GURU EN AALU

A movie review by Balaji Balasubramaniam

Cast: Madhavan, Mamta Mohandas, Abbas, Vivek, Bhaskar
Music: Srikanth Deva
Direction: Selvaa
A movie that wants to be a romantic comedy needs to be able to balance the romance and the comedy well. More importantly, the two should be brought together in the right proporation so that the two seem inseparable and indispensable but neither overwhelms the other. Director Selvaa does not manage to do this in Guru En Aalu, a remake of the Shah Rukh Khan - Juhi Chawla starrer Yes Boss. The loud and crude comedy drags the movie down so much that the light romance, which has its moments, is unable to salvage it.

Guru(Madhavan), who works as a PA to Krishna(Abbas), the head of an advertising agency, has only one goal in life - to become a rich man and the head of a company. So "Yes, Boss" is his mantra as he strives to impress Krishna in the hope that his boss will him achieve his dream. Krishna, though married, is a womaniser and uses Guru to both get him girls and keep his escapades secret from his wife. Krishna's latest target is Seema(Mamta Mohandas) and though Guru helps his boss reel her in, he does so half-heartedly since he himself has feelings for her. But Seema, who has her own dreams of wealth, is quite happy with the attention lavished on her by Krishna.

The romance is not cliched in the sense that what stands between Madhavan and Mamta is not religion or caste or money or any of the usual obstacles faced by lovers. Its their decision to pursue their dreams and not listen to their hearts. Its essentially a struggle between love and ambition and this has been portrayed well, particularly in Madhavan's case. As he repeatedly paves the way for Abbas to woo Mamta and then puts up artificial roadblocks along the way, it is clear that he wants to sacrifice his love to achieve his dream but is unable to.

Ofcourse, there is no real suspense or tension in the proceedings though we essentially have a love triangle. Mamta is caught between two men, one of whom offers her love and the other offers her money and the life she has been dreaming of. Since she is materialistic, there is an opportunity to introduce some suspense about which of the two men she is going to pick. But Abbas is such a slimeball with his womanizing and his lies that there is never any doubt in our minds that she will see his true colors and kick him out at some point. It is always a question of when, and not if, Mamta will pick Madhavan.

The amount of comedy makes us think that director Selvaa wanted to make a comedy with a little romance thrown in, rather than the other way around. Vivek initially shows up as a yoga instructor but maybe because his targets - fake health experts - are not as notorious as some of his other targets(like, for instance, fake holy men), his jokes rarely raise a chuckle. That track is then abandoned as Vivek dresses up like a woman to play his own aunt. While his appearance automatically generates laughs and his accent and body language are funny, the track gets progressively cheaper and cruder. The film brings in an Avvai Shanmugi scenario as Baskar falls for Vivek in the woman's garb and their scenes together - including a take-off on Sivaji's Style... number, are indecent and vulgar.

Madhavan has played the loverboy role enough times to feel comfortable. He conveys his dilemma well enough and plays second fiddle to Vivek when needed. Mamta Mohandas does look like the model she is supposed to be and makes her transformation believable. Abbas is convincing as the womanizing, rich man though he seems to take his business too lightly to be so successful.