Any street smart person knows that the three card trick or its various versions (including the ones with three caps and a tiny ball) hinges on a trick that is not the one that Mani states in Guru. The fake victory that Mani gives his lead character, very early in the movie, in order to establish the character’s acumen, just leaves a lingering bad taste which the movie never overcomes.
The problem with Guru is similar to the problem one has in watching Rock Hudson make pillow talk to Doris Day. It is very obvious that Rock Hudson is more into the spot boy than into Doris Day. Likewise it is clear that Mani Ratnam is more into communism / socialism than into Capitalism. I so wish that this movie had been made by some true Ayn Rand devotee, a non apologetic believer in capitalism.
Even otherwise, Mani Ratnam in Guru is somewhat confused. I don’t think he is sure whether he wants to make a biopic, or a commentary on today’s India. A commercial masala or a hard hitting realism based saga. The result is that we see farmers in Gujarat wearing woven rattan hats that belong to a different region of India. An Item number in Hindi/Urdu in Istanbul at the height of Attaturk revolution. Unnecessary songs, unexplained relationships, and characters that suddenly disappear when their purpose has been served. Perhaps these flaws are quite common in a David Dhawan movie, but was not Mani supposed to be a genius?
I have never been more under whelmed than by Lil C (Big B’s son) in Guru. The problem is that in almost every scene someone else steals the scene. How bad do you have to be when even a no name actor (playing the trader in the market) outperforms you? How bad do you have to be when another no name that plays the father outshines you in a scene that was meant to showcase your talents? I guess, before long, Mani finally figured out that Lil C was no actor, and in order to allow him to rise and shine, he got Maddy to sacrifice and sit down. Interestingly enough just as HR in Dhoom II exposed the fact that Lil C does not have an iota of physical attractiveness, Maddy in his intro scene in Guru exposes the fact that Lil C has no charm or grace either. There is no doubt in my mind that had Maddy been given more scope in Guru, he would have been fatally destructive to Lil C’s career. One has to see the scene where Lil C has a stroke to realize how lackluster Lil C’s acting is.
The “genius” Mani ends the movie with another fake victory for the lead character. If only a true believer had made the movie, the end would have inspired Desis to the cause of capitalism. Unfortunately Mani has done a disservice.
