The director is always write Why did director Mani Ratnam change Anurag Kashyap's original script of Guru?
Ram Kamal Mukherjee Mani Ratnam's Guru, starring Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, may have received rave reviews from film connoisseurs, but it seems that some of the cast and crew are unhappy with the final outcome of the film. Allegedly, Mani Ratnam signed Anurag Kashyap to write the script for Guru, which Anurag readily agreed to do, but when Anurag saw the film this Friday, he was taken aback. A source reveals, "Anurag was surprised to see that Mani had retained only 30 per cent of the original draft and rewritten the rest of the script. He was disappointed with certain changesÂ…" There is much speculation about Mani's reasons for changing the script. Some say that although Mani Ratnam began shooting the film as Dhirubhai Ambani's life story, later when he realised that too much resemblance to the character might get him into trouble, he thought of changing the script. "Everyone's role has been chopped in the film. Madhavan and Vidya Balan are mere extras in the film, although they have done a splendid job in whatever scenes they have in the film," says a character actor associated with Guru. Mani Ratnam When we contacted Anurag Kashyap he admitted that Mani Ratnam has changed the script extensively. "After Mani returned from his schedule in Turkey, he wanted me to change the script. He called me to say that he wanted a 'sea change in the script'. I would have helped him, but unfortunately I had to leave for New York at the same time, so he went ahead and got the changes made by another scriptwriter," says Anurag. Does this irk him? "The film is Mani's baby, why would I be upset? Even I changed my script after the first schedule, that's a given liberty in filmmaking," he replies. Anurag Kashyap However, Anurag gives Mani the benefit of the doubt. "See, I have an issue with every film, and this film is no exception. But I would say that Guru is a fine piece of work and I think Mani made what he wanted to make," he says, rather tactfully. When asked about Mani promoting Abhishek in the film at the cost of editing others' roles, Anurag says, "Now, that's a director's prerogative, I don't think that we have the right to question the calibre of a director like Mani Ratnam. The film is doing well, and that speaks volume about his vision as a director." http://www.mumbaimirror.com/net/mmpaper.aspx?page=article§id=30&contentid=200701140242095623c921ef1
