By MARIA GIOVANNA Special to India-West
NEW YORK - "'Guru' is a film that tries to trace the change that India is going through," said director Mani Ratnam Jan. 12 at a press conference after the United States premiere of his eagerly awaited film.
The film portrays contemporary India "through the life of this one character, Gurukant Desai - from a state that's just been born and is trying to get its vision, agenda and path chalked out, to what it is today, where it's getting noticed globally," said Ratnam.
The prolific director flew in to New York the day after the global premiere of his latest Hindi film in Toronto, along with the film's composer A.R. Rahman and lead actors Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, who play Gurukant and Sujatha Desai.
The three men of the quartet arrived first, and Rai joined them toward the end of the press conference.
When confronted with the question as to whether his movie is about the life of industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani, Ratnam emphasized, "This is not a biography - it is a story based in India during that period. It could be the story of anyone who has made it from nowhere. It is fiction."
For good measure, Abhishek Bachchan added: "I believe firmly that Dhirubhai Ambani serves as an inspiration for all of us, certainly for my generation. I'm sure most of my generation would strive to be like him; he was a great man. But he was not an inspiration or reference point for 'Guru.' The inspiration and reference point was given entirely by Mani."
When a reporter asked Mani Ratnam why he specifically wanted Abhishek Bachchan for the role, the actor kidded him, saying: "You sound shocked that he would have wanted me for the part!"
When Ratnam deferred to Bachchan for further reply, the 31-year-old actor said, "I think your answer's in the question - if you feel I've grown from 'Refugee' to 'Yuva,' then I take that as a compliment, because the intent is to grow. It's a wonderful profession, because you learn something new every day. It's been two years from Lallan to Guru; I like to think I've learned a lot."
"Lallan was unpredictable; Guru is very focused," Bachchan continued. "I like to believe that Mani saw enough growth in me as an actor that he thought he had the confidence to allow me to play Guru. If you stop growing, you stagnate as an actor."
Bachchan went on to give an example of Ratnam's faith in his colleagues, telling of the previews in Mumbai when he had been watching the movie with Mani Ratnam and asked where A.R. Rahman was. Ratnam said, "He's still doing a few final touches to the film." Bachchan emphasized, "That's a week before the release! That just goes to show, at this stage in his career, he's still trying to improve. All the greats have never rested on their laurels."
Uday Kumar of Adlabs U.S.A. spoke with anticipation of the release, saying that with the Mani Ratnam brand and the success already of A.R. Rahman's soundtrack, "We started with a big plus." He added: "We've had phenomenal response from the exhibitors. We are releasing in 65 locations today, 35 of them in mainstream chain cinemas, and it is releasing all over - Milwaukee, Kansas City - and I'm very hopeful that this movie will open up with a very big bang. Already, I just got an SMS from the ImaginAsian theater (in Manhattan) saying they sold 640 tickets for the weekend."
One reporter observed of Bachchan: "In the movie you have a very authentic looking belly; did you have to gain weight?" The now-slim actor, impeccably dressed in a dark suit and pale pink tie, his collar-length hair slicked back, explained: "Mani has a mantra; it's called 'Make it real.' So yeah, there was a lot of eating involved. Although a big deal shouldn't be made of it, it's what the character demanded. Mani saw Guru as he grew older in life to put on a bit of weight.
"We shot the film chronologically, and he was very keen that I put on weight for the film and I obliged, gladly. This is the license that we actors get to do, eat what we want. Shockingly, it became quite cumbersome after three or four days. You tend to get a bit sick of it and that's when it becomes tough, because you still have to pile on the kilos. At the end I was waiting to shed the weight."
Asked by India-West if he'd ever make an Indian story in the U.S., Ratnam didn't discount the possibility, but was noncommittal. "The script decides where you make a film," he said. "Wherever you do it, you should be able to capture the essence of the script, but the decision is not mine - it is the script. If I have a script that is based here, rooted here, then in that case I'll shoot it." He added that, at present, he has no such script.
Toward the end of the allotted time for the press conference, before the group of four would depart for the red carpet at the Times Square premiere, Aishwarya Rai arrived, apologizing for a flight delay. The man who would propose marriage to her later that night jumped in and said, smiling, "It was a planned entry - you weren't late."
Looking relaxed and poised, in a turquoise and silver sari, Rai said, "It was a privilege and an honor to work again with my guru, Mr. Mani Ratnam, after 10 long years. I did my first film with him - 'Iruvar' - which was the perfect school to start at. And I'm still growing, still learning, still discovering the craft under his able guidance. And 'Guru' was one such wonderful journey."
Interestingly, when Ratnam and Rahman first took their seats at the table, they occupied the center seats, allowing for no possibility of the Indian "Brangelina" to sit side-by-side to be photographed while answering questions. After Nisha Mathur, the emcee of the event, asked reporters several times to refrain from personal questions, one man inquired, poker-faced, of Bachchan: "What's it like working with Aishwarya Rai?"
Equally impenetrable, Abhishek Bachchan was all business in his reply: "I was shooting two films with her simultaneously, 'Umrao Jaan' and 'Dhoom 2,' then we went on to 'Guru,' so it was wonderful to see her essay such different and varied roles, almost within a year. I think she's really done a fantastic job in the film and I think everyone would agree that to pull off a character like Sujatha with the dignity that she's done is very commendable." |
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