Satyagraha

The politics of the politicians on which the country runs is the crux of the movie. Mix it with the regulars corruption, employment, poverty etc and add to it a tinge of uprising, peaceful revolt and end it with violence, sabotage,guilt. Look around happens everyday, if just the soul of the movie is seen it hits the mark, but coz its prakash jha, it goes a little overboard. The movie sets a sad tone, a hard look at the facts of society today. Amitabh Bachchan: His presence is enough. Brilliant. Ajay Devgn: from a himmatwala to a satayagraha the man is the most versatile actor Hindi cinema has seen in recent times. Excellent. Kareena, Arjun Rampal, Amrita Rao and Manoj Bajpayee all of them tgthr bind the movie really well, all in important but not lengthy roles. Overall not for those who are into senseless nonsense Bollywood doles out neither for the serious ones, it is for those who enjoy a good movie and know it is a movie! Can be definitely seen once. Special Mention to Prasoon Joshi for the brilliant lyrics of "Raghupati Raghav"

Bravo for choosing such type of subject, which is very related to now a days social problems. Director Mr.Prakash Jha is known for it. Concept is good. Screenplay is written very conveniently rather that showing some mind game. Almost every incident is common. Problems are taken and shown in general way. Somehow, it reflects a naive approach because all this incidents are very common as an audience due to media coverage of lots of Satyagrahas. Surprisingly sad track is very weak. You won't feel that much of pain, which will be being shown on screen. Same fate for love scenes. A person is emotionally complaining to you for your carelessness then rather showing concern you just made a lip lock and finishes the conversation!!!? Even, it was first time your love shown towards that person. First lip lock shouldn't be so accidental and impulsive. Metaphor of that wine bottle is also not very emotional. Two persons are angrily arguing across the railway track and trains are being passed between!!! It is too much. Performance wise Mr. Amitabh Bachchan is amazing. Ajay Devgan is superb. Manoj Bajpeyi is outstanding. Kareena Kapoor Khan is very good. Amrita Rao is OK. Music doesn't support the film well. In this type of film, music has to pace up the mood but all tracks are just so so.

The theme mirrors the current political state in India. But the plot has been seen in many Bollywood political thrillers were everything is predictable. Satyagaraha is no different.

Talking about the revolution by the people of a district against the corrupt government, Prakash Jha has tried to do what he does best: RESEARCH & SHOW! The first half is brutally original & I appreciate that. But come second half, and your enthusiasm will see a drastic decline due to the usual, "borrowed" elements from his previous films and/or other potboilers. Yes, it does tell a tale worth watching with average dialogs, simple setup, but the punch-power withdraws as the 150- minute screenplay advances to ultimate predictability.

Cast performance is very good & I don't need to mention who did well. Of course, the antagonists. Now, come on! But the protagonists have done well, too. Score is below average, editing is fine & the whole setup - gives a natural appeal. Mostly, towards the end it again takes an authentic turn when they show how the repercussions of a people's revolution can turn out to be. Laudable!

And, there was no need for that item song and romance! But, welcome to Bollywood!

BOTTOM LINE: Fresh writing garnished by stale ingredients, that is what Satyagraha is. It manages to convey a message, but we all know, reality can never be manipulative as fiction. 6.0 out of 10! Youth can go have a look!

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

Profanity/Nudity/Sex: No | Mouth-Kiss: very Mild | Violence/Gore: Critical | Smoking/Alcohol/Drugs: No

Director (Prakash Jha) seems to be confusingly treading the path between fiction and non-fiction but achieves neither.

Nevertheless , those who want a 2 hour interpretation of Anna's movement and had not followed it , may find it useful , treating the movie as non-fiction Historic Drama .

Out of all the characters, Manoj Bajpai's (Balram Singh) is the best executed. Kareena's character (Yasmin Ahmed) is frivolous. A more in-depth analysis was expected for Amitabh's (Anna) and Ajay's (Arvind) character.

The script needed to convey more than what met the eye through traditional media but it is just a 2 hours summary of TV reporting of last 2-3 years. In comparison, Madras Cafe, brings out a lot more than what was in Public domain earlier .

The script also lacks a proper climax and logical end .

But in spite of short comings , I would still rate it high as Movie does convey a message convincingly and logically and does have a Moral of the Story. It holds a mirror to the Voters of India , many of whom are still not convinced that corruption is a major issue in the country.

This time I would like to keep my review short. "Satyagraha" as the name depicts Insistence on the truth and non violence against corruption and current Indian political system. It is said as a work of fiction but even a small kid can say the story is closely resembles Anna's (played by Big B) movement and his deputy Arvind Kejriwal (played by Ajay Devagan). The movie definitely dwells bollywood-ism at times like item song at start and an irrelevant romantic song. But we can watch it for the solid performances of Big B and Manoj Bajpai. Definitely not hard hitting as Madras cafe but has got some good message about public awakening.

-Reviewed by Sivakumar Balachandran

(bsiva84@gmail.com)