Guru (2007 film)

Guru is a 2007 Indian drama 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. In the Tamil version of the film, the lead role (Abhishek Bachchan) was dubbed by Suriya. 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. The film was premiered in the Tous Les Cinemas du Monde (World Cinema) section of 2007 Cannes Film Festival.

Plot

The beginning 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 not to dream and that dreams never come true. Gurukant decides to go to Turkey and enter the spice trade; later, he is promoted but refuses the job, as 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".

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (born 1 November 1973), also known as Aishwarya Rai, is an Indian actress, former model and the winner of the Miss World pageant of 1994. Through her successful Bollywood career, she has established herself as one the most popular and high-profile celebrities in India. Rai has received several awards, including two Filmfare Awards from ten nominations. She was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2009 and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Government of France in 2012. She is often cited as the "most beautiful woman in the world" for which she has received worldwide attention.

While in college, Rai did a few modelling assignments. Following appearances in several television commercials, she entered into the Miss India pageant, in which she placed second. She was then crowned Miss World 1994, after which she began receiving offers to act in film. She made her acting debut with the 1997 Tamil film Iruvar and had her first Hindi film release in Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya the same year. Her first commercial success was the Tamil romantic drama Jeans (1998), following which she achieved wider success and two Best Actress awards at Filmfare for her performances in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) and Devdas (2002). She garnered critical appreciation for portraying Rabindranath Tagore's heroine, Binodini, in the Bengali film Chokher Bali (2003) and a depressed woman in the relationship drama Raincoat (2004). Rai's greatest commercial successes have been the adventure film Dhoom 2 (2006), the historical romance Jodhaa Akbar (2008), and the science fiction film Enthiran (2010). She also received praise for portraying a nurse in the drama Guzaarish (2010).

Vidya Balan

Vidya Balan (pronounced [ʋɪd̪jaː baːlən]; born 1 January 1978) is an Indian actress. She has established a career in Bollywood and is the recipient of several awards, including a National Film Award, five Filmfare Awards, and five Screen Awards, and was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2014. She is known for portraying strong female protagonists and has been acknowledged in the media for pioneering a change in the concept of a Hindi film heroine.

Vidya aspired to a career in film from a young age, and had her first acting role in the 1995 sitcom Hum Paanch. She pursued a master's degree in sociology from the University of Mumbai and simultaneously made several unsuccessful attempts to start a career in film. She subsequently featured in various television commercials and music videos, and in 2003 made her feature film debut as the protagonist of the independent Bengali drama Bhalo Theko. In 2005 Vidya garnered praise for her first Hindi film, the drama Parineeta, and followed it with a leading role in the highly successful 2006 comedy film Lage Raho Munna Bhai.