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.

Toronto officials and Bollywood film buffs are anticipating a massive turnout Thursday, when the city will host the landmark premiere of Indian epic Guru.

Mani Ratnam's highly anticipated film will make its debut at Toronto's historic Elgin Theatre. City officials expect 10,000 fans to show up to see the film's co-stars — and rumoured couple — Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai walk the red carpet.

He is a filmmaker who doesn't need an introduction. In his office three days before the release of his new film Guru, Mani Ratnam appeared quite relaxed.

And he spoke extensively on inspiration, song picturisation, films he liked and, of course, Guru. It's been a while since Mani gave an exhaustive interview, and here are some excerpts from his conversation with Shobha Warrier:

Mani Ratnam talks about Guru, Mallika Sherawat, and clears the air about his alleged problem with Shah Rukh Khan...

As the release of Guru nears, what are your thoughts on it as far as your growth as a filmmaker is concerned?

There is a sense of relief. You have done your film as well as you can. Now, you just let it go. I think I will worry about how I have grown over the years after retirement. Not now.

He has an enviable track record of hit films down south. But in Mumbai, Dil Se and Yuva didn’t exactly set the box-office jingling, despite their high quality. He’s hoping to get third time lucky with Guru, featuring Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai.

"I don’t fear the Public, I am the Public…" This is one of the catch-lines hogging attention in the newspaper advertisements of Mani Ratnam’s ‘Guru’. The main catchline – Villager, Visionary, Winner - continues to be the mainstay. This has to be said that in its final stage of Herculean publicity, ‘Guru’ is definitely evoking curiosity that goes beyond mere entertainment.

After Akshaye Khanna and Rahul Bose, it's Bollywood's rising star Abhishek Bachchan's turn to lavish praises on Mallika Sherawat, who makes a special appearance in his upcoming film Guru.

"Mallika is fantastic. She is a fabulous co-star. We shot the song Mayaa Mayya in an abandoned church in Istanbul. She danced bare feet, practiced 8-10 hours every day but not once did she complain. She was always smiling and pleasant," he said.