The song-and-dance numbers shouldn't be a problem either, he said, noting that Oscar-winning musical "Chicago" "had no problem breaking into the West".

"Guru" is based on Dhirubhai Ambani, who is India's best-known rags-to-riches billionaire and founder of the $9 billion-worth Reliance Group, though the filmmaker vehemently denies that it is a biopic.

"Guru" is about a young village lad (essayed beautifully by Abhishek) who reaches the pinnacle of the corporate world.

It paints a picture of a headstrong man succeeding in pre-liberalised India when even getting a telephone connection required a series of government clearances. At some levels it is an uplifting film but when the protagonist shrugs off accusations of immorality and manipulation it exposes the underbelly of the corporate world.

Performance wise this is Abhishek's best work ever, better than the class act in Mani's previous film "Yuva". All of Ratnam's actors like to go an extra mile for him and in "Guru" it is no different. Abhishek has put on weight to look the part of older Guru.

The film is musically, technically and visually a treat but the narration sags at places.

Even if "Guru" is not the Holy Grail Indian cinema has been looking for, Ratnam surely has it in him to make India's first true global hit, film critics say.

Through Tamil and Hindi films like "Nayakan", "Roja", "Bombay", "Iruvar", "Alai Payuthey", "Dil Se" and "Yuva", he has revolutionised filmmaking in India.

Acclaimed for his individual style, social awareness and original treatment of themes -- from the explosive "Bombay", "Dalapati" to the tender "Alai Pyudhey", he is credited for bringing Western sophistication and tempo to deal with essentially Indian themes. He is one of the few mainstream filmmakers to have centrestaged the child in "Anjali" and "Kannathil Mutthamittal".