Guru

I finally saw Guru - because the staircase was being painted and I couldn't get downstairs to the computer.

Mani Rathnam's movies are life glossed over. Or airbrushed which makes viewing very pleasant. Everyone is well dressed,the scenes and settings are real art work. People all speak in the same kind of middle class educated tones whatever class they are supposed to belong to. There is sorrow sometimes, but the characters are never broken by it. Before there used to be lots of whispering and dark tones, now he's over that, Thank God.

Romance is always cute in his movies. And from a man, who said in an interview- Love? who knows? its one convincing note in his movies. The devotion between Guru and his wife in this movie is no exception. Makes one yearn a bit, wondering if this kind of thing is ever real? In his movies, Sivaji always has a terrific partnership with his wife while Rajini is devoted to his mother instead.

At first, seeing Abhishek spout Tiruneveli Tamil was disconcerting. But one soon got caught up and forgot. His expressions, that twisted smile and one drooping lip convey a completely different character.This is a wheeler- dealer business man and you have to admire him or Dhirubhai. You can feel the energy.

Ash as usual is just herself. Hardly the typical Indian matron. She never ages while Guru does, fast. Madhavan looks younger, more handsome and fits his part of the cold headed journalist. Mithun with Nazer's voice coming out of him is slightly jarring. But good as Gandhian idealist. Vidya Balan is too pretty for a wheelchair.

With all the negatives one can pinpoint, Manirathnam is still a master entertainer.