Satta

Chandani bar made people curious about director Madhur Bhandarkar's work and now Satta cofirms his ability to create a classic movie. Satta is a very realistic depiction of Indian politics (which is very dirty and corrupt - everyone knows.) It also gives message about how the same screwed-up democratic system can be as well utilized to benefit people. Raveena is at her best. And about Atul Kulkarni I dont find words to praise. He has proved yet again to be a very talented actor - on the same lines of Manoj Vajpeyi (or maybe more than him). A neat story, dialogues, acting and the trademark 'Madhur' direction make this a very impactful and memorable flick.

Raveena Tandon, whom, I consider as one of the few real actress of the Hindi Screen. She has vesatality and range in her acting that sets her apart from the flock. So far, she has been known for "Golimaring with Govinda" as in "Akiyose Golimare", where she has displayed her dancing skills. But, you have only seen one end of the talent, when, she is teamed up with an actor the caliber of Govinda (a rotund thespian, who appeals to type of crowd-with their favorite hero on the horseback appearing from nowhere to rescue the heroine from the clutches of a villain, used to be played by characters like Pran, with coiffured toupees and bulging eyes OR the hero finds out that his car brakes are not working going downhill after rescuing the heroine. The ratio of Villains to Hero in Hindi films used to be 2:1 but I'm not sure this ratio has changed lately!) Here, we see the real potential of an actress, when she is taken out of the typical song&dance routine. Along with Atul Kulkarni, who portrays a conniving politician to the brim. she portrays how an innocent Anuradha becomes Anu, a feisty woman politician in a male dominated field who is a ready target of an exploiting politicians. This is one great direction from Madhur Bhandarkar, one of the Top Ten directors in Indian Cinema. This is one heck of a movie that I had the pleasure of watching.

"Satta" can be watched from two different perspectives. On one side, the film advocates the woman empowerment through the story of Raveena Tandon, a newly wedded bride to a rich political family, where the stand of a woman is not more than that of a house-wife. She refuses to be intimidated by anyone and raises voice against his abusive husband and in-laws. The other and the major part of the film deals with the dirty politics, where the politicians are indulged in every ugly crime like smuggling, murders, and corruption. The film portrays how politicians befit and betray anyone for the sake of power.

Madhur Bhandarkar, known for making movies on relevant subjects, chooses the dirty politics this time. It views politics as a dirty game to secure power and position on which few politicians fulfill their personal ambitions. Well, the film starts with a common canvass and shows all the familiar glitches; but still the film remains pretty interesting to its tight screenplay. The role of Raveena Tandon is the major strength of this film for which the film remains watchable and adds a dimension to a familiar subject. Not to a surprise, this film remains the best one yet to be delivered by Raveena Tandon. Regarding the subject or script, the film is not weaker to Bhandarkar's other movies. But the presentation and other technical aspects like music, score, pictuarisation, characters are a bit weak comparing to Bhandarkar's later movies like "Corporate," "Traffic Signal" or "Fashion." Its pretty low production values and rugged look of Raveena Tandon may keep the viewers aside from this movies for a while; but overall, the film if you watch will hold you due to the subject it chooses which is still remains a common scenario. Just one last point to mention is its muddled end which goes for an incompleteness and glibness.

Resting: 2 stars out of 4

The main protagonists (Ms Raveena and Mr Atul) have played their characters in the best possible way. Story written and represented in a very realistic and without any masaala. Thanks to everyone for wonderful movie

I started watching Traffic Signal and had my doubts, so I switched over to this film, which is by the same director and said to be better. The reason I've only given it a 5 is that the camera work, look and feel were very often just like a soap opera. And the acting was very often soap opera style, too.