Abhishek Bachchan recently shared an amusing anecdote about working on Mani Ratnam’s 2007 film Guru, which also starred Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Speaking at the G5A Cinema House’s Mani Ratnam retrospective, the actor recalled how Aishwarya had to get creative and stitch a makeshift fat suit for him at the last minute after an unexpected decision by the director.
Bachchan explained that they were staying in a guest house during the shoot when Ratnam surprised him with a “googly.” The filmmaker asked him to rehearse with choreographer Brinda Gopal, despite the plan being to shoot the younger version of his character, Gurukant Desai. Upon arriving at the rehearsal, Bachchan realised they were preparing to film the song Ek Lo Ek Muft, composed by AR Rahman and sung by Bappi Lahiri. However, the track was still in its rough “click track” stage without the full music.
The challenge? Ratnam had given Bachchan two months to gain weight for the older version of his character, but the schedule suddenly changed. That night, Aishwarya Rai and costume designer Ameira Punvani stitched a fat suit for him using kambals (blankets). “Then they took some shady grey stuff and put it on my hair. Mani was like, ‘Shave your head,’ and I said, ‘But we are still shooting the younger portions!’” Bachchan recounted, laughing.
Despite the chaos, the team managed to prepare for the sequence. By the time they were ready to film Aishwarya’s dance performance, Rahman had sent the final version of the track. “Then she started dancing, and I was standing there thinking, ‘What is happening?!’” Bachchan recalled.
Shooting the sequence was no easy feat. The actor described the harsh conditions, revealing that he wore the fat suit in sweltering 60-degree Celsius heat while filming in stone caves. “It was summer, and in that song, you can actually see the rubber from some of the dancers’ shoes melting onto the stones,” he shared.
The story highlights not just the challenges of filmmaking but also the camaraderie on set, with Aishwarya stepping in to help her future husband deliver a memorable performance in one of Mani Ratnam’s iconic films.