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The Guru (1969)
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Overview
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Release Date:
10 February 1969 (USA)
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Plot:
Britain's top pop artiste, Tom Pickle, travels to Bombay, India, circa 1960s to learn to play the sitar...
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Blu-ray Review: The Darjeeling Limited (Criterion Collection)
(From Rope Of Silicon. 12 October 2010, 2:08 AM, PDT)
(From Rope Of Silicon. 12 October 2010, 2:08 AM, PDT)
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Early, meandering Merchant-Ivory
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Cast
(in credits order) (complete, awaiting verification) | Rita Tushingham | ... | Jenny |
 | Michael York | ... | Tom Pickle |
| Utpal Dutt | ... | Ustal Zafar Khan |
| Madhur Jaffrey | ... | Begum Sahiba |
| Barry Foster | ... | Chris |
| Aparna Sen | ... | Ghazala |
| Zohra Sehgal | ... | Mastani (as Zohra Segal) |
| Saeed Jaffrey | ... | Murad |
| Nana Palsikar | ... | The Guru's Guru |
| Nadira | ... | Courtesan |
| Leela Naidu | ... | Girl at the Party |
| Usha Katrah | ... | Lady Reporter |
| Fred Ohringer | ... | Howard |
| Nargis Cowalsji | ... | Society Hostess |
| Marcus Murch | ... | Snide Guest |
| Dorothy Strelsin | ... | Tourist |
 | Ismail Merchant | ... | Master Of Ceremonies |
| Rafi Ameer | ... | Arnold D'Mello |
| Soni Aurora | ... | Miss Teen Beaty Queen Uttar Pradesh |
| Agarwal | ... | Doctor (as Shri Agarwal) |
| Pinchoo Kapoor | ... | Murderer |
| Prayag Raj | ... | Classical Singer |
| rest of cast listed alphabetically: | |||
| Dina Pathak | ... | Jury member at U.P. Beauty Contest |
Directed by | |||
| James Ivory | |||
Writing credits | ||
| Ruth Prawer Jhabvala | (story written for the screen by) (as R. Prawer Jhabvala) and | |
| James Ivory | (story written for the screen by) | |
Produced by | |||
| Ismail Merchant | .... | producer | |
| Muriel Peters | .... | associate producer (as Muriel Neff) | |
| Peter Reilly | .... | associate producer | |
Original Music by | |||
| Ustad Vilayat Khan | |||
Cinematography by | |||
| Subrata Mitra | (director of photography) | ||
Film Editing by | |||
| Prabhakar Supare | |||
Production Design by | |||
| Bansi Chandragupta | |||
Makeup Department | |||
| Toni Delaney | .... | makeup artist | |
| Nath Grover | .... | makeup artist | |
Production Management | |||
| Riaz Hafizka | .... | production manager | |
Second Unit Director or Assistant Director | |||
| Shama Habibullah | .... | assistant director | |
| Wasi Khan | .... | assistant director | |
| Prayag Raj | .... | second unit director (as Prayag Raaj) | |
| Mohammed Shafi | .... | assistant director (as Mohamed Shafi) | |
Art Department | |||
| Didi Contractor | .... | assistant art director | |
| Narender Kocher | .... | props | |
Sound Department | |||
| Brian Blamey | .... | assistant sound editor | |
| Don Ranasinghe | .... | sound editor | |
| Gordon K. McCallum | .... | sound mixer (uncredited) | |
| Otto Snel | .... | sound re-recording mixer (uncredited) | |
Camera and Electrical Department | |||
| M.B. Ansari | .... | chief electrician | |
| Fatik Mazumdar | .... | assistant camera | |
| Prajanan Mitra | .... | assistant camera | |
| Douglas Webb | .... | still photographer | |
Costume and Wardrobe Department | |||
| Gordon Deighton | .... | Michael York's costumes | |
| Narender Kocher | .... | wardrobe | |
| Joanna Tyson | .... | Rita Tushingham's costumes | |
Editorial Department | |||
| Chris Crane | .... | assistant editor | |
| Humphrey Dixon | .... | assistant editor | |
| Shri Ghate | .... | assistant editor | |
| K.L. Naik | .... | assistant editor | |
Music Department | |||
| V. Balsara | .... | conductor | |
| Ustad Fayez Ahmed Khan | .... | playback singer | |
| Ustad Imrat Khan | .... | musician: surbahar and sitar | |
| Ustad Shakoor Khan | .... | musician: sarangi | |
| Ustad Vilayat Khan | .... | musician: sitar | |
| Ustad Zinda Hasan Khan | .... | playback singer | |
| Pandit Shanta Prasad | .... | musician: tabla | |
Other crew | |||
| Rashid Abbasi | .... | location manager | |
| Giancarlo Pettini | .... | production controller | |
| Lily Poyser | .... | unit publicist (as Lili Poyser) | |
Production Companies
- Twentieth Century Fox (presents)
- Arcadia Films
- Merchant Ivory Productions (as Merchant Ivory Production)
- Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation (1969) (USA) (theatrical)
- 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment (2010) (USA) (video) (Video on Demand)
- Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) (1973) (USA) (TV)
- Malabar, Bombay Leela Naidu's costume
Additional Details
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Runtime:
112 min
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Did You Know?
Movie Connections:
Featured in The Wandering Company (1984) (TV)See more »
Soundtrack:
Tom's Boat SongSee more »
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Utpal Dutt is very good as a master sitar player in India who doesn't seem to get much respect or adoration from his own people, but soon finds himself saddled with two British students: a wide-eyed, worshipful young girl interested in musical and spiritual enlightenment, and a carefree pop superstar who doesn't care if he gets enlightened or not. Lots of incredible sitar playing (notice how many different pronunciations of 'sitar' there are!) and mod '60's fashions, but a meandering story that makes all its points within the first half-hour. Dutt is both compelled and repulsed by the pop star's decadent world, and their like-hate relationship becomes a spiritual tug of wills. Michael York, sporting a thick crop of cinnamon-colored hair and talking with a Limey accent, plays the visiting celebrity with a snide kind of casual indifference, which is perfectly right for the character, but it does nothing for the audience and he elicits little interest; Rita Tushingham (reunited with York from 1967's "Smashing Time") overworks her perky nature and large, round eyes, yet her character hasn't been given many dimensions beyond what we are made to quickly sense (that her aimlessness led her to India and what she really needs is a man in her bed). As directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant--who would become long-time partners and filmmakers--"The Guru" isn't bad; the locations are great and there are intermittent bits of satire that are certainly fashionable (for 1969, especially), yet ultimately there is too much ambiance and not enough plot. ** from ****