With the year's first major release days away from hitting theatres, who better to talk about Mani Ratnam's Guru than the film's titular leading man, Abhishek Bachchan himself?

Without further adieu, here's the hero's take:

Guru releases on Jan. 12th. Here Amitabh Bachchan talks about the film and about Abhishek. Read on...

You finally saw Guru yesterday. Your comments?

Yes, I saw Guru last night and I’ve asked to see it again today and I shall want to see it a 100 times over. It is Mani’s best. And I speak as a viewer, not as a father. I have held myself back on many an occasion from commenting on my son’s work, but this time I shall not. To hell with niceties and restraint. Abhishek is incredible! I have been choked with emotion ever since I have emerged from the theatre and still am.

The cinematographer of Bombay, Rajiv Menon has collaborated with Mani Ratnam after a decade. The maker of Sapnay tells Pratim D. Gupta why Mani comes second only to Ray...

So how did Guru happen, more than a decade after you shot Bombay for Mani Ratnam?

Mani and I were doing a stage show on 50 years of Tamil cinema. We were working with a lot of old pictures and footage and it was then that we decided to do a period film together. That eventually became Guru.

The first big release for 2007 comes in the form of 'Guru' and all eyes are set on the film to see if it turns out to be a worthy follow-up to many a superhit films that 2006 has given to audience.

Mani Ratnam may not have tasted success at Hindi movies box office but while 'Dil Se' is now almost considered as a classic with re-runs on satellite medium and 'Yuva' being a case study for cinema students, the tables have turned around for the director! This proves that his films were probably way ahead of their times but boasted of high quality nevertheless.

On Monday night, Abhishek Bachchan’s parents, Amitabh and Jaya met Aishwarya Rai’s parents, Vrinda and Krishnaraj. No, this was not to formalise any kind of wedding plans.

The families came together at Yashraj Studios to watch a special screening of ‘Guru’, which has AB’s baby and Ash playing the leads. By the end of the movie screening, Amitabh was so moved by his son’s performance that he had tears in his eyes.

For the first time in the history of Bollywood, stars will be greeted with a red carpet from the airport to the venue of a premiere.

Toronto mayor David Miller has personally invited Abhishek Bachchan and the entire cast of Mani Ratnam's Guru for the world premiere of the film in Canada on January 11 at the prestigious Elgin & Winter Garden Theatre Centre in Toronto. Miller will be present at the airport to greet the Indian celebrities.

Canada's most populous city is bonkers for Bollywood this week as stars from India's hugely popular film industry are set to arrive for the landmark world premiere of "Guru."

It's rare for such events to take place outside of India, and the premiere has many in the city's South Asian community buzzing with anticipation. Some fans have dished out hundreds of dollars for a ticket to Thursday's red-carpet gala screening.