"Guru" sucked!

I had the misfortune of watching the recent movie Guru. It is supposed to be based on the real life of Dhirubhai Ambani. All I can say is it was a waste of my time.

For the moment, forget the message it is supposed to convey. Even if you look at its technical merits, it is a real dissappointment.

Abhishek's acting was average. His monologue at the end was totally uninspiring. Certainly not like that of Howard Roark or Francisco D'Anacona in the Rand novels. I am not even sure if Aishwarya Rai was the best actress Maniratnam could find to fit the role of his wife. The chemistry was simply not there, almost to the point of being insulting to Dhirubhai and Kokilaben.

The movie had no real plot to speak of. If you had watched Corporate, you can easily see the difference. There, there was a plot between the two cola power houses, and the viewer could immerse himself or herself in the boardroom plots. In Guru, we come to know of the machinations only from the laundry list of irregularities read out at the final hearing. All the confrontations were between Guru and the press. Made me yawn.

The songs were mediocre. There was not a single tune worth remembering. Malika Sherawat was a lot better in Murder. Her belly dance number would have been the perfect excuse for a visit to the restroom, had it not come so early on in the movie.

The only saving grace was Vidya Balan. But she has proved time and again that it doesn't take a great director to bring out the best in her. The credit goes to her and not Maniratnam.

And what is this thing in Indian movies about heros advertising that they are "foreign returned" by wearing a suit on a hot summer day back in the village? I saw this for the first time in the Tamil movie Kadalora Kavithaigal 20 years ago and thought it was funny. I am shocked that this kind of cliche still happens in Indian movies.

I am not sure what is it about Maniratnam trying to glorify dubious real-life figures. We saw it originally in Nayakan (Tamil) which was supposed to be based on Haji Mastan. And now, someone else who used the system to his advantage.

Now coming to the message it is supposed to convey, Abhishek justifies what he had done at the end. He cites the instance of the Mahatma disobeying the salt tax, and slavery laws. However there is a crucial difference. There is nothing wrong in breaking laws as such if they are for a noble purpose (such as the right to self-determination or right to equality). But what Guru (and the real life Dhirubhai) did was they manipulated the system to further their own ends (and in fact stifle the competition). This could hardly be called a noble endeavour. In business, such tactics would be termed highly unethical and unfair competition.

Maybe Maniratnam realised this and that's why he watered down any mention of blatant bribing or other devious schemes on the part of Abhishek. Throughout the movie there is not even a hint of Abhishek taking part in most of the serious charges read out by the committee at the end. It was almost like his serious wrongdoings were swept under the carpet to not undermine his image of a hero at the end.

All in all, Guru was not worth watching.