Aishwarya Rai

Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, R Madhavan, Vidya Balan, Mithun Chakraborty, Arya Babbar

Don’t care a fig, just think big. A boy from a Gujarat hamlet wants to do his own gig. Off he goes to Turkey. And after some malarkey with a Mallika-e-Istanbul, lands a cushy job for which he must wear a tie. Not done. So, Hamlet returns to the aridlands to bake his own apple pie. Do or die. That’s writer-director Mani Ratnam’s Guru – a more than obvious but unacknowledged biopic on the rise, fall and rise of Dhirubhai Ambani. Wonderful. It’s quite a story salt-`n’-peppered with romance, high drama and unbridled ambition, filmed with a reliance on research and authenticity. In fact, you’re hooked right off because no other living director today has more style, sass and sizzle than Mani sir. The opening reels move from black-and-white (like the director’s Dalapathy) to the earth colours of the rural stretches, the Istanbul streets and then finally to the vibrancy of Bombay in the 1950s, adapting to the business-ops thrown up in independent India. Absolutely goal-oriented, Gurukant (Abhishek Bachchan) manipulates a dowry-cum-wedding with a restless young woman (Aishwarya Rai). In the city of dreams with her, it’s toughgoing for the wannabe textile tycoon -- till he finds a bemused patron in a newspaper baron (Mithun Chakraborty). The adversary of the moment, a Parsi aristrocrat (Slick Hair, cool linen suits), is squashed. No gift vouchers for guessing the allusions to real life personalities. Very easy. Throughout, the camera pirouettes around Gurubhai, affording an intimate glimpse into the heart and mind of a man who would be a visionary – never mind if he must adopt means that range from the fair to the very foul. Tables turn when he is attacked by the very hands which once fed his ego. In fact, the surrogate father-son relationship with the newspaper baron is edged with irony. Even when they are at principles drawn, there is a residue of emotion and caring. For a major part of its length, the rags-to-riches dramalogue, is impressive. Indeed, you’re amazed by the attention lavished on period detail, the flashes of humour between Guru and his wife in the bed chamber, the painstakingly created set designs and the mood-accentuating background score. Alas, a sense of ennui sets in towards the latter half when the script becomes much too verbose. Yakety yak yak. Also, there is far too much dithering over the attraction between the news baron’s physically challenged grand-daughter (Vidya Balan) and a muckraking Reporter Raju (Madhavan). Balan and Madhavan, believe it or collapse, even go in for a Dhoom 2-style liplock. Mwaaah.

Abhishek Bachchan played prank on Aishwarya Rai

Abhishek Bachchan played prank on Aishwarya Rai. He told all the people including Mithun Chakraborty, that she is a fabulous singer. Mithun starts praising her when he saw Ash performance. "If I tell you that Ash is a good actor, a good dancer you'll say 'big deal', but did you know that she's a good singer as well? Abhi has told me so," reveals Mithun.

Aishwarya Rai right in trying Hollywood, says Survey

With the recent success of Dhoom2, Aishwarya Rai is back to Bollywood after her stint in Hollywood.
Over the past few years we saw her in a lot of desi centric characters in Hollywood. And in this exercise,
Aishwarya Rai has achieved something which no Indian actor/actress has achieved in the past. A huge
fan following and a name which is beyond the desi audience.
We at desiFans.com Survey asked hundreds of readers if Aishwarya should have stuck to Bollywood
and not have tried Hollywood. The question was: Aishwarya should have stuck to Bollywood and not
tried Hollywood : Yes/No. An amazing 40.72% readers said NO (ie Ash should not have stuck to
Bollywood) compared to 27% YES (rest had No opinion).

One reader writes: It happens once in centuries that God blesses somebody with such a perfect face,
body, height, hair, skin and above all, a beautiful heart. Aishwarya is blessed with all this in this century.
She has taken bollywood to new heights in world which even no Indian male celebrity/actor could do.
She has achieved everything on her own without doing “chaplusi” of any big production house. May be
that’s why she is target of bollywood politics. But she is taking it confidently and bounces back even
with more energy. These Rani’s and Preity’s are not recognized on global platform as they don’t have
those traits of a becoming a global personality.
Well that must be a real Aishwarya fan … but it was interesting to hear praises about Aishwarya from
non desi fans !! Mary writes “Aishwarya Rai has made the entire world take notice to India. She is a
positive representative and India and Indians should be very proud of her. Her acting and beauty rate
high in my books. I will buy whatever she is selling.”

