Maniratnam, AR Rahman, Abhishek, Aishwarya, Madhavan, Mithun da, Vidya Balan, Rajeev Menon, Shreekar Prasad. All big names. Do they deliver the goods?

Ofcourse they do! As always, this review would not contain any spoilers.This is one movie, where you can see Mani clearly in two different roles. Director and Producer. Ofcourse he has produced many movies before this, but in this movie you can clearly make out Maniratnam the producer when he doesn’t allow the director to take complete control. In a way that is also fascinating.

Maniratnam the director literally plays with the audience. He makes you like a character for his energy, enthusiasm, vision, emotions etc in the first half. And in the second half, he shows the negative side which you dont want to see. You would really want to believe that all this is false, the character is not bad, all the negative things said about him are not true. And again in the last few minutes he shows the good character. When you come out of the movie hall, you wonder whether you like Gurukant Desai or you don’t? Thats where the producer has intervened and tried his level best to make sure you like the character.

Maybe that could be the deciding factor for this movie to be a box office blockbuster or not? I am not convinced about the climax for otherwise a brilliant movie. I still haven’t come to a conclusion whether I like Gurukant Desai or not. Maybe when I watch it once again, I should be able to decide.

Every person who watches Maniratnam movies, know his love for perfection and detail. And the technical brilliance of the package is something taken for granted. In this movie, he takes all these things one step ahead. To start with, the opening of the movie itself is unique. Its action straight away with Abhishek talking about his ideas. Then a blank screen, with Rahman singing ‘Jaage hain’ at full steam. And then some more scenes go on for fifteen minutes or so. Then comes the titles ‘Madras Talkies presents Guru’. And the way the titles are displayed is unique too!

In Mayya mayya song, Mallika Sherawat would be wearing an arabian costume with lots of beads. Now when she rhythmically dances to the drum beats, you can hear the sound of the beads brushing against her dress, whereas when the camera focusses on Abhishek the beads sound disappears. They have used the hand held camera for the initial part of the movie. You get a feeling that you are watching it with your own eyes, and not through the lens eye. The camera shakes when someone comes and touches/disturbs the camera man and it is not all jarring. Amazing!

And if Mayya Mayya was amazing, what does one say about Barso re? In one particular sequence of the song, Aishwarya Rai would be dancing on top of a huge rock with a waterfall in the background. Breathtaking! Full credit to the choreographer and Aishwarya Rai for the dance movements. In one stage, Aishwarya would be dancing, whilst 3 village kids would be watching her and nodding their head according to the beats. Am not sure if Rajeev Menon had a say in her dance movements, but a couple of her face reactions reminded me of ‘Konjum MainakkaLe’ from Kandukondein Kandukondein. Neat!

I heard that initially Rahman had composed a song, which was to be picturised whilst Aishwarya Rai was riding the bicycle. And later they dropped it, since she wasnt comfortable riding the bicycle. But looking at one particular scene, she does seem to ride it well. And at this moment comes another jaw dropping, breathtaking cinematography of a twilight, followed by the railway station scne. Do watch this movie in a good movie hall ok? And after a while, Abhishek gets down from the train. Do check out the sunrise at a distance. Brilliant!

The story might or might not be a biographical one, depending on how particular you are about the similarities to real life characters ;) If you had listened to ‘Jaage hain’ song, you would have observed that the song starts in a low pitch and slowly reaches a feverish pitch. Well, its picturised in a very different way. The beginning part of the song, comes at the fag end of the movie. And the final part in the beginning. Now does it mean the movie is about a successful person, who loses his way and gets bogged down? Go figure it out :) Do not miss the scene where the twin girls sing this song. And a tear trickles down Abhishek’s eyes. Bliss!

Now lets see, how each person has performed in the movie

Shreekar PrasadSameer Chanda: If you dont read rediff, times of india, sify and other news items you wouldnt even realise that sets were used in this movie. Especially the Masjid Bandar stuff. Excellent work in the department of art direction.

Madhavan: Did Madhavan take some special medicine or something. How on earth he got that Alaipayuthey look after 7 years? Though his role was short, he performed really well. Especially in the scene he proposes to Vidya Balan, and persists with it. And the controlled aggression everytime he interacts with Abhishek! Too good Maddy!

Mithun Da: I have read many funny forwards and posts about Mithun and his acting. But I never knew he is such a brilliant actor, and he can portray emotions so well without actually uttering a word. Check out his emotions, when he climbs a wooden staircase and interacts with Madhavan about an editorial. Wish he acts in many movies in such excellent roles!

