Before the film begins director
Ram Gopal Varma states that "Like countless directors all over the world,
I have been deeply influenced by The Godfather. Sarkar is my tribute to it."
It doesn't take long to realize this when with the opening scene a father
comes to Sarkar and tells him that his daughter was raped and committed suicide.
Can he bring him justice. Sarkar whispers to his man "The next time this
man hears the name of the rapist, I want him to smile." They don't kill him,
but he won't be raping any women soon. The interesting thing is that they
do it in front of many witnesses knowing they are above the law. No one will
talk to the police. Sarkar is the mafia don of Mumbai. As he sees it, he
is a parallel government meting out justice, helping people when the government
won't or is too corrupt to do so. Sometimes of course he has to resort to
violence. He has a large following by the common folks who love him. He also
has a large contingent of men around him - well-armed.
No one could really play Sarkar with his quiet cold-eyed toughness other
than Amitabh Bachchan. Simply by being him, he brings weight to the role.
Bachchan has moved into older roles with grace and smarts - picking parts
to fit him. The days of jumping off roofs to tangle with five guys are long
gone. He is just an actor now - still revered - but a very good one. As Sarkar
he manages the underworld - nothing is done in his territory without his approval.
He has two sons - Vishnu (Kay Kay Menon) - think Fredo and Sonny combined
- and Shankar (Abhishek Bachchan) - think Pacino. Vishnu is tough but volatile
and never thinks anything through. He is chaffing under his father. Shankar
is back from studying in America and has a modern girlfriend Pooja (Katrina
Kaif) - think Diane Keaton. At a young age Shankar was promised to the daughter
of a good friend of Sarkar - she is Avantika (Tanishaa Mukerji - sister of
Kajol) - a traditional girl.
When Sarkar refuses to give his approval to a drug dealer Rashid to bring
in a huge consignment - the wheels begin to turn. It takes a while in this
film to set all the pieces up. Sarkar is getting older - one son is psycho,
the other uninterested - it is time to make a move on him. The conspiracy
includes the police, government ministers, a swami and various gang leaders.
It is a good plan - it almost works - but they didn't count on Shankar. When
they wound his father and try and kill him, it is time for retribution. The
only song in the film is when that retribution is set in motion. This is no
Godfather, no masterpiece - perhaps too similar and the score is really abrasive
and distracting - but it is a good film. It is all the cultural things that
are around the film - the family, the politics, the betrayals, the dirty
cops - that make the film feel a whole. The acting is terrific, especially
from Menon who is nuts. It of course has a sequel.
