Ramu has finally redeemed himself after the disasters of Shiva, Nishabd, Aag and Darling. Sarkar Raj is darker, bolder and more intense than even Sarkar and let us not debate whether or not it is better than its predecessor but one thing is for certain that Ram Gopal Verma has made Sarkar Raj in a darker shade and this distinction has been executed with a touch of class in all aspects. This proves once again that one's pride and ego take him nowhere ('Shiva' & 'Aag') but patience, commitment and resolve bring out the best in individuals.
Shankar Nagare has carried the legacy of his father and has become the Sarkar of masses. His boldness, righteousness and power brings justice to people but sometimes, causes evil to stir around him and Sarkar Raj is a true rendition of this malice. Call it, 'the side-effect of power'. The CEO of a power corporation, Anita, proposes a mega plant in Maharashtra and seeks the aid of Sarkar for taking the small town populations into confidence in favour of the project which brings benefits to the communities. Shankar is in the forefront of this exercise and while he has the assurance of Rao Saab to go ahead with the project, his son, Somji opposes Shankar and the power plant. This battle intensifies with the advent of Kantilal Vora, the haughty entrepreneur from Gujarat who fails to gain Sarkar's support.
Will Shankar overcome his adversaries and help Anita successfully set up the dream project in Maharashtra or do the adversaries have wicked plans to prevent any good from occurring?
Sarkar Raj has more foul play, evil and dirty politics than any of RGV's movies and that itself makes this movie so interesting. Abhishek's brilliant performance as the sharp and confident successor of Sarkar gives him the much needed relief and acclaim to match last year's GURU. He needed this movie as much as RGV himself did after a spate of disasters for both actor and director. Amitabh Bachchan commands his screen presence with his fine performance in a cold demeanor while Aishwarya refrains from over-acting and does what she is meant to do. She looks gorgeous in the formal suits too and the final scene of the film leaves you gaping at the screen, marveling RGV's nimble execution of the plot. Other noteworthy performances include those of Ravi Kale who plays Chander, Govind Namdeo as Hassan Qazi and Dilip Prabhavalkar as Rao Saab.
But on the whole, this film belongs to RGV. The man deserves applause for making such a dynamic comeback and for giving us a different Sarkar from what we expected. Not many will agree with the film's malice, tragedies and conclusions but that precisely makes RGV one of the best guys to do this kind of a job. Each and every scene of the film is well conceived, strikingly photographed, crisply edited and masterfully directed. There are some great dialogues which we expect from a Godfather inspired film and in epic style, the distinctive background score of Sarkar adds to the intensity of the scenes. 'Govinda Govinda' has now become iconic with its apt usage in Sarkar Raj and will be remembered as one of the most effective background scores in Indian cinema. Having said that, Sarkar has a lot to say than just 'mujhe jo sahi lagta hai who main karta hoon' and the writers have given us enough lines to cherish. The best one by far is spoken by Sarkar as he draws conclusions from the events that took place before the conclusion – 'jaan lena jurm hai……. Sahi samay par jaan lena, Rajneeti'.
Sarkar Raj has numerous scenes that reflect RGV's artful yet simplistic style. Most scenes within Sarkar's abode have the warm sunlight and dialogues narrated in this atmosphere leave a mesmerizing effect. One of the most remarkable scenes from Sarkar was Amitabh placing his hand on Abhishek's when the latter decides to take over the reigns of the empire. This time, it is the gentle embrace between the father and son in the aftermath of tragedies. Watch RGV's superlative direction in scenes where Shankar unleashes his wrath on Hassan Qazi, Kantilal Vora puts forth his cunning plan in front of Sarkar only to get blasted at and at the end of it, being offered some warm idlis – LOL and where the convoy of Shankar and Subhash Nagare is led by bikes carrying the saffron flags of Sarkar as they head out to meet Rao Saab in Thakkarvadi. These are some remarkable moments from the film and long has it been since scenes from RGV's films stood out.
Sarkar Raj shows the Nagare family in a gloomy light and while the movie ends with a punctuation rather than a conclusion, it becomes more evident that 'apni sharton par chalnewalo ko keemat chukane padti hai'.
- 9.245 on a scale of 1-10.