SATYAGRAHA 3 stars
Satyagraha is a an altruistic political movie which traces the take on corruption through Amitabh Bachchan (Dwarka Anand, a Gandhian school teacher), Ajay Devgn (Manav Raghvendra, an ambitious, wily, businessman-turned Satyagrahi), Kareena Kappoor (Yasmin Ahmed, a journalist-turned Satyagrahi) and Arjun Rampal (Arjun, a student leader), with Manoj Bajpayi as Balram Singh, who is a growling, scheming and leery politician. Satyagraha rehashes facts & fiction to forge a well-intentioned movie. Dwarka Anand, Daduji to his followers, after the demise of his son in a mishap, slaps the district collector for not performing his job honestly, gets expeditiously thrown behind bars and sparks an aggravation that sends the politicians and policemen of Ambikapur gushing for cover. The ageing teacher’s fast-unto-death, undertaken on a raised platform and under a shamiana in the Ram Leela Maidan, is a laboured plot twist that becomes a verdant pretext for another round to expatiate.
Prakash Jha has executed quiter scenes and the scenes of large groups of people gearing up for the Satyagraha movement, with aplomb. These scenes stand out in the movie but are few and far between. Dialogues are thought-provoking and frenetic all through. Prakash Jha is a master of this genre. Speaking ONLY about his direction. to be honest, is impeccant.
Sustaining a politically virtuous stance, Prakash Jha has done a commendable job but for most part the script is fractured, frustrating and sinuous. Angry slogans rent the air and Facebook updates and tweets flash across the screen as a device meant to point out the disgruntlement of the people. The characters are without any real conviction. The romantic track between Ajay and Kareena is unexpected & unnecessary. The movie ends up with a messy hotch potch of too many issues and the ultimate moments look hurried and abrupt as well, which mar the overall endeavour of the flick, except the message mouthed by Ajay Devgn, which is OF the youth BY the youth and FOR the youth. The message mirrors today's scenario.
The movie's saving soul is Amitabh Bachchan. He is PHENOMENAL, no two doubts in that and the way he switches gears for this simplistic role, is evidently a compliment to his acting. Right from his dialogue delivery to the idealistic character he impersonates, is unmatchable and could well be termed as one of his finest performance in recent times. He voices the movie's philosophy - "Janta sarkaar ki maalik hai. Maalik nirdesh deta hai, Maang nahi karta." Watch out for him while touching the earth where his son died. Ajay Devgn underplays his part with aplomb and compliments Amitabh in each and every scene with great precision. He is fiery and on the same time, he is helpless, which shows he is a complete pro in taking care of the smallest of nuances, with his sincere & honest performance. Kareena Kapoor is effective in a not so challenging role of a journalist. Arjun Rampal & Amrita Rao are competent. They are overshadowed by the screen timing of other characters. Manoj Bajpai has mastered the villainous role after regularly playing under Jha. Indraneil Sengupta leaves a mark in a cameo. Mugdha Godse is wasted. Vipin Sharma is very good. Manoj Kolhatkar, Shireesh Sharma, Ajay Trehan and Girish Sahdev are effectual as well.
On the whole, Satyagraha is a weightless movie. The film lacks the much needed fizz, with an unconvincing climax, wasting the enigma of such talented bunch of actors. I am going with an extra star for the superstar of the Millenium. It is *not* terrible but is bearable for a one time watch only.
Satyagraha is a an altruistic political movie which traces the take on corruption through Amitabh Bachchan (Dwarka Anand, a Gandhian school teacher), Ajay Devgn (Manav Raghvendra, an ambitious, wily, businessman-turned Satyagrahi), Kareena Kappoor (Yasmin Ahmed, a journalist-turned Satyagrahi) and Arjun Rampal (Arjun, a student leader), with Manoj Bajpayi as Balram Singh, who is a growling, scheming and leery politician. Satyagraha rehashes facts & fiction to forge a well-intentioned movie. Dwarka Anand, Daduji to his followers, after the demise of his son in a mishap, slaps the district collector for not performing his job honestly, gets expeditiously thrown behind bars and sparks an aggravation that sends the politicians and policemen of Ambikapur gushing for cover. The ageing teacher’s fast-unto-death, undertaken on a raised platform and under a shamiana in the Ram Leela Maidan, is a laboured plot twist that becomes a verdant pretext for another round to expatiate.
Prakash Jha has executed quiter scenes and the scenes of large groups of people gearing up for the Satyagraha movement, with aplomb. These scenes stand out in the movie but are few and far between. Dialogues are thought-provoking and frenetic all through. Prakash Jha is a master of this genre. Speaking ONLY about his direction. to be honest, is impeccant.
Sustaining a politically virtuous stance, Prakash Jha has done a commendable job but for most part the script is fractured, frustrating and sinuous. Angry slogans rent the air and Facebook updates and tweets flash across the screen as a device meant to point out the disgruntlement of the people. The characters are without any real conviction. The romantic track between Ajay and Kareena is unexpected & unnecessary. The movie ends up with a messy hotch potch of too many issues and the ultimate moments look hurried and abrupt as well, which mar the overall endeavour of the flick, except the message mouthed by Ajay Devgn, which is OF the youth BY the youth and FOR the youth. The message mirrors today's scenario.
The movie's saving soul is Amitabh Bachchan. He is PHENOMENAL, no two doubts in that and the way he switches gears for this simplistic role, is evidently a compliment to his acting. Right from his dialogue delivery to the idealistic character he impersonates, is unmatchable and could well be termed as one of his finest performance in recent times. He voices the movie's philosophy - "Janta sarkaar ki maalik hai. Maalik nirdesh deta hai, Maang nahi karta." Watch out for him while touching the earth where his son died. Ajay Devgn underplays his part with aplomb and compliments Amitabh in each and every scene with great precision. He is fiery and on the same time, he is helpless, which shows he is a complete pro in taking care of the smallest of nuances, with his sincere & honest performance. Kareena Kapoor is effective in a not so challenging role of a journalist. Arjun Rampal & Amrita Rao are competent. They are overshadowed by the screen timing of other characters. Manoj Bajpai has mastered the villainous role after regularly playing under Jha. Indraneil Sengupta leaves a mark in a cameo. Mugdha Godse is wasted. Vipin Sharma is very good. Manoj Kolhatkar, Shireesh Sharma, Ajay Trehan and Girish Sahdev are effectual as well.
On the whole, Satyagraha is a weightless movie. The film lacks the much needed fizz, with an unconvincing climax, wasting the enigma of such talented bunch of actors. I am going with an extra star for the superstar of the Millenium. It is *not* terrible but is bearable for a one time watch only.
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