’’Like many other directors, I too have been inspired by the Godfather...Sarkar is my tribute to it’’..... This is a frank confession By Ram Gopal Verma(RGV) right at the onset of his latest venture ’’Sarkar’’.
Expectations are always high from an RGV film...although his last directorial venture ’’Naach’’ didnt impress me at all.
So what about Sarkar?
We are introduced to Subash ’’ Sarkar’’ Nagre(The Big B) whose word is considered as law in Mumbai..he is running a sort of parallel government...Although he & his hencemen commit acts that are outside the law, he justifies them saying that its all in the interest of the people.
His refusal to indulge in illegal activities for personal gain infuriates an underworld guy Rashid (Zakhir Hussain), who conspires with Nagre’s rivals & tries to finish him off..
Sarkar has 2 sons...The ruthless & violent elder son Vishnu (KK menon) & the ’’America educated’’ younger son Shankar (Abhishek Bachchan)...Vishnu’s crude & violent ways are despised by Sarkar & it culminates with Vishnu being thrown out of the house when he murders an innocent man.Not surprisingly, Vishnu joins hands with his dad’s rivals...
Those rivals..Rashid, Vishram Bhagat ( a corrupt politician) , Selvar Mani & Swami decide to take advantage of a political rivalry between Nagre & Khurana ( Anupam Kher) & falsely implicate Nagre in a murder case..
From then on, the story takes a different turn with Shankar rising out of the shadows to protect his once all powerful father, who is now ditched by all his so called ’’Friends’’...The ending though is wholly predicatable.
technical details:Direction by Ram Gopal Verma is first rate... the pace of the film is quite lively & keeps the viewer engrossed most of the time...There are no songs at all...but the background score is superb & fits well with the story.
Performances:
its the performances by the cast that elevate Sarkar to another level..
The Big B is superb...i dont think anyone else could have essayed this role quite so effectively...
Abhishek Bachchan’s improvement & his journey as an actor is there for everyone to see....He is delivers a fantastic performance in Sarkar!!
KK Menon fits the role of the menacing Vishnu perfectly...
Katrina Kaif (Pooja, Shankar’s love interest in the film) looks gorgeous...thats about all i’ll say.....Tanisha (as the homely Avanti) delivers a sincere performance..
Kota (as Selvar Mani, the Tamil don) is thoroughly entertaining...Zakhir Hussain (rashid) delivers a fine understated performance....No over the top acting from him or the other villians...
the other cast members..Supriya pathak ( as Subhash Nagre’s wife) & Ravi kale ( as his main henchman) as excellent as well!
One may have expected a few hard hitting dialogues in a film like this..thats one aspect which dissapoints
All in all, Sarkar is definitely worth a watch....