Sarkar

The movie is as well made as any of the better Ram Gopal Verma movies. The man knows the language of Cinema well and his technique flows very smoothly, but what takes this movie upwards and above RGV's other movies are the stellar performances.

The movie follows the story of the family of Sarkar, a powerful 'Bhai' of Mumbai who runs his own law. He executes justice for the down-trodden in the way he deems right, even if it may be (as it invariably is) outside the law. His seat of power, the opposition to it, and it's eventual inheritance is what the movie deals with.

AB Sr. does his most balanced portrayal since Aks. His 'Sarkar' comes across as a person aware of the power he controls, rather than one basking in it. And it is this underplayed demeanor that covers the Superstar we otherwise tend to see over the character he plays.

AB Jr. plays 'Sarkar Jr' in the movie and he pulls off the double-whammy of proving to be a worthy son/successor of 'Sarkar Sr.' & AB Sr. - I say that coz the dad took a lot more years & movies to prove himself as good as what AB Jr has already proved himself to be.

Most of the other characters are played by non-names, or small-names but each of them paints their characters with a reality portrayal - these people ARE the characters they play. I have come to realize that one of the trademarks of a RGV movie is to use actors that have rarely been seen in roles otherwise, leading the viewer into the character without any set expectations/typecasts.

But put all of that aside - and watch Kaykay. He plays the elder son of Sarkar, and does he play it. The director knows that this man can shout out words from his eyes what actors fail to do with their mouths, and uses it to full advantage, much to the delight of cinephiles. There are three distinct shots where the camera focuses on Kaykay's face, and one shows only his eyes. What we see in them is as clear as this text you are reading. The fact that this man does so few movies and so far apart makes his performance much more valued, coz one tends to forget how good an actor he is. Never is his name mentioned among the better actors of India, and would it be even now? I would rate this above Company. The reason? Company was a movie about selective performance - Ajay & Vivek doing it then. But Manisha, being the wonderful actor she is, was nothing more than a distraction. And was Ajay Devgan ever able to shed his *star* from his role? No. As real as the movie's story was, the picturization made it quite 'filmy'.

The only other movie close to Sarkar in the RGV element is Satya - more so coz of the grittiness and lack of deliberate stylization. It stays in the real world creasing out any clichés that would give it a fictionalized feel.

Sarkar is the movie that would be played in the tributes of everyone associated with it, especially Ram Gopal Verma, Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishekh Bachchan and Kaykay (if he ever has one).

My Rating --> 4.5/5

Ram Gopal Verma has not intended to actually remake "The Godfather". Its his tribute to the original great story & subsequent adaptation for Indian audiences. Hence, if one thinks that Sarkar is an Indian remake of Coppola's "The Godfather" he might get disappointed as for fact even the director has not intended to revive the original Master piece.

"Sarkar" is an Acting galore. After Agneepath, we see the best performance of Amitabh Bachchan of his career. Here is an absolutely unique genre of Acting skill depicted by Amitabh Bachchan, playing Subhash Nagare (Sarkar) illustrating all emotions through his Eyes. With very less dialogs spoken, Amitabh Bachchan proficiently establishes a massive screen presence captivating the audience throughout the movie.

Its finally proved that, its only Amitabh Bachchan who can reach or excel the act of Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone from the original.

Sarkar begins with a common man visiting Subhash Nagare seeking justice for his rape-victim daughter. The first 30 minutes is an explosive drama. The meeting with Rashid & Sarkar is riveting. The villains in the movie are like any other Hindi movie Villains and are shown larger than life which possibly was a setback unexpected from R.G.Verma Film.

The strength of the movie drama again slightly suppresses by pale acting from Kay-Kay, who plays Sarkar's elder son. Abhishek as Sarkar's younger son is shown as obedient & modest as Al Pacino in The Godfather.

The Script is then changed from the Original, and in a better fashion to suit Indian cinema. The Elder son joins the Baddies & Sarkar is caught in a conspiracy of killing a honest politician. Sarkar is arrested and an attempt to murder Sarkar in Jail is planned by the baddies just when the younger son saves his father. The gradual transformation of Abhisekh's humble human person to the tough-guy is splendid.

The major drawback of the film includes the lack of display of the Operations & Business Conducts carried out by Sarkar. We don't come to know primarily what are their various source of income. What governs the strength of "Sarkar" ? What are the mutual benefits deriving from relationships of the Politicians with Sarkar ? In R.G.Verma's Satya & Company, they perfectly dispayed the operations which the gangs conduct, their source of income & various businesses they do.

Finally the film is a journey revived through "Agneepath" where we relish the powerful performance of Superstar Amitabh Bachchan.

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.

Ram Gopal Verma's Sarkar is the best movie I have seen ever. Being the Indian version of The Godfather, it has the perspective of an Indian man who comes out of the system to fight the evils in the society.

Comparisons made by the media between the title character Subhash Nagre and a well known politician in Mumbai fall short for the viewer who would liked to have seen the film for knowing the politician. There are similarities - it is not the same.

Also, this film is not the straight translation of the epic Godfather although one might see certain similarities. This film is an original by itself. One must stop comparing and enjoy the film. One is sure to enjoy it then.

Look out for amazing performances by Amitabh and Abhishek Bachhan, Kay Kay Menon, Supriya Pathak and also a small appearance by Anupam Kher.

Hollywood guys can forward this movie to Mr.Francis Ford Cuppola and say this is the best version of his "godfather" (regionally) ever made on the face of this planet....movie rests on three pillars screenplay ,narrative technique and acting.... as usual Amitabh Bacchan delivers with venom...Abishek shines through...but the special mention should be given to Kay Kay for his role of elder son "vishnu" ....Kay Kay s eyes were intruding as were his fine acting skills.. there are some spoilers though..but the three pillars cover them up equally.... Kota srinivas Rao as "madrasi"...saying "mera style south,operation north" was to the bones

worth watching ...RGV stamped movie..signature .....