A Mani Ratnam film is special. So what if he hasn’t tasted box office success in Hindi films so far, his work has always been par excellence, whether it is ‘Dil Se’ or ‘Yuva’. With ‘Guru’, he embarks into narrating an epic tale that is supposed to be based on none other than Dhurbhai Ambani. Coming together of Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Mithun Chakravorty, Madhavan and Vidya Balan along with A.R. Rehman and Gulzar handling the music department is a good enough reason to check out the film.
Guru Kant Desai, simply called as Guru [Abhishek Bachchan], belonged to a small village called Idhar situated in Gujarat. Coming from a humble background which comprised of a headmaster father, he was always taught to be content with what one has got rather than aspiring for something that may not be achievable by any means, whether it is materialistic or non-materialistic. But Guru had different plans.
He wanted it all!
So whether it was dreams, house or a village to live in, Guru always dreamt of something bigger. And all this since he was confident that he had it in him to achieve that, especially with a belief that he was the one who would be writing his own destiny.
And soon a simple villager was en route to be one of the biggest visionary ever.
He started his journey from a modest village in Gujarat to Bombay which was soon flourishing as the financial capital of India. It was year 1958, and those were the days when the rich ruled the world of business and newcomers hardly had any place in the sun for them. But Guru knew it was achievable, and he surely had ways to find a way for himself, whether by hook or by crook.
And the one who was with him in his journey throughout was Sujatha [Aishwarya Rai], who at one point of time was hesitant to marry Guru but it was a matter of time when she fell in love with him after being together as a couple in a one-room chawl! Her relationship with him became so strong over the years that regardless of what others had to say about him, for her Guru was the one who stood for love!
But this was not an emotion that Manikdas Guptha (Nanaji) [Mithun Chakravarthy] and Shyam Saxena [R. Madhavan] shared!
Nananji ran a newspaper called Swathantra and years back was pretty impressed with the kind of fire that he could feel within Guru. He knew that Guru was a young lad who had it in him to be successful and though his walk towards his destination seemed too fast, he attributed it to his young blood. He was warned about some of Guru’s so-called evil ways but for Nananji, Guru was spotless.
Until he realized the truth…a bitter one at that. And now he wanted to fight to bring it to fore for all to see. Even if it threatens to destroy Guru….or even himself.
The same realization had struck Shyam too who didn’t really have much love lost for Guru due to the way he worked and wanted him to be punished for his unethical and materialistic ways. He was ready for a fight and was all set to enter the arena.
But it wasn’t as if Guru didn’t have anyone else who cared! Apart from Sujatha, he also had support in the form of Meenu [Vidya Balan], a young woman who limped and could be seen on a wheelchair. From her childhood, she had seen Guru and while she could see Nanaji and Shyam being critical of him, for her he was the man to be respected and admired since he was the only one who never asked her about her handicap. Also, she could see that Guru’s journey to the top was full of obstacles and hence a lot of things happened en route which in an ideal scenario should not have happened!
And during this journey, Guru knew only one fact that mattered most in his life – to be big. In fact not just big, but the biggest! And soon the man who had a strong vision turned into a winner!
A winner who could make a fortune in spite of coming to Bombay with only Rs. 15000 in a suitcase. From a modest beginning with a small establishment called ‘Shakti Trading’ that was set on 350 sq ft. and only had one telephone, one table and three chairs, he was running a company that was recognized as the first Indian company to reach Forbes Top 500 after 40 years.
Guru’s philosophy behind making this happen? Think big, Think ahead, Think fast!
