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Review - Sarkar Raj: not bad, not bad at all...
Quick Review
![[Poster for Sarkar Raj]](http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2749/4116451809_f2aec5d7f6_m.jpg)
Unfortunately, that also means its not all good either. Anyways, compliments first for making some brave scripting decisions, which is important for a power-of-politics based movie. Though it is common sense that the story should be the focal point of the movie, yet such movies are few and far between. So, they need to be applauded when they come along. But, alas this one too ultimately fails in taking the audience into the thick of the action. Various tactical twists in the story, especially towards the climax are just to be accepted because "Sarkar" says so.
A riveted Amitabh Bachchan fan might not even mind doing so, especially because the fan is presented with such an intense performance in the long monologues. There's nothing specifically wrong with the lines, they are crisp, and are occasionally garnished with a tangy sense of humor. But, is it fair to make the movie about one actor when the jockeying for power by various characters is so interesting? Without taking away anything from the legendary actor's entire range of expressions, I really would have liked to see the other characters' motivations instead of just a verdict passed by the central character.
Also, this central character is not really consistent. His motivations and the way he gets influenced/convinced by his dominant son are rather unconvincing. And if you look at Sarkar's character change over the two movies it is really unbelievable. A man who was so sensitive to a stranger's daughter's rape a movie ago is so practical about death and betrayal. He suffers physical trauma but is willing to treat the death as collateral damage?!
Likewise, Shankar, Sarkar's arrogant, disrespectful son (Abhishek Bachchan), doesn't feel fully developed. His quiet demeanor goes with the sudden bursts of anger. But, somehow the father-son relationship seems very forced and contrived. The emotional bond is fuzzy and hence has to be taken only on face value. Due to this one-dimensional portrayal Abhishek is required to hold just this one expression on his face throughout, with minimal variation.
Anita (Aishwarya Rai) too has a very skimpily etched out character. Her interactions with Shankar seem extremely superfluous. I think both Aishwarya and the way her part is written are to blame for it. However, it is amazing how deglamorized she looks.
And I am not sure where the thin line between identifying characteristics of side characters and making them look like caricatures dissolves. The supporting cast doesn’t do much in terms of evoking fear or hatred.
So, my resolution to ignore or rather to make peace with the expected, overactive camerawork and ear-splitting, background score worked. Once I decided not to give these things the satisfaction of a reaction, the going got a little easier on the delicate grayness in the head. An occasional *cringe* was unavoidable. I'm human after all.
The thing is, the director is in love with the music and camera decisions and is in fact very proud of them. Now, once you know that, the only thing you can do is register your protest - "me no likes this deafening-is-such-a-mild-word music and sway-here-there-and-everywhere camera movements."
I must admit, though, that I didn't mind the relatively limited use of close-ups too much this time around. Part of the credit would go to the performances and a lot of it to the way the faces were lit. The natural source of light is consistently kept in mind and I loved the fact that the colors used were in tune with the general serious and intense tone of the movie.
So, very low expectations set by previous experiences might have contributed towards me liking this one. But, yet there are huge chunks of the movie, especially towards the end, where I would have liked more people acting out the story instead of just one person sitting me down and reading it to me. Oh well, worse have been made and yet it's not an entirely dissatisfying experience.
- meetu, a part of the audience
Parental Guidance:
- Violence: There are few scenes of people dying of gunshots or stabbing. Nothing very visually displeasing.
- Sexual content: Nil
- Concept: The movie is entirely based on politics and business. In general I think kids will get bored, if they are not of an age to follow the story.
- General Look and Feel: Sarkar Raj is a rather dark movie. It is almost all shot in dim light with a brownish tinge to give it the grim and intense look. There is not much in terms of bright colors and peppy music.
Sarkar Raj - Movie Details
- Producer: Ram Gopal Varma, Praveen Nischol
- Director: Ram Gopal Varma
- Lead Cast: Aishwarya Rai, Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan
- Story: Prashant Pandey
- Dir. of Photography: Amit Roy
- Editor: Amit Parmar, Nipun Ashok Gupta
- Background Score: Amar Mohile
- Action Choreography: Allan Ameen
- Music Director: Bappi, Tutul
- Running time: 125 minutes
- Reviewer: meetu
- Categories: Hindi Movies
- Genres: Politics
Comments (31)
RGV has a blog
And yes, I am as excited to see more of the same.
PS:No preview for comments. :(
posted 2 years, 3 months agoeven i am looking forward to the movie.. because the Sarkar was one the best performances by Abhishek Bachchan. KK Menon was totally brilliant in the movie and i think his brief was to be like Sunny, the character in Godfather. I thing that i would miss is KK Menon in Sarkar Raaj!!
posted 2 years, 3 months ago@Shashi thanks for the link. and thanks for the feedback that you'd like preview of comments. I'll get that on as soon as i can.
