Mouna Ragam, Agninakshatram, Anjali, Thiruda Thiruda, Dil Se, Roja, Bombay, Thalapathy, Alaipayuthey, Kannathil ….., Yuva and now Guru!….what do all these have in common…well of course I know I am stating the obvious, but nevertheless, they all reverberate “Mani Ratnam”, one of the doyens of Indian Cinema, a director par excellence and to put it simply an auteur director who spells class and magic…
Mani Ratnam in my opinion, has over the years contributed significantly to Indian Cinema and has also taken Indian Film to International fame…a director who weaves slick imagery, breathtaking visuals, understated acting, minimalistic dialogues, even minimalistic lighting, award winning-foot tapping-soul searching music,youthful romance and much much more in the tapestry of his films…
I have always anticipated his movies with a keen curiosity and eagerness for he has a knack of leaving an impact on you…one of the reasons his movies stand out is, because at the very core of it he touches all of us in some way, simply because his themes are pivoted around human emotions, relationships and real life events….
But somehow with each passing film the “Mani Ratnam” or proverbial “Madras Talkies” stamp is fading…it happened with Yuva and it happened with Guru…
For the first time i felt a great deal of disappointment after a Mani Ratnam film….a script that falls apart, redundant characters, a hurried wrapping of the film, not so great music and the total loss of simplicity, relationships n i would say even emotions….yes he has as always brought out the best in his lead actors n so has been the case with Abhishek Bachan but the experience was nowhere close to the emotions i have felt on watching his films….
I cannot call this sudden dip as giving in to commercialism coz he always been commercial….n he has been very open n clear about it….so what is it then…i can’t quite seem to put my finger on it but just hope that this was a one off experience….i think he is perhaps at his best with Tamil movies, simple characters n simple treatment of the film…
To all those who loved the film well good for you! and for those of you who were left with an empty feeling well no worries…we can hope that his next production will satisfy our cognitive and affectual senses…
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anush said,
May 20, 2007 at 2:16 am
Completely agree with your views. Felt the same way too. i felt Yuva some how escaped the baton because of a different story line and intersting roles of characters potrayed. But Guru, was a complete let down. As if Madras Talkies had given a free hand to a surrogate director.