I went to watch the film with the only thought that it must be a good film, being directed by the great Maniratnam. The premise of the film "Villager-Visionary-Winner" seemed very encouraging. The opening scenes of the village, and the opening credits that wove through the dance sequence were very unique, one of a kind. The breathtaking sceneries (kudos to Rajiv Menon), colorful costumes, the opening dance and song were the exact ingredients for a magnificent film. It made me feel proud on how Indian films had developed over the decades.

However, all these feel-good moments crumbled as the story unfolded with about 80% of the film's weight falling on the shoulders of the able Abhishek Bachchan. Somehow, despite how well he acted in this rather demanding role, it made me feel how hard he was acting to flesh-out the character. I suppose actors with greater experience would have made the lead character more believable, in the likes of Anil Kapoor, Vikram, Kamal Hassan, Jackie Shroff to name a few.

A lot of the songs were not really necessary in a biopic kind of film, and were just adding length. Within one hour into the film I inadvertently looked at my watch thinking that the film was ending...nope, I had to sit for another hour or so for the finale. Some of the songs were great in the film, but somehow, not memorable or catchy.

Aishwarya's acting abilities were not fully utilized. More could have been done to give her role more prominence. Even her first dance sequence (reminiscent of Madhubala in Roja, who was way better and more natural) was no where near the dance performance of the cameo actress.

Madhavan's role was short but irritating. The ravishing Vidya Balan's character was not even necessary.

The saving grace for the film was good old Mithun Chakraborthy and Roshan Seth. It was a pleasure to see such maestros on the screen. They gave the movie the worth it was lacking.

Overall, I was rather disappointed with what could have been a good film. Films like Nayagan and Thalapathi by the same director will always be his flagships. In those films, one could go back and watch them over and over, and still enjoy and learn something new from them.

With Guru, somehow, this film fails to "educate" the viewers.