Satyagraha

Director (Prakash Jha) seems to be confusingly treading the path between fiction and non-fiction but achieves neither.

Nevertheless , those who want a 2 hour interpretation of Anna's movement and had not followed it , may find it useful , treating the movie as non-fiction Historic Drama .

Out of all the characters, Manoj Bajpai's (Balram Singh) is the best executed. Kareena's character (Yasmin Ahmed) is frivolous. A more in-depth analysis was expected for Amitabh's (Anna) and Ajay's (Arvind) character.

The script needed to convey more than what met the eye through traditional media but it is just a 2 hours summary of TV reporting of last 2-3 years. In comparison, Madras Cafe, brings out a lot more than what was in Public domain earlier .

The script also lacks a proper climax and logical end .

But in spite of short comings , I would still rate it high as Movie does convey a message convincingly and logically and does have a Moral of the Story. It holds a mirror to the Voters of India , many of whom are still not convinced that corruption is a major issue in the country.

Bravo for choosing such type of subject, which is very related to now a days social problems. Director Mr.Prakash Jha is known for it. Concept is good. Screenplay is written very conveniently rather that showing some mind game. Almost every incident is common. Problems are taken and shown in general way. Somehow, it reflects a naive approach because all this incidents are very common as an audience due to media coverage of lots of Satyagrahas. Surprisingly sad track is very weak. You won't feel that much of pain, which will be being shown on screen. Same fate for love scenes. A person is emotionally complaining to you for your carelessness then rather showing concern you just made a lip lock and finishes the conversation!!!? Even, it was first time your love shown towards that person. First lip lock shouldn't be so accidental and impulsive. Metaphor of that wine bottle is also not very emotional. Two persons are angrily arguing across the railway track and trains are being passed between!!! It is too much. Performance wise Mr. Amitabh Bachchan is amazing. Ajay Devgan is superb. Manoj Bajpeyi is outstanding. Kareena Kapoor Khan is very good. Amrita Rao is OK. Music doesn't support the film well. In this type of film, music has to pace up the mood but all tracks are just so so.

The film has been a good experimentation effort by prakash jha but somehow fail to touch the heart. Acting effort from everyone seems like they were pretty much dedicated to the film. Salim Suleiman was superb in back ground score. I felt the film to be little lengthy but overall one word is ACCEPTABLE.Big B was as perfect as expected. Ajay devgn steady and serious appearance seems to be good. Arjun Rampal retain his maturity level of acting from D-DAY. MANOJ BAJPAI was perfect in his character after ARAKSHAN... Still expectation was little higher from prakash jha..

The film is watchable...

Well there is a scene in the movie where Manoj Bajpai (arguably the best performer of the movie) mocks Satyagraha movement of Mr Ambitabh Bacchan. He ridicules the protesters because of their corporate (read westernized) culture ,rock bands (hard to believe)and serving of eateries at a site of a hunger strike.The scene captures the essence of the movie which tries to be too serious about the topic but fails to stir an emotion in the audience. The actors don't have well defined roles ,songs are irrelevant ,cinematography below par (believe me I have stayed in Bhopal for more than two years and she has much better places to shoot than a couple of sets and educational institutions which are shot so many times that somewhere down the line you pray you were HANUMAN so that you can burn down those sets to ashes) and direction well Prakash Jha direction personifies his role in the movie (Watch out for the beggar in the crowd).The protesters in all the scenes seem to be more zealous than they actually should be ( to add some somber tone afterall we are not there to watch a Rohit Shetty film). The movie lacks any emotion and even the most heart breaking or heart aching ones leave you unaffected. On the acting front I would say Manoj Bajpai has done a decent job , Ajay Devgn is totally wasted , Karina seems more fashion conscious for a professional journalist and Amitabh Bachhan is more of an authoritarian (without violence) than a Gandhian.All in all the movie is a waste of time with a runtime of about 3 hours. Go outdoors or watch a repeat run on TV rather than wasting your time on this.

4/10.

The theme mirrors the current political state in India. But the plot has been seen in many Bollywood political thrillers were everything is predictable. Satyagaraha is no different.

Talking about the revolution by the people of a district against the corrupt government, Prakash Jha has tried to do what he does best: RESEARCH & SHOW! The first half is brutally original & I appreciate that. But come second half, and your enthusiasm will see a drastic decline due to the usual, "borrowed" elements from his previous films and/or other potboilers. Yes, it does tell a tale worth watching with average dialogs, simple setup, but the punch-power withdraws as the 150- minute screenplay advances to ultimate predictability.

Cast performance is very good & I don't need to mention who did well. Of course, the antagonists. Now, come on! But the protagonists have done well, too. Score is below average, editing is fine & the whole setup - gives a natural appeal. Mostly, towards the end it again takes an authentic turn when they show how the repercussions of a people's revolution can turn out to be. Laudable!

And, there was no need for that item song and romance! But, welcome to Bollywood!

BOTTOM LINE: Fresh writing garnished by stale ingredients, that is what Satyagraha is. It manages to convey a message, but we all know, reality can never be manipulative as fiction. 6.0 out of 10! Youth can go have a look!

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

Profanity/Nudity/Sex: No | Mouth-Kiss: very Mild | Violence/Gore: Critical | Smoking/Alcohol/Drugs: No