Movie Title: “SARKAR”
RATING: (OUT OF )
Review by Ranju Anthony
India, 2005
Running Length: 124 Mins
Censor Board Certification: A
Language: Hindi
Genre: Dramatic Thriller
(Wide Release)
Director: Ram Gopal Varma
Producer: K. Sera Sera/RGV
Screenplay: Manish Gupta
Cinematography: Amit Roy
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Kay Kay Menon, Rukhsar, Katrina Kaif, Tanisha, Supriya Pathak, Ravi Kale, Zakhir Hussain, Jeeva, Nisha Kothari, Veerendra Saxena and Anupan Kher (Sp. App.)
Music: Bapi-Tutul
Next to ‘The Rising-Mangal Pandey’, ‘Sarkar’ may be the most hyped motion picture of Indian summers. Ram Gopal Varma’s production and distribution company has been shouting from rooftops, using large, flashy print ads, apart from cluttered TV and theatrical spots throughout the country to lure prospective audience.
This isn’t a typical gangster flick. It asks the compelling question of whether it’s possible to effectively manage politics (& people) without descending to the level of the criminal. Can an idealist be a warrior and a protector at the same time or rather, on the battleground, what’s the difference between good and evil? The movie never answers any of the above posers unequivocally however, what it shows is a fine balance of authority, sagacity and emotional constancy maintained in achieving the aforesaid rationale by the protagonist or ‘Sarkar’. Sounds preachy! Well it’s a rarity these days for a motion picture to tout itself as a contemporary action thriller and implicitly package itself as a social commentary. Yes! Ram Gopal Varma has done it again. He has been able to project a definite niche product in a riveting and intense manner to satiate viewers who are surely tired of the long litany of dumb motion pictures marching through multiplexes with just the right amount of exploit elements like excellent close angle shots and stunts to quench the thirst of the moviegoers who enjoy that genre.
The premise is as intriguing as it is timely apart from its ‘real life’ happenstance. Subhash Nagre (Amitabh Bachchan) is the sole influence of the self designated judiciary that reels through the powerful political circle as well as the unfathomable Mumbai underworld. The film opens with a heart-wrenching account of a rape committed on a hapless citizen’s (Virendra Saxena) daughter narrated by the victims father himself. One further watch ‘Sarkar’ instructing his loyal protégé (Ravi Kale) to settle things with the accused and the associate executing his orders in broad daylight in the entrance of a hotel. Subhash’s family includes an anomalous son Vishnu (Kay Kay) who doubles up as a movie producer apart from being an negligent husband to has a soft spot for the film’s lead actress (Nisha Kothari) who apparently is more comfortable with the hero of the subject project. In the meanwhile, Sarkar’s younger son Shankar (Abhishek Bachchan) also returns from US subsequent to his studies accompanied by his new found love (Katrina Kaif) who after watching chary faces at the airports goes on an investigative mode regarding Shankar’s father. Propelled by Sarkar’s rivals on Nisha Kothari’s alleged link up with the movie’s leading man Vishnu in a fit of rage kills the hero of the project. Sarkar confronts his son for his behavior and the rift till now implicit emerges on the forefront. In the meanwhile Sarkar finds himself cornered after being singled out for the main reason behind the assassination of Khurana (Anupam Kher) his chief opponent. After his arrest it is left for Vishnu to track down his father’s opponents and knock them down in a phased manner.
Highlight of the movie is the altercation between Sarkar and Rashid (Zakhir Hussain), when Rashid requests for a smooth transit of his smuggled items through Sarkar’s territory; to which Sarkar steadfastly refuses. It’s a visceral, unsettling scene and you’d have to be more than an impenetrable not to figure out that it’s a metaphor. ‘Sarkar’ as a motion picture demands constant vigilance by audiences and even a brief bathroom break (not that you can manage one due to paucity of songs), especially if taken at an inappropriate time, might leave the viewer groping.
Amitabh Bachchan has never been presented in such a way and it is easy to single him out as the most important facet of his movie. However, one has to be hoodwinked to ignore Abhishek matching his father dramatics head to head. Kay Kay Menon also weaves his magic through a modulated well crafted effort that is bound to place him in the big league. Surprise-Surprise, Katrina takes the cake as far as the female characters are concerned. Her voice may have been dubbed but she pitches in a carefully undemonstrative performance and with a beautiful face like hers she’ll sure make a name for herself in the near future. Zakhir Hussain who plays the character ‘Rashid’ also comes across as a pleasant actor. This seems to be the biggest platform for this character actor till date.
Special mention ought to be made for the spellbound cinematography, which is sure to garner a couple of awards in any major film festivals in the pipeline. By employing different filters and techniques, Ram Gopal Varma and Amit Roy gives each situation a different zest to the level that you may actually label the director to use such visual flourishes to lubricate an ego trip but admittedly, the whole exercise has a relevance to each scene.
The only raucous point in the whole venture is its background music which is occasionally decent but irksome most of the time. What necessitated the director to put in the ‘Govinda’ rhyme in most important sequences still puzzles me. Maybe it could have made an impact in one scene but the repeated onslaught almost made me look for an aspirin during the show. Maybe his original choice Sandeep Chowta would have made some difference, but apart from this small blooper the movie is a rocker.