Before I start off with the story I would like to say something - Ram Gopal Verma has turned me into a fan. After seeing Mr. Bachchan sell Rin, I kind of forgot the way he was during his Trishul and Kaala Pathar days. Well, let’s just say that these movies were the preview one needed, to finally see him in and as Sarkar. He had to say dozens of dialogues in his earlier days to reach this level of saying everything without uttering a word. His sideway glances, his style of picking up his tea and drinking from the dish while pondering life altering decisions, and when his one nod conveys the entire message to his lackeys; that’s the kind of art that only experience can do. But when you see that experience being used to sell Navratna oil, you tend to become disillusioned.
Now that my eulogy over Mr. Bachchan is over, I’ll get on with the story. He plays the role of Sarkar, a politician cum social worker. The difference being that he uses all kinds of illegal means for all the just causes. Abhishek and Kay Kay play his two sons, one of them being the proverbial bad penny. There are other characters too- Supriya ‘Hansa’ Pathak, Katrina Kaif, Tanisha, Rukhsana, etc. all in some small roles and not significant enough to talk about in detail (although, I must say that Katrina’s first movie nervousness was nowhere in sight). Vested interests lead to Sarkar going to the jail and then eventually to the hospital. And that is where Abhishek’s story starts.
Abhishek gets to play his ‘I idolize my father’ part on screen (which I am sure wasn’t that difficult to play). He has good screen presence, and the few dialogues that he speaks give more of an impact because of really eloquent body language. The other side characters in the movie that are good are the South Indian guy and the taklu who is Sarkar’s right hand man (where does Ram Gopal Verma find people like these??). Technically, the movie is far more detailed than other average fare, especially, those scenes where cameras travel between chairs and tiny crevices to fill up Mr. Bachchan in every scene. Also, the background score is phenomenal with the Govinda track still running in your head long after the movie is over.
If you liked Satya and Company, then Sarkar is a must watch.