USA: India stars Rai and Bachchan attend Los Angeles screening of "Guru"

India's celebrity elite joined Mani Ratnam at the "Guru" screening at the India Splendor event in Los Angeles, California in celebration of the 60th anniversary of India's independence. The film stars Bollywood Queen Aishwarya Rai and her husband Abishek Bachchan who wed after making the film. Leading Bollywood couple Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan's attended the "Guru" screening at the India Splendor film festival in honor of India's 60th Independence Day in Los Angeles, California on Tuesday (August 14). The 'India Splendor' event features a exhibition of several Bollywood movies and will culminate in a gala evening celebrating the 60th anniversary of India's Independence on Wednesday (August 15). The "Guru" is based In a small village of Idhar in Gujarat where a young man dreams of making it big some day. His father (Rajendra Gupta), the headmaster of the village school, tells him that dreams never come true. But Gurukant Desai (Abhishek Bachchan ) never stopped dreaming. The film was released on January 12, 2007 and premièred in Toronto, Ontario, Canada "So the team itself is people I have worked with before so that was a definite yes and the word go. Abishek and me have been co-stars over by then already over four films and the closest of friends so it was a definite yes and then of course we came together. Today when we look I mean we got married soon after so lots special memories attached. Yeah after the premiere he proposed to me so yeah we have plenty of reasons to celebrate this movie," Rai told Reuters at the event. Set in 1951, Guru tells the story of a ruthlessly ambitious villager who moves to Turkey first and Mumbai later with his wife Sujata (Aishwarya Rai) and brother-in-law Jignesh (Arya Babbar) to fulfill his dreams. "It was a wonderful role and so early on in my career and to get a role like this I thought was a blessing and to do it with such a wonderful director like Mani (Ratnam) is just fantastic and I don't think any actor would have a reason to complain. Then you get to work the most beautiful woman (Rai) on earth so yeah no complaints," Bachchan said about working with his wife Rai. In Mumbai truth dawns upon Guru that the business world is a closed community ruled by a handful of rich and influential people who don't believe in giving opportunities to new players. Despite barriers, he starts a company called Shakti Trading and climbs the ladder of success at a furious pace. Manik Dasgupta aka Nanaji (Mithun Chakraborty), who publishes a newspaper Swatantra, treats Guru as his son. But when he learns that Guru's means to make it big are not right, he along with the Editor of his newspaper, Shyam (Madhavan) decide to expose Guru's unjust ways. India celebrated the 60th anniversary of its independence from British rule Wednesday (August 15) in a triumphant mood, with many here feeling the country is finally taking its rightful place as a major global player. "Sixty years is sixty years I think its' maybe for a country its a small period you know you feel you are in the midst of something that is evolving and along with it cinema is evolving in a big way so I think possibly we are at the verge of change. Verge of growing global and this is probably a celebration of that," said "Guru" director Mani Ratnam. Next on the schedule for Rai is a trip to New York where her wax statue will be on unveiled in New York on loan from Madame Tussauds in London for approximately six weeks. Then the busy actress will star in "The Pink Panther" sequel with actor Steve Martin. "Well 'Pink Panther'... we all grew up on Pink Panther so as a franchise as a subject its a family entertainer. Its just a fun film to be a part of and so it was an easy also fortunately because of the time slot. In my life its my time and my schedule becomes the biggest defining factor. So its just fitted correctly with my schedule so it was a yes and then cast I have been an absolute Steven Martin fan and he is so super entertaining and the whole cast," Rai said.

ITN Source | August 16, 2007

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