Director: Prakash Jha
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor
Khan, Manoj Bajpayee, Arjun Rampal, Amrita Rao
Prakash
Jha’s much anticipated Satyagraha with its multi-starrer cast slumps in
critical circles creating only a minor cinematic splash. While the performances
of Amitabh Bachchan and Ajay Devgn are commendable, a half baked script and
unexploited potential present a string of vapid scenes and at best trophy
supporting actors.
Dwarka
Anand (Bachchan), a school teacher begins a Satyagraha movement when he lands
in jail for slapping the collector. Manav (Devgn), an opportunistic businessman,
has a change of heart when his friend and Anand’s son Akhilesh dies in a brutal
accident. Along with Arjun (Rampal), a student leader, Akhilesh’s wife Sumitra (Rao)
and Yasmin (Kapoor Khan), a journalist, he becomes the brain of the movement.
In a movie
in which events tumble one after another like rolling pins, moments of
stillness add an element of grace to the pace of the hurtling narrative. After
his son is brutally killed, Dwarka Anand finds Sumitra, his daughter-in law,
sobbing in the dead of the night and consoles her in silence. Another
surprising non Prakash Jha-esque scene sees an emotional Anand reluctant to let
Manav go after he has already lost a son.
The muddled
depiction of private and public space has openly carried out dialogues cut in
medias res and continued in private over a cup of tea. The mob appears and
disappears like a poor magic trick just to provide numbers. Balram (Bajpayee) the corrupt minister becomes
the single point of evil and a uni-dimensional character.
One can
equally disparage the portrayal of the media when Yasmin interviews villagers
with her shades on and repeatedly instructs the cameraman on how to do his job.
To add insult to injury, she announces her decision to give up the President’s
entourage to cover the movement as if there are no bosses and deadlines in the
world of journalism.
In the end,
it becomes a game of spotting every headline-making piece of news and
identifying characters with real life figures such as Anna Hazare and Arvind
Kejriwal. Yet, that recognition does not add anything to film which is neither
a poignant reflection of reality nor a bold narrative taking off from it. It is
at best a recapitulation of all that has occurred in the public space so far.
