GURU

vali re... as the enchanting music trials behind as I set out writing a blog about a movie that rings a chord in my ears. It has been long since I had been engrossed in a movie. I blame it partly due to the lack of the sound effects (its been a while since I have seen a good movie in a cinema hall) but mainly to the lack of a good movie. And my recent experiences of Mani Ratnam's movies further didn't give me much reason to be optimistic about the movie either. But indeed now my opinion of Mani Ratnam is completely different now. After watching movie like Dil Se, Yuva I had scratched my head at the end of the movie trying hard to understand what the director was trying to convey, I had an opinion that Mani Ratnam was one of the few directors who conveyed what was in his mind through his movies rather than do a trial and error on the cinematic screen. I am sure this wasn't the case with other directors like Vidhu Vinod Chopra (what message could you probably have in mind while making movies like Munnabhai MBBS), I don't wish to discredit other directors, but hope you get my point here. And making movies with such aim is quite difficult, it is very easy to get carried away during direction in the labyrinth of details that have to be attended during the production. It can be seen clearly in the case of acclaimed director Mr.Subhash Ghai all I could make sense of his stupid movies Taal, Yaadein and Kisna was that either he lost complete sight of something called meaning in a movie or lost his magical touch (which he could deliver in his earlier movies like Saudagar, Ram Lakhan and so on...). Arraying all the acclaimed stars of bollywood onto the starcast does help little when it comes to the success of the film innumerable examples include Kabhie Khushi Kabhie Ghum, Kabhie Alvida Na Kehna, Dhoom 2 and so on. Retaining the essence and meaning of the movie is the most important aspect of direction in my opinion.

Now coming back to the movie the central character of GURU movie caught my complete attention and maybe it might have indeed caught the attention of everyone else who liked it. The courage and the persistence of Gurukant Desai especially captivated me. Potrayed as someone who could retain his wit and sarcasm with half of the body paralyzed on a hospital bed (recall the scene when Aishwarya Rai helps him sign the paper of Summons by Thapar Commission and he conveys through her to them to be prepared), as someone who never lost sight of him aim and ambitions inspite of the paralysis and other ailments that struck him in the course of his journey is what I liked most in the movie. I feel that there should always be something about a movie that moves the audience either instill an inspiration in them in awe of the screen character, or in general enthrall them with the plight of a large collection of people i.e. people of a country or certain army and so on. GURU movie can be absolutely classified under the former category. Movies belonging to the latter category include Pearl Harbor, Black Hawk Down, 300 and so on... But ultimately the character of GURU captures, enthralls and motivates me the most. The portrayal of his sheer determination is the very reason why I bestow my praise on the movie.

The presence of certain screen characters steers the movie some times very much against the will of the director towards certain characters. For example the presence of Aishwarya Rai in Taal movie had steered the whole movie very much around her. Some of my friends who watched the movie failed to even make a note of akshay khanna in it. There are some directors who used that as an advantage to the film for example Sanjay Leela Bhansali in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, where as there were some directors who overdid the act finally resulting in an absolutely negative effect like in the film Dhoom 2. Trying to tilt the scales in the movie using female quotient is practiced too often in bollywood movies. It is upto the director to potray the characters in the correct light. It has been done quite well in this movie. None of the characters have been given undue importance in the movie. I do agree to the fact that some characters like Mithun Chakraborty were given too feeble a role in the movie but after all the limitations of 3 hrs catches up after all. Mani Ratnam isn't after all god. I never found an instance in the movie which could be scraped to accomodate any further scenes. Listed here are a few instances which could have been further elaborated in the film but weren't.

And finally coming to the reason as to why such a movie caught my attention. My affinity for the post independence era closely following independence in INDIA is worth mention here. I have been lately quite obsessed with the INDIAN independence movement, maybe some dissatisfaction stemming from my horrible performance in history in the 10th class board ;-). But to tell the truth the era when INDIAN traditional values were still vibrant and the swadesi videshi distinction was clear, reminded me of my childhood in the small town of nellore. That was the time when the sight of an ambassador car was a sign of wealth and prosperity when the word Hindustan was heard over and over again, be it the name of a tools, machines, motors and every other company would associate itself with the country's prosperity, this included all the synonyms like bharat (courtesy bharat dynamics, bharat forge and so on..). Lost is the innocence now. Even I am one of the few guilty guys who are responsible for such a state of the country (hope I could stand one day for the progress of my country). So a movie set in such a setting of pre and post independence was far more appealing to me than I ever realized. Movie beginning when the song Jaage hai deer tak hame.. could be heard as the hill and the barren landscape of Gujarat could be seen moved me very much and thats what seems to set the tone for the movie.

The music of the movie itself is a hallmark and one of the main reasons for my rahman favoritism. I have been trying to find faults with his music since long trying find any repitition of the tones, although I had found quite a few songs in the past. However recently rahman has been back in a winning streak with movies like Rang De Basanti. As my friend claims this is Hindustani music, however I feel that rahman has time and again proved that he is capable of performing to any requirements. Rahman was once accused of bringing that tamil spirit into songs repeatedly the tones from his first film Roja kept repeating again and again. But his recent renditions are altogether master pieces completely devoid of any hint of repetition. The songs in Rang De Basanti appealed equally to my punjabi friends as it had to me. Some trivia about music from wikipedia includes
"When out on a concert in Hong Kong, Rahman bought with him an accordion, which can be heard through out the whole soundtrack. The song Tere Bina is dedicated to the memory of Ustad Nusrat Ali Khan since it was his 10^th death anniversary. Rahman had also tuned Ay Hairathe to the lyrics of Hazrat Amir Khushroo Ay Sarbathe Aashiqui which Gulzar had modified. Rahman had also personally trained Lebanese singer Maryem Tollar to sing Mayya, a song which was born when Rahman went for the Hajj in Makkah, hearing a man near a river who kept on saying "mayya mayya mayya" (water in Arab). Intrigued by how Indian the word sounded, he told Gulzar to incorporate the word into the tune he had created while touring in Toronto, Canada."

So ending this long post I give my reviews and my views about a film that influenced and moved me quite a lot after coming to USA.
So friends wish to see more movies like this in the near future..