Lets end this article with the lines from Jane from US “I am from the States and I dont even know who
these Salman and Vivek are?? Ash uses them as stepping stones?? OMG! Hello, these creatures are not
heard off outside the Indian continent!!! whereas Aishwarya can be seen all over ads and features around
the world! U Indians are sexist! Abhishek whoever is not even heard too..perhaps his dad! Hello???
knock knock! You are talking about a woman who has represented your country all over the world! We
thought Indians are ugly and dark..and dont have elegance! When we saw Ash, it changed everything..
Jesus Christ!”
Aishwarya Rai ’s innings with Hollywood was not as succesful as her fans would have wanted, but that
was the farthest any Bollywood celebrity has been till now. And she has made us proud.

Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai,Madhavan, Vidya Balan

Guru Kant Desai, simply called as Guru [Abhishek Bachchan], belonged to a small village called Idhar situated in Gujarat. Coming from a humble background which comprised of a headmaster father, he was always taught to be content with what one has got rather than aspiring for something that may not be achievable by any means, whether it is materialistic or non-materialistic. But Guru had different plans.

He wanted it all!

So whether it was dreams, house or a village to live in, Guru always dreamt of something bigger. And all this since he was confident that he had it in him to achieve that, especially with a belief that he was the one who would be writing his own destiny.

And soon a simple villager was en route to be one of the biggest visionary ever.

He started his journey from a modest village in Gujarat to Bombay which was soon flourishing as the financial capital of India. It was year 1958, and those were the days when the rich ruled the world of business and newcomers hardly had any place in the sun for them. But Guru knew it was achievable, and he surely had ways to find a way for himself, whether by hook or by crook.

And the one who was with him in his journey throughout was Sujatha [Aishwarya Rai], who at one point of time was hesitant to marry Guru but it was a matter of time when she fell in love with him after being together as a couple in a one-room chawl! Her relationship with him became so strong over the years that regardless of what others had to say about him, for her Guru was the one who stood for love!

But this was not an emotion that Manikdas Guptha (Nanaji) [Mithun Chakravarthy] and Shyam Saxena

[R. Madhavan] shared!

Nananji ran a newspaper called Swathantra and years back was pretty impressed with the kind of fire that he could feel within Guru. He knew that Guru was a young lad who had it in him to be successful and though his walk towards his destination seemed too fast, he attributed it to his young blood. He was warned about some of Guru's so-called evil ways but for Nananji, Guru was spotless.

Until he realized the truth...a bitter one at that. And now he wanted to fight to bring it to fore for all to see. Even if it threatens to destroy Guru....or even himself.

The same realization had struck Shyam too who didn't really have much love lost for Guru due to the way he worked and wanted him to be punished for his unethical and materialistic ways. He was ready for a fight and was all set to enter the arena.

But it wasn't as if Guru didn't have anyone else who cared! Apart from Sujatha, he also had support in the form of Meenu [Vidya Balan], a young woman who limped and could be seen on a wheelchair. From her childhood, she had seen Guru and while she could see Nanaji and Shyam being critical of him, for her he was the man to be respected and admired since he was the only one who never asked her about her handicap. Also, she could see that Guru's journey to the top was full of obstacles and hence a lot of things happened en route which in an ideal scenario should not have happened!

And during this journey, Guru knew only one fact that mattered most in his life - to be big. In fact not just big, but the biggest! And soon the man who had a strong vision turned into a winner!

A winner who could make a fortune in spite of coming to Bombay with only Rs. 15000 in a suitcase. From a modest beginning with a small establishment called 'Shakti Trading' that was set on 350 sq ft. and only had one telephone, one table and three chairs, he was running a company that was recognized as the first Indian company to reach Forbes Top 500 after 40 years.

Is Aishwarya Rai Going to Quit Movies?

Rumors of Abhishek Bachchan-Aishwarya Rai marriage are fast gathering momentum. The gossip mills have now spun another tale: The actress has decided to quit movies once she marries Bachchan Jr., although both Abhishek and Ash haven't issued any official statement yet. If the news is indeed true, what happens to the projects Ash had signed sometime back?

If readers would recall, Ash had been confirmed for Happy Birthday, with John Abraham as her co-star. Produced by Gaurang Doshi [Aankahen, Deewar] and directed by Sriram Raghavan [currently directing Johny Gaddaar and an untitled venture for Rohan Sippy with Akshay Kumar heading the cast], the film was supposed to start in early 2007.

" Happy Birthday is starting in March. Definitely with Aishwarya Rai. No, she hasn't backed out of the project. Nor has she refunded the signing amount. There's no truth to this rumor," Gaurang clears the air. Wasn't he supposed to start the film in January?"Besides John, Ash and Paresh Rawal, there are as many as 41 characters in the film, which we haven't finalized yet. But Happy Birthday will take off by March-end and we plan to wrap up its shooting by 10th July," Gaurang divulges.

