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| Banner | Madras Talkies |
| Director | Mani Ratnam |
| Writer | Vijay Krishna Acharya |
| Producer | Mani Ratnam, G. Srinivasan |
| Music Director | A. R. Rahman |
| Cinematography | Rajiv Menon |
| Film Editing | A. Sreekar Prasad |
| Art Director | |
| Camera Operator | |
| Assistant Cameramen | |
| Playback Singers | Hariharan, Udith Narayan, Madhushree, Shreya Ghosal, Uday Mazumdar, Bappi Lahiri, Chitra, A.R Rahman, Maryem Toller, Chinmayee, Sowmya Rao, Sewthe Bhargavee, Murtuza Khan, Quadir Khan, Kirti Sagathia, Alka Yagnik |
| Characters | Actor/Actres |
| Gurukant 'Guru' Desai | Abhishek Bachchan |
| Sujata Desai | Aishwarya Rai Bachchan |
| Shyam Saxena | R. Madhavan |
| Meenakshi 'Meenu' Saxena | Vidya Balan |
| Manik Dasgupta | Mithun Chakraborty |
| Jignesh | Arya Babbar |
| Dancer | Mallika Sherawat |
| Justice Thapar | Roshan Seth |
| K R Menon I.A.S. | Prathap K. Pothan |
| 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". Manik "Nanaji" Dasgupta (Mithun Chakraborty), who publishes a newspaper Swatantra, treats Guru as his son. Guru likewise looks upon him as a father figure who gives him support during his early days of struggle in Bombay. He also develops a strong friendship with Meenu (Vidya Balan), granddaughter of Dasgupta. Meenu develops multiple sclerosis as she grows up, and begins using a wheelchair. As Gurukant Desai's business grows into one of the largest in India, he ruthlessly pursues success. He smuggles machine parts for his polyester mills, illegally creates goods, and manipulates stocks to make a higher profit. But when Manik Dasgupta learns that Guru's means of success are not always honest, he, along with a reporter of his newspaper, Shyam Saxena (Madhavan), decide to expose Guru's increasingly corrupt ways. The stress of his battle with the newspaper causes Guru to have a stroke, and he is paralysed on his right side. Meanwhile, Meenu (Vidya Balan), who is now married to Shyam, is slowly weakening from her illness, and eventually dies. In the end, Guru is brought before a private government inquiry on 16 October 1980 to defend himself against the charges pressed against him, but delivers a speech in front of the press the next day that forces the government to clear him of 27 of the 29 charges against him. He is charged with a fine of ₹6.3 million and ₹96,000 for the respective 2 charges, which are proved and is allowed to return to his company. The story ends with Guru continuing to dream of the future and even greater success for the Shakti companies. |
| Release Date | 12-January-2007 |
| Budget | ₹150 million |
| Revenue | ₹1 billion |
| Filmfare Awards (2008): Won: Best Art Direction - Samir Chanda Best Background Score - A. R. Rahman Best Music - A. R. Rahman Best Choreography - Saroj Khan for the song "Barso Re" Best Playback Singer (Female) - Shreya Ghoshal for the song "Barso Re" Nominated: Best Film - Mani Ratnam Best Director - Mani Ratnam Best Actor - Abhishek Bachchan Best Actress - Aishwarya Rai Best Supporting Actor - Mithun Chakraborty Best Lyrics - Gulzar for for the song "Tere Bina" Best Playback Singer (Male) - A. R. Rahman Shantaram Awards: Best Director - Mani Ratnam Best Music Director - A. R. Rahman Best Cinematographer - Rajeev Menon Annual Central European Bollywood Awards, India (2007): Won: Best Actress - Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Best Script - Mani Ratnam Best Supporting Actor - Mithun Chakraborty Best Supporting Actress - Vidya Balan Apsara Film Producers Guild Awards (2008): Nominated: Best Film - Mani Ratnam, G. Srinivasan, Madras Talkies Best Director - Mani Ratnam Best Actor - Abhishek Bachchan Best Actress - Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Best Actor In A Supporting Role - Mithun Chakraborty Best Music Director - A.R. Rahman Awards of the International Indian Film Academy (2008): Won: Best Music Director - A.R. Rahman Best Playback Singer (Female) - Shreya Ghoshal for the song "Barso Re" Nominated: Best Story - Mani Ratnam Best Actor in a Leading Role - Abhishek Bachchan Best Actor in a Supporting Role - Mithun Chakraborty Best Actress in a Leading Role - Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Vidya Balan Best Director - Mani Ratnam Best Lyricist - Gulzar for the song "Tere Bina" Best Picture - Mani Ratnam, G. Srinivasan, Madras Talkies Screen Weekly Awards (2008): Nominated: Best Actress - Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Zee Cine Awards (2008): Nominated: Best Actress - Aishwarya Rai Bachchan |
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