There Is Something About This Man
I saw Guru Monday night. Getting tickets was a nightmare, honestly! I had to set an alarm at midnight, get up, go online and then book tickets for three days later. When my alarm rudely woke me up from the middle of a very deep sleep, I was thinking no movie could be worth doing this.
This movie was. Well, not the movie itself but the man who carried the entire story on his shoulders. Abhishek Bachchan. I’ll say it again; there is something about this man. It isn’t the magnetism that Amitabh exudes when he’s onscreen. It isn’t the kind of charm SRK oozes. It’s something that keeps you hooked to him through the movie - a temporary addiction.
Watching AB Baby in Guru after Dhoom 2, I was speechless. In Dhoom 2, he practically had no role except for being the cynical, never-smiling super-cop. Here, he transforms from the clueless, hardworking lad in Turkey to a confident, self-assured man who wants to work for himself and make it big. And after he does, each frame he is in radiates with his pride at his work and the brashness of success. When he stands tall on screen, you feel that nothing could possibly stop him.
After all the hype I’d heard/read, I knew Guru had to be good. IMHO, Guru isn’t a great directorial venture. Very very good, of course, but not great. Mani Ratnam, hailed God amongst many, has made more powerful, brilliantly directed films – Nayagan, Thalapathy, Bombay, Dil Se, Kannathil Mutthammital come to mind immediately. I always remember needing sometime to stay still and digest these films after watching them. May be because they portrayed a world peppered with physical violence and brutality. That always has a greater appeal and a stronger impact.
Guru, however, depicts the life of one man who believes. It is this man’s struggle, his fight with the times and his contemporaries, his drive to succeed. There is hardly any physical violence, no gore. It leaves you exhilarated at the end of it – you walk out of the theatre smiling.
22 comments:
Su baby all in for AB baby is it? :P
So you needed time to digest movies like Nayagan, Dil Se, Kannathil Muthamital etc... what can I say... neva mind
@gapp:
AB Baby rocks. :P
And those ARE very good movies. Almodovar, Fellini, Szabo etc. AREN'T the only ones that make good/great/*superlative-adjective* movies. So there.
The illusion you are trying to force down your readers is that "great movies implies more time to digest". Which as you may have noticed is exactly what I was remarking at and I can clearly assure you I by no means was trying to criticize your amazing taste in music.
I meant movies...
@gapp:
Not at all. Great movies imply more time to digest is bullshit. I simply meant that great movies stay on your mind a lot longer than the others. You think about them a lot more and derive a lot more from them. That's what happens with me, at least.
So what did you derive out of Nayagan?
@gapp:
Nayagan depicts nothing that's close to my world. And so I didn't derive anything personal from it. I did reflect a lot though. And by derive, I also meant a wider, broader way of looking at things.
And if you'd kindly consent, we can continue this on Y! IM. :|
Okay, I am really curious now. What did you reflect on after watching Nayagan?
Well, well, well we shall continue this when I meet you in college...
gud movies take more time to realise they r gr8...its not tat u wont no the moment u c it...but as far as Mani Ratnam's movies r concerned...like say Ayudha Ezhuthu, Roja, Kannathil Muthamittal, Alaipayuthey and so on...every time i c it...i realise sumthin new it...this makes it gr8...
@Karthik:
"gud movies take more time to realise"
Is it? I am sure you can then also explain why the movies like "Left Foot Forward" fall under the category of good movies, even if they are not layered. Why, for instance even "Clockwork orange" isn't multi layered. It hardly takes time to realize. Actually there wasn't much to "derive", "reflect" or "realize" in that movie.
Or if you found some layers in Clockwork Orange, how about some Istvan Szabo films like "Relatives" or Federico Fellini's "Amarcord"? They have no layer in them, nor do you learn something new every time you see it.
PS: Amarcord is considered as Fellini's best work by many critics.
It was good. But I wish mani ratnam steered clear of the long speech at the end and sent him to jail. And the songs didn't fit either. Looked like they'd been stuck in later.
Oi and another movie on the 'we have to see' list - Dreamgirls. Though god knows when that'll happen.
hmmm, now that theres this thick sheet of PLASTIC all OVER him, is that 'something' still there??
we're all lamenting about what a waste it all is :(((
but still, agreeed, hes one ammmazing looking guy, and the charm??ooh la la!
Im looking forward to guru(now that exams are finally almost done!)
@ganesh
poor me...i havnt seen either of those movies under ur quotes..so can't comment...and I was just referring to Mani Ratnam's movies...
@Karthik:
Correction: You weren't speaking about Mani Rathnam films, you were speaking about "Gr8 films". But what is the funny part here is you haven't watched any good movie yet...
@me:
the speech was konjam OTT and a bit shaky too, but what the heck! :P
@siri:
plastic makes no difference! :P :P oh, and WAAAAATCH!! :P :P
@ganesh:
yahaan bhi shuru ho gaya?? :O :O and why DON'T you get it that different people think that different movies are great?!?! and your definition of great may be waaaay off other people's! :P
Not everyone's taste is as refined as yours, if refined is the word I want. (Plagiarism, yeah. So sue me! :P)
@ganesh
dude....cynical and amateurish i may b...i got my own priorities...wat may b gr8 to u may b utter crap for me and vice versa...its not practical for every person in this world to have the same tastes...
@kar:
yep! he doesn't get that! :P of course the movies he watches are great, but others are too! :)
there IS something about this man :)
nayagan and dhalapathi top my list too.. so does roja, but this one was kinda.. apt, if you know what i mean. nice post!
@S
yeah...now i really wonder who the cynical person is???
@shruti:
apt, exactly! :D and thanks for dropping by!
I didn't like Dil Se.
@me:
no uh? i liked parts of it. i hated the rest! :P
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