Mani disappoints

Being an ardent fan of Maniratnam, however much I try to write a biased review of Guru, I am just not able to put down any positives of the film, except for Abhishek's stunning performance. The film is truly disappointing considering the expectations it had built. (I actually watched the film on Day 1 night show).

Abhishek has definitely carried the film on his shoulders even as the screenplay sags at times and the hindi dialogues are little tough on you (actually i went to the film thinking it was the tamil version and over that, the dialogues were very difficult to understand at most times). Most of the characters are wasted including Vidya Balan and Aishwarya, who stand there in most of the scenes without much to do. But Mithun is a revelation for people who have not seen his art films. He truly shines .

As much as Mani tries to say it is not the story of Dhirubhai, the credibility dies down looking at the story, especially the scenes that have links to Dhirubhai's tussle with Wadias, RP Goenka and Gurumurthy, Gurukant "Ambani" Desai's offbeat" methods of raising money and gaining import licenses. It could have been a wonderful biopic of Ambani, but Mani smudges storyline inbetween. Wonder why he ever did that, taking the charm away.

I am not sure how many people who do not know the story of Ambani (more so in rural areas) understand what shareholder AGMs, public issues and non-convertible debentures mean. Even higher end movie-goers will not appreciate it.

But overall, when you walk out of the movie hall, Abhishek's stunning performance of a rustic villager-turned millionaire is faded by the disappointment of Mani's yet another directorial failure.

Mani, waiting for you to stike back with Lajjo.