Movie Reviews: Guru ...... rate it   

GURU, the latest film from writer-director Mani Ratnam, begins with the usual disclaimer about not being based on any individual and any similarities are purely coincidental. In this case, it is more than just legalese: the film is acknowledged to be loosely inspired by the life
of Indian entrepreneur Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani, better known as Dhirubhai Ambani, the founder of Reliance Industries Limited. His firm,
initially called Reliance Commercial Corporation and set up to import polyester yarn and export spices, grew into the largest petrochemical firm
in India and is reportedly the largest private sector company in the country as well. Additionally, the company held interests in textile
manufacturing, telecommunications and financial services. Ambani died in 2002 and a dispute among his surviving family has led to the company being split into several smaller entities.
Ambani was a colorful figure whose ethics were not always above board. His life was chronicled in the unauthorized biography,The Polyester Prince by Hamish McDonald. Instead of taking a purely biographical approach to the material, Mani Ratnam instead optedto fictionalize the story (I would guess partly to avoid lawsuits). What he has crafted in GURU is a superb film that profiles a man driven to succeed. The movie opens in black-and-white with Gurukant Desai (excellently portrayed by Abhishek Bachchan) recalling how his father always told him that it was pointless to dream. Defiantly, he dared to dream -- and he came to realize nearly all of them. From a rural upbringing as the son of the local headmaster to the corridors of power as the nation of India grew and developed.
GURU takes the young man to Turkey where he excels in his work for an oil company. Offered a promotion and a large salary increase, Desai
turns it down to return to his native area with the idea of going into business. His father scoffs at his schemes, certain he will fail, and that is
partly the psychological spur he needs to find success. He marries Sujatha (Aishwarya Rai), whom he had encountered on a train ride after
she had been spurned by her lover. That she happens to be the sister of Guru's best friend and future business partner (Arya Babbar) and that she comes with a large dowry also play into the equation. At first, she is unhappy with the idea but gradually warms up to her spouse --until her brother informs her in anger about why Guru really married her. The couple eventually overcome this little bump and settle in together.
As the story evolves from roughly the late 1940s into the 1980s, Guru schemes to succeed, never taking "no" for an answer. With success
and power, though, come critics, notably his former mentor, newspaper editor Nanaji (Mithun Chakraborty), and an avid reporter (R Madhavan).
The film reaches its climax in the early 1980s when Guru has to defend himself before a government board and he delivers a bravura, inspiring speech.
The film is anchored by Bachchan's terrific performance. As always, Rai is lovely to look at, but she doesn't make much of her character. The large supporting cast is uniformly good,with Babbar, Madhavan, Vidya Balan and the always reliably great Roshan Seth as the standouts.
In mulling over this film, I kept trying to think of an American movie to which it may bear comparisons and I kept thinking of Orson Welles' CITIZEN KANE. While GURU is not quite on the same level as that masterpiece (after all, what is?), it does rank pretty close in its depiction of the life of a man consumed by his business pursuits and his dreams. Even if you have never heard of Ambani or know little about India and
its history, you can still appreciate GURU for its terrific cast and its strong direction and script.
What you think..which part you want to modify it..so that make it more intersting..