Sarkar Raj (2008)

Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Excellent but underrated film

Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

The movie was loud the theater's woofers got busted. needless to say it was lousy. Mr. abhishek Bachchan AND HIS WIFE(OFF SCREEN) ensured that. Frankly i am not a fan of those movies which try to throw light on the other side of the underworld. the underworld is a dirty place- that's it. Amitabh's acting was good. he infused the much needed interest in the film. Apart from from his commendable effort i found everybody either shouting their heads off or remaining irritatingly dumb.I especially loved the director's ingenuity in unceremoniously removing poor tanisha from the movie to replace her with miss(oops) mrs clueless. the last seen was the cherry on the cake - A damsel who has nothing to do with the family (at least on screen) sits there with impunity and orders about their servants to bring her a cup of tea. well if i would have been given such an order i would have retorted by saying -take a hike missy,this is sarkar raj not bachchan raj. silly?? yes that's what the movie was.

Sarkar was a brilliant tribute from RGV to the Godfather. So is its sequel Sarkar Raj. It's just the presence of both the real life Father Son duo's awesome screen presence that makes it very much watch worthy. And yes Ash Rai Bachan comes out with a note worthy performance.The villains pitted against the Sarkar need to be more realistic and challenging. They seem strong, brainy but simply perish to the Sarkar. The plot isn't great but you'll be assured of surprises. The cinematography is simply revolutionary. The mood and tone of this film is simply visible in every shot incidentally a little overdone.The father-son contrasting style of ideals comes into forte. The Older Sarkar(Big B) is on post retirement and the new one(Bachan Jr.) handles it all with expertise. Enters Ash with a project beneficial to Maharashtra and what follows is the plot.I am eagerly awaiting another better written RGV Sarkar sequel.

The Bachchans: The new first family of Bollywood.Dad Amitabh was the undisputed superstar in the 70's and 80's;the most prolific actor in his second innings in the new millennium doing as many as 10 movies a year.Son Abhishek after giving 13 duds has given successful movies like GURU and the DHOOM series.He has not given a hit in quite some time and hence needs a relaunch.Daughter-in-law Aishwarya was an international beauty queen and a few makeovers later is one of the highest paid actress around.She has sent the glamor quotient of the family soaring upwards.Poor mom Jaya Bachchan cant keep up and is rarely seen in the public with the family instead spends time hobnobbing with the likes of Amar Singh.The Bachchans have recently come under attack for not contributing to the progress of Maharashtra.The Nagres:The first family in the power politics of Maharashtra.Father Subhash is the original man of Honor,dispensing justice and running the state through the chief Minister.Son Shankar is the heir managing most of the family's mysterious business.In the words of Abhishek Bachchan,"He is a futuristic man in the sense he thinks about the future."He is already more successful his Dad,or so his Dad claims.Both Dad and son have committed themselves to the progress of the Maharashtra.Mom Nagre stays in background making tea and "puris" for the freak characters that come to the house.Enter Anita,an international entrepreneur,who wants to step out of her father's shadow with a power plant project(an obvious metaphor for the power struggles in the plot.) In Sarkar Raj,the ironies and the parallels just don't stop coming. The director: Ram Gopal Verma. Once known as a maverick director, he has reduced himself to his own parody.His legacy of movies like Satya,Rangeela,Company and Bhoot was destroyed by Shiva and "RGV Ki Aag."After Sarkar Raj he is finished.One suggests a five year holiday when RGV can still afford it.The movie:Entirely shot in minimal colors with the camera at the RGV angles which can be:a) extreme close-ups of characters or b)the camera below glass tops,chairs,beds, giving the effect of a sting operation.All of which is supposed to hide the fact that the entire plot comprises solely of set-piece situations.First half-The father-son conflict.Dad Amitabh is against the power plant being made on land taken from the poor villagers.Son is all for taking hard decisions for development.Dad reposes his faith in son finally.Son goes about the easy job of convincing people to give up their lands.Then the bad guys blow up the car in which the pregnant wife Tanissha(yes, we were tortured with her close-ups as well) was traveling,which paves the way for Nagre junior to take revenge and find love in Anita.At which point in second half Nagre junior is bumped off as well,in turn clearing the way for Nagre Sr to take revenge and explain away all the consistencies in the plot with some Tarkash-Ke-Teer,Shatranj-Ki-Bisaat type of dialogs.Every twist in the plot in the movie is predictable.One knows that man-Friday will turn up to be the mole and Gandhian mentor the mastermind of the carnage.There are only two good moments in the movie. First when Abhishek remorse for killing Bhaiyya in the previous edition and last when he stands up to a mob which calls his father a thief.Any review of Sarkar Raj will be incomplete without the mention of the three typical Ramu type villains.Sayaji Shinde(Bachu Yadav of Shool) plays a crooked politician who screams and jumps without any provocation.Giving him company is Govind Namdeo playing a power broker who spews euphemisms by the dozen and when asked to explain just says "Aise hi Kah Diya".Sample these:-Govind Namdeo:-"Shaadi Se Pehle Hi Pataakhe Mat Chodiye"Aishwarya:-"Kya Matlab?"Govind Namdeo:-"Aise Hi Kah Diya"Govind Namdeo:-"Yeh foreign companies Keel Ki Tarah Hoti Hain"Abhishek:-"Kahna Kya Chahte ho?"Govind:-"Aise Hi Kah Diya"And my favoriteGovind:-"Bina Ande Ke Omlette Nahi Banta"Sayaji:-"Matlab Shankar Anda,Mumbai omelet?"Govind;-"Aur hum Masala."But the freakiest bad guy is a Gujrati business called Vohra who keeps singing 70's hits under his breath all the time in the movie.The funniest scene in the movie is in which Vohra sings "Gapucchi Gapucchi gum gum" while threatening to bump off Abhishek. A future project that brings together the Bachchans should be a Hindi remake of the run-away Bhojpuri hit "Sasura Bada Paisewala"

