Abhishek is a worthy son following his father Amitabh's footsteps…

Not everyone who fashions clay can mould a Pillayar. When honesty is lost, you create a monster. As far as Mani Ratnam is concerned, he is adept at making good use of what he has on hand. He has proved that yet again.

The father Amitabh is someone who believes dreams do not come true. The son Abhishek wants to become a world renowned industrialist. At a young age he goes to Turkey to work. On returning, he decides to do something about his dream to become a top notch businessman.

He marries Aishwarya Rai, his friend's sister, and moves to Mumbai to start a business. His dream takes shape slowly and he slowly rises to becoming number one in the polyester business. Then things start going wrong and a testing time starts for the happy family. Abhishek is accused of doing underhand business and cheating the public and so on and ends up behind bars. How he weathers is the storm forms the rest of the story.

Abhishek has proved that he is worthy of following in his famous father's footsteps as a talented actor. His body language at various stages of his life, makes one quite astounded. His eyes speak when his body and lips can't when he gets his epileptic attacks. What amazing acting!

Running away to meet her lover in the middle of the night, tussling with Abhishek in bed, or giving a shoulder to her troubled husband are scenes where Aish is rather nice.

Mithun Chakravarthy is a reporter who wields his pen against injustice. He keeps his family life separate from his professional life and how he balances them together is rather remarkable.

Madhavan is a reporter who shows the other side of Abhishek Bachchan. One can see shades of 'Alai Payudhey' in his portrayal. He proposes to the physically disabled Vidya Balan and the arguments arising between the two vividly rouses the anguish as well as happiness in the viewers.
Rajiv Menon's cinematography is remarkable, especially when the camera shows Abhishek climbing up the hill steps with his friend, Aishwarya dancing and singing in the waterfalls, talking to Abhishek as she sways in the swing and so on. This adds strength to Mani Ratnam's dynamic screenplay.

Sameer Chandha has done a great job of the art direction to span the story that starts from the 50s and moves up to the 80s. Most notable are the steam engine of those days and the interior of the railway compartment.

Sound engineer H Sridar must be commended, especially in the scene where even the small crackling sounds of Vidya Balana's funeral pyre can be heard.

Among AR Rehman's songs, "nannaare…" is a song that invites an encore. When the story moves to the 80s, he has incorporated the sound of electric trains in the background when Abhishek and Aishwarya chat. In songs and background score, Rehman has shown his prowess. Vairamuthu's lyrics for "Naan seeniyil seidha kadal, vellai thangathil seidha udal" are rather poetic.

The tram shot that separates the hero and heroine when they are flirting is a directorial touch by Mani Ratnam. A little more explanation about public shares and cloth auction would have helped people, who don't know much about them, understand better.

Mani has proved yet again that gold cannot turn to tin and deserves applause for his effort.

'Guru' is a super film making effort.