AWFUL CLICHÉS
SARKAR 3. Directed by Ramgopal Varma.With Amitabh Bachchan, Ronit Roy, Amit Sadh, Manoj Bajpayee, Supriya Pathak,Yami Gautam, Rohini Hattangadi, Jackie Shroff. Nu Metro, Canal Walk.
His credentials as someone who is above the law while standing up for the downtrodden were firmly established in the first film, undoubtedly one of Varma’s best directorial efforts.
All the films, including the current one are filled with corrupt politicians, gangsters, violent criminals, plots featuring double and triple crosses, intrigue and conspiracies. But that’s the problem with the latest film – there’s nothing new on offer or at least a different take on familiar material. Plus it’s heavy-handed, with terribly clichéd dialogue and drags at an unforgiving pace.
Nagre’s grandson, comes home to make peace after his father’s death was ordered by his grandfather in the first film. He wants to learn the ropes and take over one day. But is he on the level or is he in cahoots with Sarkar’s latest enemies?
The story has promise, but the execution is terrible. Varma is an eccentric and erratic director. On his best form he can conjure up something truly magnificent as with the original and other films like Sathya, Company, Sarkar Raj and Rakht Charitra. But he has had more than his fair share of duds as well. And while Sarkar 3 is not a compete write off, it is a great letdown.
What works are some of the performances. Bachchan is a great actor and, even with a poor screenplay, he can still rise to the occasion, which he tries hard to do here. Amit Sadh is a talented, relatively new, actor and he does a good job as the grandson. The always reliable Ronit Roy is also on form as Sarkar’s right hand man who’s also eyeing the top position. Supriya Pathak is fine as Sarkar’s long suffering wife, despite being saddled with some really silly lines.
It’s great to see Rohini Hattangadi back on screen. Some audiences may remember her as playing the wife of Mahatma Gandhi in Sir Richard Attenborough’s magnum opus. She does well as the mother of a crooked politician played by the exceptionally talented Manoj Bajpayee who is wasted in that poorly conceived role. But the award for the hammiest acting in this film must go to veteran Jackie Shroff, as Sarkar’s nemesis, who runs his operation from Dubai with a girlfriend who is almost always seen in the strangest of bikinis.
Cinematically the film has the same dark mood of the previous films which is a plus. Cinematography by Amol Rathod complements this mood with the right light and shade.
Composer Ravi Shankar’s score is all over the place, but his take on the brooding original theme music helps to create tension in some scenes.
But sadly it’s Varma’s inconsistent direction and the terrible screenplay by P. Jaya Kumar that is the film’s downfall. It’s not unwatchable like many of Varma’s recent productions, but all too predictable and rather pointless.
Based on the howlers in this film, Sarkar needs to go into retirement and the sooner the better.
Ravi Shankar’s score is all over the place, but his take on the brooding original theme music helps to create tension in some scenes.