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DVD Review |
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By Joginder Tuteja, September 9, 2008 - 14:51 IST
MOVIE DETAILS
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Dilip Prabhavalkar, Victor Banerjee, Ravi Kale, Tanisha Mukherjee, Sayaji Shinde, Upyendra Limaye, Rajesh Shringapure
Director: Ram Gopal Varma
Producer: Ram Gopal Varma, Praveen Nischol
Music: Bapi-Tutul
Lyrics: Prashant Pandey, Sandeep Nath
THE FILM
There is something about films coming from the house of Ram Gopal Varma. Each of them is scrutinized, probed, interrogated and criticized (for good or for bad) regardless of how well or badly it is made. Everyone seems to have a point of view, just like we all have for the Indian cricket team! If it underperforms then well, we start singing praises about a 'Kho-Kho' team (no offense meant to the sport) which may have been doing surprisingly well in possibly Vietnam. And if it does well, then in majority of instances, we try to find the 'real reasons' around its victory. If Sachin Tendulkar performs, then well it was expected that the living legend does play to his potential. And if he doesn't and a newbie Virat Kohli gets India home, then a) it could well be a fluke or b) the other team underperformed!
Why the analogy? Well, because the same happens in case of films coming from Ram Gopal Varma as well. If his film is bad (and mind you, there have been quite a few of those - we have not yet forgotten the new Shiva and of course the punching bag favorite Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag) then all daggers come out and if it is good, then also it is questioned. Just as in case of Tendulkar for whom it is unpardonable to get out without scoring a 100, Sarkar Raj too was questioned when it didn't enter the prestigious 'Rs. 50 crore-in-collections-group'! The general sentiment was - 'The film was good but then with the combined power of Bachchans and the sequel factor, it should have gone further up'! Well, expectations can't really be controlled, can they? And to think of it, this is nothing less than a compliment for the makers and his team which is expected to perform at the highest level at all instances!
Sarkar Raj is an arresting film from the first till the last frame. Whether it is Abhishek Bachchan interrogating a man who had secret plans of assassinating him or Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's concluding command of 'Can I get some tea?' Well, lo and behold because 'ek gamar chai ki pyaali' tradition passes on from Amitabh Bachchan to Abhishek Bachchan and now Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, hence proving the adage of 'We are one family' true!
Coming to the finer points of the film, there is quite some technical brilliance on display, though in Ramu's own subtle manner. Amit Roy's camera zooming in through a 'kadai', it being placed under a glass table, a cycle spoke leading tension to the scene that would follow, delicious food never looking worse when gulped down by Sayaji Shinde - nothing so obvious but of course making Sarkar Raj an effort which looks different, and of course impressive.
In a story which is far more complex, as admitted by the cast and crew themselves, Sarkar Raj thankfully has a twist in the climax which practically no one saw coming. And that's a compliment in itself for writer Prashant Pandey who managed to get turn it all around in a film which was neither a thriller nor suspense flick but primarily a dramatic tale. Coming quite unannounced, the final thread in the tale just gets the entire jigsaw puzzle solved which never seemed to be existing in the first place. And this is where Sarkar Raj gets its maximum points as one realizes that how a nexus could be far more complex than the one surrounding politician/bureaucrat/industrialist/cop that has been beaten to death.
Well, there have been detractors and there would be detractors but what matters in the end is whether the story worked or not? Whether it was engaging enough? Did the film boast of good performances? Was the technical finesse well in place to ensure that Sarkar Raj is much bigger in scale and appeal than Sarkar?
The answer to each of these questions is, of course, a big YES!
PACKAGING
After selling out the DVDs of Ram Gopal Varma Ki Aag under Rs. 50, T-Series has gone an extra mile to ensure that Sarkar Raj gets it's due. In a smart black jacket packaging which goes by the theme of the film, the DVD box of Sarkar Raj stands out of the crowd.
DURATION
The film comes in a two DVD pack with the film's duration being 122 minutes.
SPECIAL FEATURES
Additional DVD of Sarkar Raj narrates 'Making of the Film' which by itself is close to an hour long. Simply put, this is THE BEST 'Making of the film' which one would have ever seen for a Bollywood film. And that's because it is shot as a film in itself. The sound of Sarkar's 'kolhapuri chappals' leading a viewer into the den where cast and crew of the film talk about Sarkar Raj immediately hooks you on as the shots of the outside life are well interspersed in the sequences to follow. In fact what impresses is the fact that even the 'making' section has an editor at work who innovatively arranges the shots to make it a 'dramatic' affair.
The segment truly sticks to the 'making' part as a viewer is taken to the actual locations during the filming of Sarkar Raj. Whether it is the preparation for the riot scenes or the powerhouse dialogue delivery by Amitabh Bachchan being captured in an alternate camera as history in the making or actors getting ready for their shots or Ram Gopal Varma instructing Abhishek to act with in a particular body language, it is fun all the way.
Not to say about the interviews which have a dark setting to themselves with innovative set design highlighting the impact of narration by Amitabh Bachchan and the rest of the clan. While they talk about the film and the characters, they make sure that they reveal the subtext of the performances and what went into them acting in a particular manner. And hence, thankfully sparing the audience with the usual talks of 'Hum Saath Saath Hai' or 'We loved the script and the people we had to work with' talks.
What is also heartening is to see DOP Amit Roy talking about not just Sarkar Raj but also the manner in which Sarkar was shot. Writer Prashant Pandey too details the difficulties he faced while spinning out this complex tale and producer Praveen Nishchol, costume stylist Falguni Thakore, action director Allan Amin along with character artists Ravi Kale and Rajesh Shringapure also make their presence felt on the platform.
TECHNICAL DETAILS
- 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation
- Subtitles in English, Tamil and Telugu
- Dolby Digital 5.1
PRICE
Rs. 399/=
CONCLUSION
On seeing Sarkar Rajonce, it comes across as a good commercial tale which entertains. On seeing it for the second time, it exposes quite a few subtexts concealed in the narrative. And on the third viewing, it comes across as just perfect. Well, majority would have already seen it in cinema at least once. Now is the time to go for the second and the third viewing. And don't forget to have a dekko at the second DVD around the making - it isn't any less entertaining!
 
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