Now as a free-market fundamentalist I am of course expected to go on about how the fact that Mani Ratnam has made a pro-business, anti-license-permit-raj movie is the best thing about Guru.
But in all honesty, I can’t. The cinematography, Vidya Balan, and the music are so stellar that the ideology of the movie pales in comparison. A review can do the story justice- but it’ll never be able to portray how awesome the visuals are. The shot of the tram passing between Guru and Sujatha, the ‘Shubh Labh’ over the door of Guru’s chawl house, the sea of black umbrellas rising in protest at the shareholder meeting, the red saris at the railway platform- these and a hundred other meticulous little shots make the movie a treasure.
And Vidya Balan too. Her character doesn’t advance the story a bit, but she takes what little screen time she’s got and makes it shine. Aishwarya Rai is painful in contrast. She’s set up to be one maajor wilful chick, running away from home and all,but let’s face it, she’s too squeaky to be spunky.
As for the free market upholding, I actually am pessimistic about the thing.
For starters, the conclusion was a little too pat. Guru makes a big speech, and the opposing forces surrender. Ir reminded me of the made-for-TV Spider Jerusalem movie:
On the other hand, showing things realistically- months of sticking it out and squeezing through all available legal loopholes- doesn’t really make for dramatic cinema.
But more than pat resolutions, what makes me gloomy is that there are so many idiots ot there whose takeaway from the movie will be that the only way a business succeeds is by breaking all the laws.
Still. Some people will still get the real message. That no matter what stupid laws the state erects, economic freedom will find a way to triumph. First they ignore you. Then they call you mad. Then they fight you. And then you win.
[…] Years before Gurubhai was marrying for money, my grandfather’s sister-in-law was mortgaging her jewllery to finance his apprenticeship in a shop. Without the apprenticeship, my grandfather would have been a tailor. With it, he eventually got his own shop, became an Exide sitributor, and broke into the middle class- which allowed him and his family to escape from Partition alive. If it hadn’t been for my great-aunt’s dowry, I probably wouldn’t be writing this today. […]