Sarkar is a very good crime film, and its value is quite notable particularly in comparison to the majority of Hindi films made around those years, which were not as good in technical quality as this one is. The film's production values, including the cinematography, the editing, the camera work, and particularly the action, which thankfully avoids the ridiculous, exaggerated and noisy style employed in other action films, are all impressive and make it feel a cut above the usual fare. The same could go for the dialogue and nicely dark the narrative style, which is not melodramatic as could be expected from a Hindi film of that time.
Indeed, all these elements make Sarkar an enjoyably slick and realistic film. Not much should be said about the story, it is pretty much a respectful, careful adaptation of The Godfather, which is done pretty well although clearly those who would be tempted to compare between the two would have a hard time appreciating this film. Mind you, these two films share just core plot elements, but the film has a script of its own. Sadly, perhaps in an attempt to not be overly pretentious, Sarkar is not fully realised. While it does deliver the goods most of the time, it is at times too contrived for its own good and sometimes loses some of its focus.
The film stars the real-life father and son Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan as the underworld don and his unassuming son to a good effect. The senior Bachchan is excellent as the authoritative, tough mafia don with a heart of gold. The junior is highly competent in a restrained performance with a nice twist played convincingly. Actually, the entire cast is very good although the show belongs to the two players. Even the minor characters are played as real people and do very well. Sarkar is an entertaining and consistently gripping film by Ram Gopal Varma, one of mainstream Hindi cinema's most interesting and experimental directors.
