value for Mani", Paper (2007-01-12).
- ^ "Guru, dubbed in Telugu". TotalTollywood. Retrieved on 31 July 2006.
- ^ "Aishwarya injured during the shooting of Guru". IMDb. Retrieved on 31 July 2006.
- ^ "S. Bharati to star in Guru". IMDb. Retrieved on 31 July 2006.
- ^ "Top actor dubs for Abhishek in Tamil". IndiaFM. Retrieved on 11 January 2007.
- ^ "Canada mayor invites 'Guru' crew for world premiere". Indo-Asian News Service. Retrieved on 10 January 2007.
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