Guru (2007)

The story of Gurukant Desai, a villager with an ambitious dream and the voraciousness to actualise it. To achieve his goal of being the richest man in India Gurukant is willing to take whatever steps he deems necessary.
Abhishek received a wealth of praise for his portrayal. I'm going to add to it. I've never seen him better. Aishwarya, prominent on the cover, spends much of her time in the background, supportive in both character and role.
At times it's reminiscent of Welles' Citizen Kane (1941), and like it is based on the life of a real person (in Guru that's Indian tycoon Dhirubhai Ambani).
It's maybe uncommon to wish that a Bollywood film had an even longer running time than they typically have, but in Guru's case I think that it needed one because the years fly by too fast, leaving little time for important changes to be depicted as anything more than visual.

3 bogus truths out of 5

Dil Se.. (1998)

Dil Se.. is a love story about two people on different paths who have a chance meeting at a train station, in the rain for extra dramatic effect. It's woven around a political situation that promises no happy ending, and yet happiness is just a song and dance away...
I've heard people say that Bollywood is unrealistic, that the all-singing, all-dancing protagonists are unnecessary, but I don't care. It is what it is and I like it. One of the happy songs got stuck in my head.  I can't shake it. I don't think I want to. No one does love stories quite like India. They're a roller-coaster ride of emotions.

4 safety measures ignored out of 5