@Moksh infact in RGV's blog, he mentions that he was not satisfied with the way Sunny was portrayed in the movie in comparison with Sunny's character in the book. So, he tried making Vishnu's character as close to the book Sunny. I haven't read the book, so don't know. But, interesting take, I thought.
posted 2 years, 3 months agoWell, Sarkar Raj has opened to very good reviews by the critics. I am sure you are going to love this sequel of Sarkar!
posted 2 years, 2 months agoheyy...how u digest all those bolliwood Cliché movies...
posted 2 years, 2 months agobut like ur other blog
[...] Rotten Tomatoes Recent CommentsSarkar Raj [...]
posted 2 years, 2 months agothis review SUCKS bigtime. throw the writer out.
posted 2 years, 2 months agoi very much agree with the review(written above) .i feel ramu has particular style of direction,he do lots of experiment with camera..loud music,and close-ups are his trade-marks....
it seems 100% bolly flick but takes turn around [comment edited because it included major spoiler which goes against the spirit of this site] ..and i congo RAMU ..for taking brave decision ..because its smthng different than that of bolly tradition..
i was very very impressed with the end..and twist in the tale..and for me it took movie to the different level..
i would have loved to see this movie with less DHISHUM-DHISHUM (where shankar gives his solo-fighting performance),less gooooudy charactrz (D SHOOTER with woolen golvz was worst ),better dialogues..("plant ko paise nahi ...and all)..sarkar-1 had better dialogue...& [comment edited because it included major spoiler which goes against the spirit of this site] they could have given THAT charactr lil more expozr at the end ..
posted 2 years, 2 months ago&&&& [comment edited because it included major spoiler which goes against the spirit of this site]
I love this site and the reviews not because it gives reviews(many do), but it does so WITHOUT GIVING IT AWAY...
posted 2 years, 2 months agoMr.Omkar Wagh, thats the point. You just revealed the plot. I've lost interest.
So from this the website has to learn of EDITING,BLOCKING AND SUSPENDING COMMENTS.
the whole point of the review is gone
[comment edited because it included major spoiler which goes against the spirit of this site] ...git!
For some reason, the trailers of the film failed to interest me so I gave it a miss. I watched Aamir instead and I hope you plan to review it.
posted 2 years, 2 months ago@omkar wagh, hey! Thanks for stopping by and taking the trouble of jotting your thoughts down. But please, please refrain from giving away vital plot points. It is truly against the spirit of this site.
@XCCCX and all others who read the comment and the spoiler, I sincerely apologize. I was away and thus, couldn't check the comments on time.
@Raj, I just watched Aamir, review will be up soon.
posted 2 years, 2 months agoYeah, it wasn't bad after all Ravinder!
noni, I really don't know...I just love watching movies, I guess...
Thanks for stopping by guys!!
posted 2 years, 2 months agoA strictly ok and a boring film, which might seem to be great after seeing Aag, but is definitely made as an Ultimate Cure for Insomniacs. The loo-oong speeches made by AB in the climax (??) made my school principal's speeches look like a work of art.
Good in parts, with a really good twist towards the end, but it's a perfect example of another good story botched by RGV.
Am waiting for ur take on Aamir :-)
posted 2 years, 2 months agoReallly boring movie... people dont even talk nomrally in this movie..they just lecture you, and say silly lines like "u cant make an omlet without crackign an egg" What is tat supposed to mean??
And as for this being Ash's best role, she doesn't even have a decent one, the only good thing is she doesn't talk much, so she's never annoying..
Watch it only if you're looking for ways to dole out your money
posted 2 years, 2 months agoMINDBLOWING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is the only word that comes to mind!!!
No matter what media says - in print or on tv, no matter what kind of reviews are written - in dailies, on the net or even in mags, no matter what kind of ‘people’s responses’ are shown on tv….. the movie is a hard-hitting slap on the face of people making ‘tamasha’ in the name of movies, on people seeing ‘nautanki’ in the name of films, on ‘reviewers’ writing craps in the disguise of writing reviews!
Fow quite some time now, I am seeing a totally partisan & biased approach against the Bachchans by those attached to media/news/papers/mags…. They think that they can impose their menial views on the broad mind of the public in general…. NO, FOOLS! YOU CANNOT!!! You cannot take one bit from the Bachchans! They are a breed totally different!
These reviewers/analysts/reporters can have the power of their medium with them, they can mis-use this platform to impose their two-bit minds on the general public, but they will NOT succeed!
Each of the three Bachchans, along with a host of other actors, have given a real stellar performance in SARKAR RAJ!
Hats off to all of you, guys!
This movie is what I call a movie with “substance”! It is not something with some oft-repeated naach-gana & some cheap nautanki…..
I think its high time Indian audience started appreciating CLASS and started rejecting CRASS…..
posted 2 years, 2 months agowell...you have given 2.5 out of 5 for the story. If this is the standard then story doesn't exist in Bollywood!
posted 2 years, 2 months agoin fact it was one of the most well told stories in Hindi cinema.
