Sarfarosh

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 The print n the movie is indeed a bit outdated but now my kids r aware why their dad is a big fan of Aamir).

The back of the DVD case claims that Sarfarosh is the first Hindi movie to take a look at some of the real reasons behind terrorism and insurgency in India. This seems like a fairly radical claim that I doubt they could really defend even though my knowledge of Hindi cinema is still far from complete. DIL SE seemed like a pretty honest examination of the subject to me, and that was several years earlier. I don't want to hold the claims on the DVD case against the movie though, as SARFAROSH is certainly an interesting take on the subject.

Ajay Singh's brother is killed and his father brain damaged by terrorists when Ajay is a small boy, because his father was going to stand up against them in court or something. Ajay takes this to heart (as you would), and as a young adult he devotes himself to becoming a police inspector and fighting against crime, and terrorists in particular. The movie is essentially about one case, where Ajay has to get to the roots of an operation smuggling guns into the country. The operation is backed by a Pakistani general, with the rationale that arming criminals in India is a cheap but effective way of waging war. The movie does push a fairly unbalanced "Pakistan aggressors, India = victims" message, though it is very careful/keen not to equate this with Muslim vs Hindu and turn it into a religious issue.

The movie is fairly serious throughout - although there is a romantic interest (the lovely Sonali Bendre), it's not overplayed and does serve a useful function by building the character of Ajay and putting the case in the context of his life. For the most part though, the movie is focussed on the investigation and the encounters between the police and the criminals as they trace the criminal network closer to its roots. It's quite an action packed movie, and features some of the best action scenes I've seen in an Indian movie. No bullet ballet or kung fu, but quite realistic fights and shootouts that are never-the-less very well choreographed and filmed. The movie bears an 18 rating, because the action does get quite violent. A lot of people die in the course of the movie, and a few of them in quite gruesome ways. One thing I've noticed in quite a lot of Asian movies is that police violence is treated quite sympathetically - even as quite noble. The cops in Sarfarosh don't mess around - if threatening, beating or framing a criminal is the best way to get a result then they don't hesitate to do so. If a criminal happens to get killed in the course of an operation then they don't seem terribly upset either, unless it was somebody they wanted to interrogate .

Ajay Singh is played by Aamir Khan, an actor I haven't come across before. He's not a pretty boy by any means, but he does a very good job with the character. It's a good character too - well developed and believable, honorable without being sanctimonius. The rest of the cast all do a good job too, although Sonali Bendre doesn't have a lot to do except look pretty and dance around in the musical numbers.

The script for the movie is very tight, with both the criminals and the cops operations and motivations seeming quite convincing. The movie does veer a little towards preaching in places, especially towards the end, but this is forgivable. The direction is very confident and focussed, and sound and cinematography throughout are good throughout.

All round, a good movie worth seeking out.

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.

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.

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.