Sarfarosh

Sarfarosh is a movie very few people can dislike.

Movie is neither intense one nor over exerting.It is a movie tightly followed to a very good script.

Story of the movie is fast paced,engaging like Sidney Sheldon's novels, has depth and all characters looks very natural and evolved.

Although movie is over 3 hrs long but time just flies by.Topics like terrorism,crime , patriotism are dealt with a great aplomb.How arms are smuggled through border and reaches naxalites or bandits,how the police functions,movie makers had clear idea of.

It is one good performance of Mukesh rishi as saleem,Aamir khan as ACP and even other small characters like Aamir's department's colleague,family members, everybody has done excellent job.

None of the scenes in film looks forcefully inserted and movie progresses to a very concluding climax with every scene.

A great movie from debutant director John Mathew Mathhan.

this is a real gem of a movie...it's right there among the top 5 of my favorite Hindi movies. the movie hooks you right away and the plot never slackens throughout...coupled with realistic treatment, it makes the movie an instant favorite. also the subject is very different - the proxy war waged by Pakistan's ISI. refreshingly and reassuringly, there are no corrupt cops in the movie! Aamir Khan as ACP Rathore is superb. he brings alive a cop's passion and determination to cleanse the system of criminals. the action sequences are played out very realistically. Mukesh Rishi as ACP's right hand man is just brilliant! This actor usually plays only "black" characters - this surely added to the impact of his performance (for me, at least). There are some truly heart-warming scenes of Rathore with his family. Sonali Bendre as Rathore's love interest provided some (much-needed) light moments. And, finally, Naseeruddin Shah as ghazal singer-cum-terrorist played his part with understated villainy. i love such villains - they seem so real! the climax is truly innovative - it invariably brings a smile to your face. It's difficult to spot a flaw in the movie. and considering that it's the director's debut film, you have to doff your hat to him.

One of the best things about this movie is that it shows the hero taking the right path to revenge. He becomes an IPS Officer and concentrates on eradicating crime. This is in contrast with the regular Bollywood hero, who takes the shorter and easier path justified with tit-for-tat logic to kill a particular villain in the story. Thus, this movie rises above the parochial view of solving problems through one particular revenge. Otherwise also, of late Bollywood heroes are never shown as studious ones because it is only the poor students that most people like to relate to and studious people or anyone can laugh on them as well.

I first saw this in the summer of 1999 in a theatre.

Revisited it recently on a tv channel n felt like writing a review now so that I can remember the sweet summer of 1999.

Bollywood to me started with Sarfarosh.

Before watching Sarfarosh, me n my pals were wannabe "cool fellas" always preferring Hollywood movies.

Always preferring Sterling, New Excelsior n Regal theaters in Mumbai for Hollywood movies.

But Sarfarosh changed everything.

I will never forget the summer of 1999 n i still remember i was wearing a white shirt n camel color cargo pants due to the heat.

Me n my fiancé entered Gaiety theatre in Bandra, midway n that too without realising which movie was playing.

That particular time a beer bar dance sequence from Sarfarosh was going on.

My fiance's reaction was a big wtf n i was kinda embarassed thinking which z grade film did we enter.

We decided at least we wait till one hour for the air conditioning but then we were captivated with the movie.

Once the end credits rolled, we both looked at each other and started discussing the movie and how we regretted missing the beginning part.

During those days vhs rental was cheap (10 rupees) n it used to b available the very same day of its theatrical release.

I saw it again in the summer of 1999 on a vhs to catch up the beginning and loved the movie.

The editing of the movie is brilliant. Aamir's acting is top notch. Mukesh Rishi n Naseer Shah deserved accolades.

Sonali Bendre was a perfect package of cute n sexy in this movie.

The movie dealt with so many relevant issues plaguing my beloved country and the way the director handled everything is top notch.

Sadly the director John Matthew never got his dues. I don't kno why he didn't do more movies aft this.

This movie broke all the norms of a typical Bollywood trash which were produced dime a dozen those days n surprisingly Bollywood trash is still produced these days.

(Inserted this bracketed line aft revisiting it again in 2022 but this time with my teenaged kids. The print n the movie is indeed a bit outdated but now my kids r aware why their dad is a big fan of Aamir).

John Matthan directs a fantastic film in his directorial debut. With so many characters popping in one after the other it would have been very difficult to maintain the flow of the film which John Matthan has done very successfuly. Aamir Khan as usual has given an excellent performance as A.C.P Rathore who is set to end the flow of Arms and ammunition from Pakistan to India. Aamir, the dedicated actor that he is, had studied all about the police force, the IPS people, talked with many police officers and stayed with some of them to study the role of ACP rathore.Nasserudin Shah has only 6 to 7 scenes but he dominates the movie. He has the role which was similarly played by Jack Nicholson in 'A Few Good Men'. Sonali Bendre is wasted in what turns out to be a fine performance by her. The surprise factor of the film is the acting of Mukesh Rishi which has got lots of critical acclaim from the critics and the general audience. Do not be surprised if he wins all the awards for "The Best Supporting Actor". Although the film is very predictible,the climax is the best part of the scene. This is the one of the best climax ever used in an hindi movie. Its hard to believe that this is John's directorial/writing debut.