Director: Mani Ratnam, 12A, 155mins

Stars: Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai

India’s most respected director, the Tamilian Mani Ratnam’s third original Hindi feature Guru is somewhat of a departure from his trademark love stories set against a political backdrop. Despite the disclaimer at the start that the film is not based on an actual person’s life, this is a disguised but fairly accurate biopic of Dhirubhai Ambani, the deceased patriarch of the powerful Ambani clan in Mumbai, and the founder of Reliance Industries, India’s largest private company, currently worth over $23bn.

Told in flashback, the film shows the young Gurukant Desai (Abhishek Bachchan) leaving his Gujarati village in 1951 to work in Turkey. He returns home with dreams of setting up his own business. With the dowry he obtains from marrying the elder ‘fallen woman’ Sujata (Aishwarya Rai), he moves to 1970s Bombay. Eventually Desai (known as 'Gurubhai') establishes ‘Shakti Corporation’, India’s biggest firm, but this is achieved via some dubious practices. This leads to estrangement from his mentor Nanaji (Mithun Chakraborty), the editor of The Independent, who vows to expose Gurubhai.

Ratnam is clearly in charge of his material which portrays Gurubhai as neither a total saint nor a ruthless sinner. What emerges is a balanced portrait of a capitalist who would have faced numerous difficulties in establishing himself in an era, still entrenched with Nehru’s socialism and tiresome post-Raj bureaucracy. It is also an accurate depiction of how familial and professional ties can be so intertwined in Indian society.

This is a technically polished film: the cinematography shows a stunningly beautiful rural India at its picture postcard best, although it is a bit cheeky to pass off Tamil Nadu in the South for Gujarat in the North West. Performances attract admiration: Bachchan does a De Niro, piling on the dosas to show the ageing and overweight Guru and he is, surprisingly, impressive. Rai sheds her usual doe-eyed expressions and is endearing as the supportive but fiery wife, who looks and dances like an angel. Chakraborty and Tamil superstar Madhavan shine equally brightly in underwritten supporting roles.

The result is a warm, intimate and moving portrait of a perhaps flawed visionary who may have been both a genius and a thug. Ratnam’s style may be predictable – contentious subject matter, ‘A’ list stars, Rahman’s tuneful music, a saucy ‘item number, a preachy climax - but it is never boring, and always a delight to watch. Seek out this Guru: it is certainly one of the best Bollywood movies you will see in 2007.

On selected release

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