Vidya Balan: I really dont know why she was there in this movie. But she once again proves what a wonderful actor she is. In one particular scene, she will be interacting with Madhavan. She would literally circling Madhavan and expressing her longings in life. Whereas one would expect, Madhavan to run around her whilst she is sitting. And sometime in the second half, Abhishek would come to visit her. There would be tears in his eyes. She would wipe his tears, tickle his cheek and make him smile. WOW!

Aishwarya Rai: I never thought I would like Aishwarya Rai’s acting. And Mani changed all that. Let it be anger, love, fear, anxiety she has given her heart into this role of Sujatha. Especially when the song ‘Tere Bina’ ends, she comes running from the first floor to the entrance of the house to embrace Abhishek. Way to go!

Rajeev Menon: You should watch this movie in the movie hall just for Rajeev Menon. All those of you who watch trailers and previews of ‘Guru’ songs, watch it in the big screen to know what is missing in the small screen. If at all someone is seriously thinking of techniques to pull in the audience to movie hall, please involve Rajeev Menon in the plan. I wish he gets back to cinematography and keeps his directorial ambitions aside. Our industry cant afford to miss such a talented camera man. Its not just the scenic photography. In one particular incident, Aishwarya would be playing in the swing and Abhishek would enter. Imagine you are sitting on a swing. How would the scene be? You would feel the twists and turns. And finally when the swing stops, your vision would be blurred for a while right? Thats exactly how the scene in picturised! Mindblowing!

AR Rahman: I wont talk about the songs, since I have reviewed about it before. But after watching the movie, the respect and admiration for AR Rahman rises to an unbelievable high. And the drum beats he has used in the BGM all through the movie is enchanting. It resembles a little like the drum beats played in Guruvayur temple, but at same time fits the situation. And at different stages of the movie, one songs theme is used as the BGM. If jaage hain is for inspiration, ay hairathe is for romance. Mayya Mayya for the fun times, baazi laga for the times of revenue, and barso re for aishwarya rai specific moments. And just before ‘Tere Bina’ starts, he sings a couple of lines of some urdu verses which was a pleasant surprise. And there is this song thats played in the background, whenever Vidya Balan is on the screen. Why wasnt that song part of the CD pack :( This is one movie where Rahman’’s BGM would be talked on par with the songs. Its a tough choice to choose the songs or BGM as a favorite. And almost all songs are picturised well. No baazi laga, and Ay Hairathe is used as background. As Rahman himself mentioned, his voice doesnt suit Abhishek in Tere Bina. But thats where Rajeev Menon, Mani Ratnam, Aishwarya Rai, choreographer intervened to make it look lovely ;)

Next time, am going to watch this movie exclusively for AR Rahman and Rajeev Menon. So will elaborate about cinematography and BGM in that post.

Mani Ratnam: I dont think I can portray his brilliance by words. No words can do justice to this master film maker. This is yet another feather in his cap. It was worth the long wait. Mani Sir, please finish Lajjo fast and get back to Tamil movies. And do rest for a while, and take good care of your health! Indian cinema needs you for a very long time. Its a privilege that I am living in your film making period! And finally, we all know how much you like perfection. It is surprising to note that, you had missed the new ‘Tata’ logo in the movie ;) I didnt like the climax. But then, that was a deliberate ploy from you? You wanted us, the audience, to judge rather than you telling what is right or wrong?

Aishwarya Rai-Abhishek chemistry:
See it to believe it. Let it be the train scene in beginning, or the swing scene where Abhishek talks about his dreams or in the scene preceding the one, where Aishwarya calls the ambulance. And the mock fight on the bed. Excellent chemistry between them.

And now I end the review talking about the man, who lived as Gurukant Desai. Mr Abhishek, in many scenes we didnt see you. We saw your dad. And in some scenes, you went even one step ahead. Like the way you hold your hands around your waist and give that sarcastic smile. During the middle of a heated discussion between yourself, Mithun and Madhavan you turn back and smile at Vidya Balan. How did you do that? Or the way you cry for the first time in the movie, the way you react when the salty tears enter your lips. Or in the climax portion where you speak for 4.30 minutes. I didnt see you. I saw Gurukant Desai. I wish to say more, but it might end up revealing the movie plot.

Take a bow sir. This is really the role of your life time, and I doubt if anyone else could have pulled it off! I would be disappointed if you dont win the best actor award for this role!

Go watch the movie, in a big hall folks. Atleast for Abhishek and Rajeev Menon. Such performances must be encouraged!