Dhoom Dhamaka… The Guru of all times

Guru – the biographical movie of a famous Indian Visionary. The movie is directed by Mani Rathnam, the Guru of all times. Abhishek Bacchan and Aishwarya Rai plays the lead roles. Other supporting cast includes Mithun Chakraborty, Madhavan, Vidya Balan and so on.

Spoiler begins here

Plot:
The story moves along the character of Gurukant Desai (played by Abhishek Bacchan). Gurukant is the third son of a maths teacher of a small village in India. With his studies not going too good for him, Gurukant decides to go to Turkey to seek a living where his uncle gives aid. After several years, he returns to India and decides to start a business much to the dislike of his father.

Just when Gurukant thought finance is a major issue, money comes in the form of a girl named Sujata (played by Aishwarya Rai) whose dad would give Rs.15000 to any guy who would marry his daughter. Sujata’s brother becomes the partner of Gurukant. Thus the path of Gurukant was set as they three head to Mumbai to start a business.

But starting a business wasn’t easy as he thought. At first, Gurukant chose a path of truth, with the help of Manikdas Gupta (played by Mithun Chakraborty) who is the head of a famous news agency, to fight the obstacles that lay ahead of him. But later, Gurukant’s hunger to win makes him to use wrong means to fight the obstacles, such as using the news agency to spread wrong information about contractors.

Strongly objected by Manikdas, Manikdas asks Shyaam (played by Madhavan) who is a reporter of the news agency owned by Manikdas, to let people know the exact truth behind Gurukant’s success and also to stop him. But Gurukant openly challenges Shyaam and Manikdas that none can stop him. Shyaam confidently accepts the challenge. The question of ‘who will win?’ forms the second part.

Spoiler ends here

Characterisation:
Gurukant Desai:
Gurukant Desai is a visionary. He is a keen observer and a good businessman. He can tackle every kind of situation. He is also a loving husband and a caring father. Abhishek Bacchan fits perfectly into the role. He has grown a little bit fat and his body language as that of a business man, such as a fat belly and his walking style and expressions is truly as that of a businessman. Abhishek has done perfectly in the final scene.

Sujata:
Sujata is a very calm and loving girl on the first half and later becomes a determined and a very supportive wife. She is also a bold woman, which can be seen in the second half. Aishwarya Rai fits perfectly as Sujata. From crying in the train to the then-stranger Gurukant and speaking boldly to the judge, Aishwarya Rai has clearly shown the work of Mani Rathnam in her acting.

Manikdas Gupta:
Manikdas is a very stern fellow. He is a man of truth. He guides Gurukant on the path to success but is later frustrated by Gurukant’s bad path and also warns him to stop it or else he would put a stop to his journey. Mithun Chakraborty’s eyes clearly suggest that none would have done the role better than him.

Shyam:
Shyam is a reporter who follows the path of Manikdas Gupta – the path of truth. He is asked by Manikdas to put a stop to Gurukant’s journey as a businessman and Shyam does his best following Gurukant’s own path. Shyam is also a caring person and shows great respect for others. He marries Manikdas’s daughter Meenakshi Gupta. Madhavan is the guy on whom Mani Rathnam never loses his faith. His style and mannerism puts an equal challenge to Abhishek’s acting.

Meenakshi:
Meenakshi (‘Meenu’ as called in the movie) is the daughter of Manikdas Gupta. She is earlier shown in the movie as a little handicapped girl. She is a close friend of Gurukant and supports him even when her dad and Gurukant set apart. Vidya Balan plays as Meenakshi in the movie and though her role was short-lived, she has done her best.

Crew:
Direction: (by Mani Rathnam)
If it is Mani Rathnam’s direction, then it would definitely be special. Mani is the guy who can portray the movie as a novel. Each character in the movie is shown importance. His work can be clearly differentiated from other works. The slow storyline and the slow moving of the movie are all the special characteristics. If you are a Mani Rathnam fan, you should definitely watch this movie.

Cinematography: (by Rajiv Menon)
The story is set in the period of 1950s and you would be amazed if you see the set of the movie. All of it seems originally from the 1950s and even the scenes of Turkey seem to be from that time. Such a good work was done by Rajiv Menon. The misty mountains and the beautiful locations from the Indian countryside are fascinating.

Music: (by A.R.Rahman)
If it is a Mani Rathnam’s movie, then it would definitely be ARR who would be scoring the music and ARR reserves his best tunes for Mani. The music keeps you tapping your feet. The slow moving of the movie is balanced by the fast background score. The background score also plays a very important role in the movie

Altogether, the movie was fantastic. I recommend this movie to everyone. I like almost all the scenes especially the interval scene and the climax scene. If you are a fan of any of the above cast and crew, you should definitely watch this movie.

Quotes from the movie:
Manikdas: Shyam, can you stop Gurukant’s journey and put an end to it?
Shyam: Yes, I can do it
Gurukant: No, you can’t do it. None can do it.
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Gurukant: Shyam, this success came from hard work. You should work hard to pull me down and for that, you should become Gurukant.
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Gurukant: You gave me 5 minutes to speak. But I took only 4 and half minutes. 30 seconds saved. 30 seconds profit. That’s business!
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Manikdas: If it is a lie, then I would come and break your bones.
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Sujata: Just give me some time, I will get my husband back to normal to fight back with you.
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Gurukant: My fate is already written.
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Shyaam: We are all responsible for what happened to Gurukant. If you want, I can stop it right now.
Manikdas: We are publishing only the truth right. If so, publish it!
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Sujata: Really speaking, Gurukant is a bravo and intelligent. He makes money out of empty boxes.
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Gurukant: Not just now; yesterday, today and forever, it’s Gurukant, Gurukant Desai.
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