Yes, I know that this movie was not based on the Godfather (how I wish it were). But clearly, there were bits and pieces (as well as the overall story) that showed the link.My main gripe with this movie is this: when Ram Gopal Varma adapted it, he forgot to also take a hint and keep the movie subtle. I've not watched Hindi movies for a while (which I think gives me perspective), and I thought this movie was worse than the blockbuster superhero-type crap that Hollywood makes (spiderman, iron man, etc.).First off, does every dialogue have to have some music to emphasize it? I can understand Hindi just fine, thank you. I do not need some loud eerie music after every sentence the Sarkar utters. This is almost like writing a 1000 page essay where every word was in caps, bold, or underlined.Second, they just *have* to make each villain have his "own" trait. Vora with his nonsensical humming, the other dude with his stupid metaphors, the killer with his permanently-on gloves (in 30 degree weather, I bet). Perhaps they hope to start a new meme (in real life). In any case, I found it childish.***spoilers in the following two paras***Third, Bachchan's long-winded explanations near the end: where did they get all that? Out of Ram Gopal Varma's ass? There was *nothing* in the movie to indicate that the plot could involve some of Sarkar's friends (except the car explosion, but we already knew that the Kanga guy was bad). Presumably Vora confessed when he was being questioned, but then do we need Sarkar explaining everything to Aish with the smirk of a genius who has figured everything out? Absolutely appalling.Fourth, what's with Aish taking over the empire? She was the business partner who had a crush (just a crush) on Shankar, and when he's shot, she cries like he was her lord and master. And what's that with the corny last dialogue? Suddenly she transforms from a whiny girl to a cold mafia boss? Ram Gopal Varma seems to have missed the fact that the best parts of the Godfather movies were the transitions themselves, like Michael from being just the youngest kid to being the Don. These are the things that should be shown, not cast away with lame one-liners.***end spoilers*** Perhaps Ram Gopal Varma believes this is what the Indian public likes. I guess there's plenty of evidence to support this, considering this movie is "better" than a majority of Bollywood movies. But this movie should not be judged comparison to those (e.g., because it has no songs and such). In the end, it's just like the rest of them: a bunch of crap that's spoonfed Bachchan style. I pity the state of Bollywood cinema.5 stars out of 10 is generous.