Guru
…is a disappointment. Okay, I wasn’t expecting Nayagan again, or Iruvar, but still I wasn’t prepared for this poorly scripted effort. I came out of the cinema hall feeling so underwhelmed that I couldn’t imagine watching the film again. And I usually see Mani Ratnam films several times over. Among the many things that are just not right about Guru, the filming itself is lazy: for instance, if Aishwarya is meant to be dancing in a Gujarat village, why pick a location that is so obviously not rural Gujarat? And surely period is more than putting Abhishek Bachchan in a beret. As for the song sequences set to Rehman’s (admittedly uneven) music, they are sooo clumsy, especially after stuff like “Chaiyya Chaiyya” in (the otherwise ordinary) Dil Se or “Anjaani Anjaana” in Yuva … Which is sad, because “Tere Bina” is one of the best things Rehman has done.
Maniratnam is visually gorgeous, absolutely gorgeous, but other than that his movies leave me cold.
Even Nayagan, which people are always talking about. I loved the first five minutes of Nayagan. The rest of the movie was… OK. He’s not an actors’ director and it shows. Also, parts of it are irritatingly similar to “The Godfather”. For example, the killing of one of the Reddiars with a garotte in a car is quite identical to the killing of Connie’s husband, down to the detail of how he kicks out the front windshield as he dies.
My favorite Maniratnam movie is “Thiruda Thiruda”. I think that kind of movie - a lavishly produced, fastpaced comedy - showcases him at his best. It’s also my favorite A.R. Rahman soundtrack, perhaps for similar reasons.
Comment by Apu — January 15, 2007 @ 10:07 pm
Hi,
I usually never comment on someone’s so called masterpiece. I wonder if we have stopped giving any importance to diction and pronunciations. Abhishek and Mother Teressa loving Aishwarya fail to speak proper hindi time and again.
Rehman saab tried to delve into the simple chaiti(light classical genre from Banaras) inspired song called Tere Bina, and has failed to do so either. If you ever get your hands on Pdt. Channu Lal Mishra, do listen to his songs.
cheers
Comment by abhishek — January 16, 2007 @ 2:42 am
Comment by Bombay Addict — January 16, 2007 @ 1:48 pm
Guru may not be Mani Ratnam’s best, but it is definitely miles above any other movie to come out of India in recent times… Sure, pardon Mani for not producing a movie on mindless partiotism, or a dont-know-whether-im-commercial-or-art-but-i-sure-am-confused adaptations of Shakespeare, or movies which supposedly preach through inane comedy… Pardon him for giving us the best ever shot song in Indian cinema.. Pardon him for giving us one of the best acting performances in recent times, miles above any of the National Award winners in recent times.. What he has given us is a mature, superbly edited film which cant be compared to Nayagan, Iruvar or Kannathil, but equally cant be compared to Lagaan, Omkara, Black or RDB for entirely opposie reasons..
Comment by Bharath — January 22, 2007 @ 8:50 am
Thanks, Uma.
Here are my two cents (I say cents because I had to fork out $10.25 for a ticket) on the matter:
http://amitavakumar.blogsome.com/2007/01/25/polyester-guru/
Comment by Amitava Kumar — January 25, 2007 @ 3:45 pm