And the twists have to be accepted because there is no way of "verifying" the twists of a fictional plot. That's part of a story and there is no point of questioning that.
a saaaad movie. yeah, the direction is the filmmaker's style, but those unnatural angles and shaking-camera were overdone. Not a v. good storyline either, especially since you end up expecting a lot more after Sarkar part 1.
posted 2 years, 2 months agoHey mitu, ramu mentioned ur blog on his blog site.. here is the link..
http://rgvarma.spaces.live.com/blog/cns!5187B91811914FB4!546.entry
he is definitely not very happy :)
posted 2 years, 2 months agoPeople who love the triangel love story & fans of hrithik roshan! PLEASE DONT WATCH THIS MOVIE!! Sarkar Raj is for people with good taste! A great movie with a great cast & cant get better!
posted 2 years, 2 months agoIf you love triangel love story & hrithik roshan. Please dont watch Sarkar Raj & come back to write a stupid review about.
Sarkar Raj is a wonderful movie & its hard to find movies like this in Bollywood! A strong base story & a excellent cast! Must watch for people with good taste!
And who ever owns this web site, I think you need to fire you current writer & hire a good one!!
Thanks!
posted 2 years, 2 months agoOne more thing.. for people who talks about the bad noise in the background, get a good audio system plz!! And for people who think this movie is boreing, I KNOW YOU LOVVVEE "KAHO NA PYAR HA"!!!
posted 2 years, 2 months ago@all, lovely mixed reactions, thank you for stopping by and dropping in your comments.
@Mayur, wow!! You do read my reviews carefully. I follow both RGV's and AB's blogs regularly and both have the same post by RGV in which they have referred to my review, but unfortunately the URL is wrong :( I am surprised you caught that it was from wogma. I have requested them to change the URL, lets see...maybe they/their team doesn't have the time to attend to it.
Well, yeah, RGV is not very happy, but 2/5 of the comments, he misunderstood. The rest also I have tried to give my point of view in comments on both sites.
of course jitaditya, a fictional story can have verifiable twists built within the premises of the story itself. And many good writers leave hints for the readers/viewers to pick up the trail, if they are alert enough. Its called foreshadowing. The things that make the reader/viewer go, "oh, this is how it is in the end, that is why they showed that half an hour/50 pages into the movie/book.
@Shashi - To each his own...you, the people who love Kaho na pyar hai and me - there is enough room for us all and our opinions.
posted 2 years, 2 months agoAfter reading RGV's blog first thing that comes to one's mind is that he needs to learn to accept criticism, the latest fad is to use blogs as a platform for personal vendetta :)
Films are a public medium, once a movie is out, anyone has the right to talk about it. The B family and RGV have completely forgotten that movies are supposedly for the public n not for the elite celebrity director gang
posted 2 years, 2 months agohey!!
posted 2 years, 2 months agoi really like ur website and most of the reviews..But Sarkar Raj really dint deserve even the slightest of accolades. To think this is the same guy who gave us gems like Company and Satya in terms of characterizations makes me realy sad.
The entire story is jus so implausible, it makes one laugh!!! how can one eliminate political biggies and still not be brought under the scanner of anything???? the whole movies pointless. And Ramu seems to believe that the offscreen realationship between the centra characters will make us believe their on screen one too without investing the least bit of energy into their scenes together. Abhishek totally misunderstands the meaning of reserved and aloof and adopts 1 expression scowl for the entire length of the movie..so much so that even his portrait has him scowling!!!ans pray what is Aishwarya doing insode their house all the time..and the endin..my god!!!man the flaws are jus too many!!!! i love RAmu's earlier work but he really seems to have lost it...
And why doesnt he bring back sandeep chowta..or for that matter anyone but Amar mohile??
sarkar raj is watchable again and again,it is a memorable movie.no one can act like amitabh ,he is the king of acting in world.only those people criticise sarkar raj because they are paid money to criticise the movie.there is no single point in the movie to give abad review.all criticism for the movie must be rejected by the audience.
posted 2 years, 2 months agoi think the website who are giving bad reviews,they should apologige to people of country.it is very sad to read these reviews,why a memarable movie like SARKAR RAJ is having enemies.because persons,giving bad reviews ,are only and only paid money todo this
posted 2 years, 2 months ago[...] "...A treat for Bachchan fans and an intense story for the non-believers" [...]
posted 2 years, 2 months ago[comment deleted due to use of abusive language]
posted 2 years, 2 months agothis movie sucks. 'escapist filmmaking' .
i'm sure u thought the movie sucked too but are somehow apprehensive in critisizing it, dont know why
dont a question, just an observation
posted 2 years, 2 months agoOne of the best movies I have seen so far and believe me GodFather II comes a distant second compared. All you guys who havent liked the movie havent basiacally understood real politics and the politics in running a business. Amitabh's character is at its best believing in his son's thoughts but still doubting every word said and his intuition in understanding things wrong at every angle. The facial expressions are dynamite and RGV makes a mockery of The GodFather with this super hit combo of great story,direction,dialogues,acting and camera work.
posted 1 year, 11 months agoI just watched the movie yesterday on DVD. I thought it was quite boring initially, but loved the second part of the movie. The plot was really good and I guess it truly reflects how politics is really played out.
RGV's direction was quite good. I really liked the way he's shot it. It's more of a Director's movie than an actor's.
posted 1 year, 8 months agoLeave a new comment