Rags to Riches

"Don't dream. Dreams never come true, my father used to say. But I dreamt." These opening lines are pivotal to the plot of the much awaited Mani Ratnam film, Guru. The real significance of Guru lies in the fact that it is the second film after Rang De Basanti that represents a growing shift in the Hindi film industry of a new genre of socially progressive films that acknowledge a more political youth demographic, as well as a growing awareness among the masses of a nation in transition.

Abhishek Bachchan plays the character of Gurukant Desai, better known as Gurubhai, who is born in the small village of Idar, Gujarat. Throughout the film, Guru is shown to have a challenging relationship with his father, a schoolmaster, who does not support Guru's ambitions. After a rift with his father, Guru travels to Istanbul to carve out a destiny for himself. Guru quickly learns the ropes, and having made money returns to India with ambitions to start his own business in manufacturing and polyester. Sujata, Guru's wife, played by Aishwarya Rai, proves to be his rock and conscience as he faces many failures before success graces his doorstep. Guru, through his hard work and unflinching courage soon becomes the owner of a fast growing Shakti Trading Industry. On his journey, Guru also befriends a newspaper publisher (Mithun Chakraborty), who initially likes the fiery and spirited Guru, but as the film progresses, becomes the very man who vows to expose the manipulative and illegal methods employed by the Shakti Trading Company. Ultimately, what is at stake is not only Shakti Trading but a common man's right to succeed in a world dominated by the wealthy upper classes.

Guru is a film about an ordinary man's extraordinary journey from possessing nothing but courage, determination, and a dream to achieve unthinkable success banned for his social class in 1951 India. The film strives to generate an empowering feeling among the common people and give them a boost of confidence knowing that, with a strong will and determination, they can succeed and step out of the social norms created to restrain them from achieving greatness. Guru attempts to break away from the stereotype that one does not necessarily need high status, education, or connections to make it into a world of success. Ratnam (Bombay, Dil Se...) proves himself a talented asset to Bollywood yet again by narrating a simple tale beautifully and extracting great performances from the entire cast. Abhishek Bachchan is a natural fit and deserves the highest praise for his brilliant performance in depicting the multilayered and complex character of Guru, the cheeky common villager. 

One of the most striking aspects of this film is that its essence seems to follow in the footsteps of Rang De Basanti, directed by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra. Rang De Basanti created a new genre of consciously socially progressive films in the mainstream Indian Cinema. Just as Rang de Basanti projected an image of a changing India in the 21st century, Guru also reminisces of a time period in which the Indian nation was in transition. Guru, which begins only four years after the Indian independence, carries the spirit of its time as a new sense of freedom and possibility is conveyed through both Guru and his wife Sujata, who dare to dream of success and freedom from established traditions. Both Rang De Basanti and Guru carry notions of change, which has always held strong appeal to the youth and is reflective of a current demographic shift in India as over 50% of India's population is now between the ages of 14 and 24. The new socially progressive genre in Indian Cinema is a reflection of the emerging sensibilities of the world's youngest nation. Both Rang De Basanti and Guru echo the energy and spirit seizing India as its youth strives to break away from traditions and set in motion the wheels of change. The emergence of this genre also reveals a consciousness of India's changing image in both domestic and world politics and encourages the youth to rise to the occasion and fulfill their potential as both individuals and as a nation.

Aside from its thought-provoking story, Guru has been making headlines across the nation for several other reasons as well. Guru is gaining much attention as it has become the first ever Indian film to hold its premiere abroad (in this case, in Toronto). In addition, the engagement of Abhishek Bachchan, who was voted the most eligible bachelor in India, to the Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai has got the media and fans twittering in excitement. Furthermore, rumors have it that Ratnam's film closely follows the real life events of Indian business tycoon Dhirajlal Hirachand Ambani, although Ratnam denied this debatable claim. And to cap it all, Guru also unquestionably carries the zeal of this new socially progressive theme in the film as it boldly dares to tell the story of Gurukant Desai, "a common villager, visionary, and a winner."

Official site: http://guru-thefilm.com