The man and the vision..

Its finally out, the one movie we waited for with bated breath, with all the speculations rife about how it was a tribute to the genius of the Late Dirubhai Ambani and how Abhishek and Aishwarya extended their onscreen romance into real life, right from Kashi to Tirupati (that’s the latest for on the Great Wedding that is supposed to happen very soon – Ash taking no chances when it comes to wooing the deities). And the verdict is – it’s a masterpiece, albeit a flawed one. Coming from Mani, we could have expected better. But there is no denying that an amazing work of art, in an age when movies by a ‘K’ crazed, fashion conscious gay director and his silly imitations rake millions, this one deserves a salute. But the problem is it is Mani’s movie and everything he has done so far sets the precedent for this one and the burgeoning burden of expectation against a standard like that is what it fails. It’s a Utopian concept, a visionary making it against insurmountable odds with a nothing but grit, belief and will; it almost has a Randian quality to it, complete with courtroom drama for a climax.

So here we have Gurukant Desai (Guru Bhai for his peers, another reminder of Diru Bhai), working his way up to realize his dreams all the way from small town Gujarat to Istanbul (modern day Turkey) – one of working for himself. Guru returns back to India, but the money he has falls short of what he needs to start his textile business. He schemes with his childhood friend and marries his vagabond, brash sister (Aishwarya Rai as Sujata Desai) in return for the dowry he needs to start up the enterprise. What begins from here is a long journey of success punctuated by efforts from rivals, the anti capitalist bureaucracy and the moral policing of the press but Guru just relentlessly moves on.

Abhishek Bachchan in the pivotal role is decent, but the movie is not his. It belongs to the character and enigma called Gurukant Desai, and Abhishek doesn’t get under the skin of the character to the point where it’s hard to tell one from the other. The aggression and the fire are missing. Still, there is little doubt that anyone else from the present crop of young breed actors couldn’t have pulled it off better (his father or Kamal Hassan could be ideal replacements but since they cant, he seems like the inevitable choice). Aishwarya deserves only one word for her performance – pathetic. If there is one person whose short performance sears the screen, its Mithun da. As the undying champion of the cause of justice, this man in the role of the head of an independent publication that intends to expose Guru’s unholy nexus with adulteration, manipulation, profiteering and wealth amassing strategies is a treat to watch. He is the most underrated genius actor of our times. Madhavan and Vidya Balan don’t have a screen time worth any mention, their characters much less. This is the only tangent off the otherwise tightly integrated plot that seems baffling, if there are any resemblances to the real scenario, I do not have an idea.

The biggest let down of the movie is surprisingly the music. Mani-Rehmaan-Gulzaar, need we even think before grabbing a copy? Yes. Rehmaan in his narcissistic singing spree is just plain noise. Jaage hai could have been better off without his voice, as could Tere bina. Lyrics are not worthy of mention either, the only decent one being Barso re with Shreya Goshal’s youthful rendition.

Finally there is Mani Ratnam, his genius and his vision (he is the only visionary the movie promotions should talk of) which makes you sit up through the entire 160 odd minutes of the movie and think what passion went into making something so thought provoking, radical and inspiring. And all you know is you like it and will never forget it and that is the ultimate tribute to this legend.