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Abhishek Bachchan shared a fun story from the making of Guru (2007) during a Mani Ratnam retrospective, recalling how Aishwarya Rai stitched a fat suit for him on set.
Guru released in 2007.
Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan have appeared in several films together, but there is something particularly captivating about their roles in Mani Ratnam’s movies. The director has an exceptional way of drawing out the best in both actors, and their chemistry is at its peak under his guidance, as showcased in Guru (2007) and Raavan (2010).
Recently, Abhishek shared a fun story from the making of Guru, where he and Aishwarya — who was his girlfriend at the time — were taken by surprise when Mani Ratnam spontaneously decided to film a song. This unexpected change led to Aishwarya stitching a fat suit for Abhishek on set.
Speaking at a session during G5A Cinema House’s Mani Ratnam retrospective, Abhishek recalled, “We were staying in a guest house and it was a day off. Mani came and said, ‘Brinda (choreographer Brinda Gopal) is there, go rehearse, we’re doing a song.’ I said, ‘We’re not supposed to be doing a song; we’re shooting Gurukant Desai’s younger portions.’ When I went down, Brinda master was standing there, totally flummoxed. That’s when I realised Mani had thrown one of his googlies.”
Abhishek shared that the song, “Ek Lo Ek Muft,” composed by AR Rahman and sung by Bappi Lahiri, had only arrived earlier that morning. However, it was just a rough version—basically a skeletal “click track” for shooting, without the full music. Abishek recalled, “He had previously given me two months to gain weight. That night, I still remember, Ameira (costume designer Ameira Punvani) and Aishwarya made a fat suit for me by stitching kambals (blankets) together. Then they took some shady grey stuff and put it on my hair. He (Mani) was like, ‘shave your head’. I said, ‘But, we are still shooting the younger portions.’ Amid all this, I was performing to a click track.”
Guru (2007), directed by Mani Ratnam, follows Gurukant Desai’s rise from a small-town dreamer to a successful industrialist. Starring Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai, the film earned praise for its performances, AR Rahman’s music, and its inspiring story.
