Irrational Hype

I vowed that I wouldn't pay to go see Sarkaar. Well!! I stuck to it and more. I got paid to watch it - perks of being a film columnist or should I say compensation to put up with drivel. For my faithful readers, here's a little perk. You get to read my review of Sarkaar before it hits the newstands in a couple of weeks.
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Hopeless romantics, glued like Siamese twins tumbling down on sloping grassy mounds akin road rollers, loose ends of saris and double-conditioned wavy hair left to dance with the winds, an army of sidekicks with perfectly synchronized gyrations – all that’s passé in Bollywood’s latest mobster flick Sarkaar. It seems like quite a renaissance for mob and mafia themes, what with Sarkaar closely following on the heels of D. Incidentally, both are from the same production house. All that passé is replaced by raw sepia-toned imagery of chaotic life on the streets of Mumbai, designer beards and slim cut shirts, cell phones and automatic pistols, long pauses and monosyllabic punch lines.

Let’s get one thing straight. I don’t mean to be unappreciative of Ram Gopal Varma’s (RGV) sense of cinema in Sarkaar. I don’t even want to sound hackneyed that some film genres have classics that cannot be paralleled. But, play with me on this. I believe that when it comes to the greatest mob flick ever made in the history of Indian cinema, nothing comes close to Mani Ratnam’s Tamil classic Nayagan (Time Mag's All Time Top 100). Period. I am sure even RGV would endorse that and put his Sarkaar second only to it. But if I had the option (well, I do in this column), I would give that second spot to Sathya or D, but definitely not to Sarkaar. Here’s why.

Yes! RGV does pay his due respects with his opening credits to Cupola’s Godfather and his heavy influence from it. Yes! Looking at Amitabh Bachan, it almost felt like the ghost of Marlon Brando had descended on the sets of Filmistan. Yes! The technical finesse, the diffused lighting was all immaculate. But, what it lacked was that strong portrayal and inventiveness of social affliction behind the psyche of all that organized crime and Robinhood sentiments. I emphasize inventiveness because there was nothing out of the ordinary elements that any mob flick would have – deceit and defection, conflict and conspiracy, ideologies and idiosyncrasies.

As much as I loved Abishek Bacchan’s versatility in Bunty aur Babli, I wasn’t terribly impressed with his role in Sarkaar. There were quite a few of his scenes that begged for better timing in dialogue delivery and body language. And lastly, what’s it with Soundtrack? It is not necessary that every scene needs one. Why do the trumpets and sitars go off when the characters are not talking?

So if you do decide to watch something on the big screen you would be better off watching Parineeta.

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