Toronto mayor invites Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai

It’s indeed a royal invitation for Junior Bachchan. As per latest, Toronto mayor David Miller has personally invited Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai for the world premiere of Mani Ratnam’s forthcoming ‘Guru’. ‘Guru’ is India ’s fist mainstream international premiere in Canada .

Abhishek Bachchan, who plays the main lead in the film, is apparently quite excited about ‘Guru’ being the first film the first film to be premiered in Canada. As per reports, the Toronto Mayor, not only Abhishek and Aishwarya, in fact has invited almost all the stars of ‘Guru’ to the premiere show. “It’s a pleasure to host the world premiere of ‘Guru’ in Toronto . This presentation represents a landmark event for the city of Toronto and all of Canada . It is an unprecedented occasion for the city to have film artists of the stature of Mani Ratnam, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, along with the producer Bobby Bedi. That they would select our city is an indication of the high regard Indian filmmakers has for Toronto . This is an opportunity to bring Indian Cinema to a larger appreciative audience and, at the same time, to further develop economic, creative and personal ties between our two countries,” the mayor has been quoted as saying in a press meet.

The organizers are expecting around 10,000 people to line up the street for a glimpse of the Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai walking on the red carpet in true Hollywood style. The film opens in theaters Canada wide Cineplex, AMC and Empire January 12th, 2007 .

Royal invitation for Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai!

It's indeed a royal invitation for Junior Bachchan. As per latest, Toronto mayor David Miller has personally invited Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai for the world premiere of Mani Ratnam's forthcoming ‘Guru'. ‘Guru' is India 's fist mainstream international premiere in Canada . Abhishek Bachchan, who plays the main lead in the film, is apparently quite excited about ‘Guru' being the first film the first film to be premiered in Canada . As per reports, the Toronto Mayor, not only Abhishek and Aishwarya, in fact has invited almost all the stars of ‘Guru' to the premiere show. “It's a pleasure to host the world premiere of ‘Guru' in Toronto . This presentation represents a landmark event for the city of Toronto and all of Canada . It is an unprecedented occasion for the city to have film artists of the stature of Mani Ratnam, Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, along with the producer Bobby Bedi. That they would select our city is an indication of the high regard Indian filmmakers has for Toronto . This is an opportunity to bring Indian Cinema to a larger appreciative audience and, at the same time, to further develop economic, creative and personal ties between our two countries,” the mayor has been quoted as saying in a press meet. The organizers are expecting around 10,000 people to line up the street for a glimpse of the Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai walking on the red carpet in true Hollywood style. The film opens in theaters Canada wide Cineplex, AMC and Empire January 12th, 2007 .

Will 'Guru' break the Aishwarya Rai – Abhishek Bachchan jinx?

11th Jan 2007 10.01 IST

By ApunKaChoice
Till date, no film that has starred Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan as a pair, has hit the bull’s eye
at the box-office.

Ash and Abhishek, who are rumoured to be seeing each other in real life, have starred as a pair in Dhai
Akshar Prem Ke , Kuch Naa Kaho , Umrao Jaan – all the films bombed at the box-office.
Ash and Abhishek also starred together in the superhit flick Dhoom 2 but not as a pair.

And now this Friday releases Mani Ratnam ’s Guru , which once again has Ash and Abhishek as a pair.
‘Guru’ is the story of a young man in a small village of Idhar in Gujarat, who goes from rags to riches
due to his sheer determination and personal drive, despite being faced with many business barriers.

Abhishek plays the title of Guru Kant Desai in the film – the man who is a villager, becomes a visionary

and finally a winner. Ash plays Sujatha – the wife of Guru in the film.
‘Guru’ seems to have all the right ingredients for its success at the box office, as it is directed by the
celebrated Ratnam and also has a unique story.

Also don’t forget that it was in Ratnam’s Yuva that Abhishek’s acting credentials were first appreciated.
‘Guru’ also stars Mithun Chakraborty , Madhavan and Vidya Balan .
Bollywood sex-kitten Mallika Sherawat plays a dancer in the film and also has a hot item number to her

credit.
The music of the film has been scored by A R Rahman .

Aishwarya Rai | Aishwarya Rai 1 | Aishwarya Rai 2 | Aishwarya Rai 3 | Aishwarya Rai 4 | Aishwarya Rai 5 | Aishwarya Rai 6 | Aishwarya Rai 7 | Aishwarya Rai 8 | Aishwarya Rai 10 | Aishwarya Rai 11

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