ASHES

In cricketing terminology copy book stands for excellence and precision. Well the past two weeks at work have been nothing like it. But the weekend as they call it, was every bit ‘copybook’. So after spending close to two nights straight in office, I got to leave office early (read: 9.30) this Friday. While most Friday nights bring scary thoughts, thoughts of what to do tonight, this Friday, at least, that question had been answered well in advance.

So I went out to watch Sarkar Raj. I read two reviews of the movie before watching it. The reviews were in complete contrast with each other where one called the movie boring and the other called it a masterpiece. Well, a masterpiece it was. By Jove!

I went to watch the movie trying to control my expectations from rolling out to an extreme from where everything might seem mediocre. I made it a point not to read the good review in too much detail. I constantly kept telling myself that it could not be as good as the first one, no matter how good it is. But the fact is that I am not able to decide which one is better, because I am too dazed by this one to remember what I saw in Sarkar. The movie starts and ends with the class that the first part had set. All the actors in the movie are almost dissolved in the brilliant story and screenplay that totally grips you by the collar and keeps you glued. The story feels very real and not a half cooked batter of an effort just for the heck of making a sequel to a successful movie. The qualification of the story line and ingenuity of the director are apparent throughout the movie. If anyone of you has been or has had in the past, prepared for GMAT/CAT, then this sequel is like the perfect continuation of the first part.

Ram Gopal Varma doesn’t let the good work done in the first part go waste. He builds the story on the existing base, so character development is necessary for only a few people. The idea of ‘chai’ being a symbol of power is extremely powerful. While the drink remains the same, the styles of drinking change. The thumb is the same but styles of rotation are different and other parallels that have obvious yet remarkable connotations. The exchanges between Big B and Abhishek are very powerful. The movie, like the first part, has few dialogues but very meaningful and ones that impact the situation and help carry the story smoothly. Of course politics forms the base of the movie, but how well that political dilemma or conspiracy is developed feels surreal yet logical and very contemporary.

By the first half I was totally glued to the screen and did not realise that there were people around me. By that time I was thinking that this will go down as a feather in RGV’s cap, but the real stuff lies in the second half. The way the story unfolds is a bit sudden, but I guess rather than dragging the eventuality, RGV does the right thing by resolving the mystery through fast paced action and empowering his characters to take control, much like the first part. The women in the film look very good, yes Tanisha also looks good. Aishwarya, for once looks a capable miss world and does a good job. Again the introduction of Aishwarya is not forced, just because she is a Bachchan now. Her role is a critical link to the story and she perhaps fits the bill perfectly. Abhishek Bachchan, because of his limited talent looks repetitive but good repetitive. The other actors do their job quite well and look like the actual characters during the course of the movie rather than themselves. The enigmatic background score takes care of a lot of dialogues and creates a lot of impact by itself. The govinda, govinda or saam daam dand bhed engross you further into the story and their timing and sync with the script and dialogues is immaculate. And Big B, well if you are an Amitabh Bachchan fan you like everything, so this was quite exemplary stuff, simply superb. And if you are not a Big B fan, well what good are you to the society.

The story has a fascinating ending, which is again realistic yet shocking. This time of course RGV leaves no scope for guessing whether there will be another sequel. Yes there will be! And the final dialogue is really the icing on the cake, I couldn’t help start clapping at the end, something I do only instinctively and not just if the crowd is doing it. The movie perhaps clarifies the myths about being copied from Godfather’s screenplay or the book from Mario Puzo. I haven’t read the book myself, but I don’t think this part was anywhere similar to the book. The connection to Bala Saheb is not apparent, not a direct one anyhow. The politics depicted in the movie is a lot broader than we generally can imagine.

A wonderful end to an otherwise shitty week. The movie is already the year’s best, I mean including the ones that are going to come.

Labels: movie review