Sarfarosh

Who said Indians cannot make action movies. "Sarfarosh" can be compared to any of the leading hollywood actioners. Aamir Khan is too tough to look sweet in this movie. His commitment to perfection can be seen in the way he carried the movie on his shoulders. The director John too did a great job. Though I feel Naseerudin Shah's role could have got more meat as his potential wasn't tapped complete. Music too is very good. Sonali should start looking serious than trying to look cute, as she is no longer a new comer. A solid movie with sharp dialogues and a crisp script.

The movie haunts you long after watching it also. John Mathew Matthan did a fair job for a débutant. The story of a sincere police officer in Mumbai crime branch is just a front end for many other stories like love, friendship, patriotism, religion and bigotry etc.

Aamir Khan made excellent cop in Mumbai police. But, the character of Inspector Salim is the most impressive in the movie.

A must watch for all those movie buffs as this has been a very genuine effort to show what is happening across the Indo-Pak border. What made this film a different experience is the genuinity in the script.

A must watch for every one out there. This will not disappoint you in any way. 9/10 from me.

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.

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).

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.