Guru (2007)

Guru (2007)                       IMDb

Guru is a 2007 Indian biographical film loosely based on the life of Dhirubhai Ambani, a business magnate who founded Reliance Industries. The film was co-written and directed by Mani Ratnam. It stars Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, R. Madhavan, Vidya Balan, Arya Babbar, Mithun Chakraborty in the leading roles. The film also has Mallika Sherawat in a guest appearance. The score and soundtrack for the film was composed by A. R. Rahman. The film was dubbed and released simultaneously in Tamil as Guru and in Telugu as Gurukanth. The film was released on 12 January 2007 with its première at the Elgin Theatre in Toronto, Canada, on Thursday 11 January 2007, making it the first Indian film to have a mainstream international première in Canada.

Cast

     Abhishek Bachchan   as   Gurukant "Guru" Desai
     Aishwarya Rai Bachchan   as   Sujata Desai

     R. Madhavan   as   Shyam Saxena
    Vidya Balan   as   Meenakshi "Meenu" Saxena
    Arya Babbar   as   Jignesh
    Mithun Chakraborty   as   Manik Dasgupta
    Mallika Sherawat   as   dancer (Special Appearance in song "Mayya Mayya")
    Roshan Seth   as  Justice Thapar (as a Head of Government Enquirer Committee)
    Prathap K. Pothan   as   K R Menon I.A.S.
 

Plot

The start of the film is set in 1951. In a small village of Idar in Sabarkantha district, northern Gujarat, a young man named Gurukant "Guru" Desai (Abhishek Bachchan) dreams of making it big some day. His father (Rajendra Gupta), the headmaster of the village school, tells him that dreams never come true. Gurukant decides to go to Turkey and enter the spice trade; later, he is promoted but refuses the job because he wants to work for himself. Back in his village, he marries Sujata (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), mainly because of the dowry she brings him. Along with Sujata and her brother Jignesh (Arya Babbar), Guru migrates to Bombay and starts trading in cloth. Gradually, he expands his business and sets up manufacturing units of his own, under the name "Shakti Corporation".
Manik "Nanaji" Dasgupta (Mithun Chakraborty), who publishes a newspaper Swatantra, treats Guru as his son. Guru likewise looks to him as a father figure who gives him support during his early days of struggle in Bombay. He also develops a strong friendship with Meenu (Vidya Balan), granddaughter of Dasgupta. Meenu develops multiple sclerosis as she grows up, and begins using a wheelchair.
As Gurukant Desai's business grows into one of the largest in India, he ruthlessly pursues success. He smuggles machine parts for his polyester mills, illegally creates goods, and manipulates stocks to make a higher profit. But when Manik Dasgupta learns that Guru's means of success are not always honest, he, along with a reporter of his newspaper, Shyam (Madhavan), decide to expose Guru's increasingly corrupt ways.
The stress of his battle with the newspaper causes Guru to have a stroke, and he is paralysed on his right side. Meanwhile, Meenu (Vidya Balan), who is now married to Shyam, is slowly weakening from her illness, and eventually dies. In the end, Guru is brought before a government inquiry into his unethical actions, but delivers a speech in front of the press that forces the government to clear him of most of the charges. He is charged with lesser offences and is allowed to return to his company. The story ends with Guru continuing to dream of the future and even greater success for the Shakti companies.