Abhishek Bachchan in GuruAbhishek Bachchan, who started his film career with Refugee in 2000 had a string of 14 flops before coming good in Mani Ratnam's Yuva (2004). Since then he has starred in a chain of box office successes like Bunty Aur Babli, Sarkar, Bluff Master and Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. His lackluster performance in the just released Umrao Jaan is but a minor aberration.
With hindsight it can be said that his role as Lallan was a defining one that propelled him to Bollywood stardom. Bachchan, who plays the lead role in Ratnam's next film, Guru, slated for release on 22 Dec 2006, could well be on the threshold of yet another nudge to his career that could place him in league with the Khans.
The last big film of the year, Guru is being described as Mani Ratnam's most ambitious film to date. It is the story of a young and ambitious man (Abhishek Bachchan) who makes all his dreams come true. A story that some believe is inspired by the life of Dhirubhai Ambani.
Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai in GuruFrom the promos of the film released so far, and aired on CNN-IBN, it is evident that Abhishek's is the focus role and the film represents a rare big opportunity for him.
Speaking about the film Abhishek Bachchan told CNN-IBN, "Guru has been a very challenging film. A very tough film to do. I hope it is rewarded. More so for Mani because he has worked very hard on it. He is just truly a genius and deserves every bit of credit that he gets."
Aishwarya Rai, who interestingly started her film career with Ratnam's Tamil film Iruvar (1997), is cast opposite Bachchan in the film that additionally stars Vidya Balan, in a small and pivotal role, and Mahadevan. Other credited cast includes Mallika Sherawat and Mithun Chakravarty.
In the past the Bachchan - Rai pairing has just not worked. They have appeared together in three films so far. While Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke (2000) and Kuch Naa Kaho (2003) were abject flops, the jury is still out on their pairing in Umrao Jaan released today, Sawf News reviewers who have seen the film believe the sparks failed to fly between the two once again!
Bachchan and Rai are an item in real life and it has been reported that they will wed in Feb 2007. Their fans would be anxious to see the two succeed as a pair on the screen before they do and hopefully Ratnam's magic will make that happen.
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