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29 March 2024

Bollywood movie review: The truth about 'Satyagraha'

Published
By Sneha May Francis

Armed with the same wardrobe of ethnic, linen costumes and his motley bunch of actor-friends, some who’ve reappeared in (almost) every film, director Prakash Jha embarks on yet another political journey that’s inspired by real-life social activist Anna Hazare.

Unfortunately, Jha’s revolution this time round ends up unforgivably long, inadequately scripted and way too superficial to merit applause.
Yes, there are moments of optimism, but those are far too few to evoke any real passion.

Blatantly plugging a brand of basmati rice just minutes into the story just doesn’t gel with his projected political ideologies, almost endorsing the capitalist culture that Jha appears to disregard in his movies.

If he had practiced what he preached, then probably it would’ve gone a long way in uplifting the essence of his political drama.

His revolution, much like what he earlier staged in ‘Aarakshan’ is way too dramatic and idealistic, and ends without hinting at any solution. It even projects an anthem – ‘Janta Rocks’ – that’s played out enough times by a bunch of aspiring rockstars.

Music band ‘Indian Ocean’ also joins in during a celebrated strike.

Jha even refuses to ignore Bollywood staples and creates space for an item number (a few minutes into the narrative), and a mushy romantic track, into his over-indulgent 150-minutes of screen time.

While the frail Anna’s epic fast is shot in glorious frames and amply recaptured by a visibly aged Amitabh Bachchan, the struggle gets diluted into a political conspiracy.

Manav is an orphaned man, who willingly sells his soul to the devil to earn the riches. Greed, he claims, is the only key to development.
A point vehemently opposed by his only friend Akilesh’s idealist dad Dwarka Anand.

Despite sharing a close bond with Manav, Akilesh isn’t tempted by money, and obediently lives under his dad’s shadows.
It’s his untimely death that reunites Anand and Manav in the most unlikely manner.

They soon end up in a fight to regain what’s rightfully theirs from a conniving political leader Balram Singh. And, they are joined in this battle by Akilesh’s wife Sumitra, journalist Yasmin and local leader Arjun.

A jail visit, social media marathon, hunger strike and numerous candle-light vigils later, their revolt attains some level of prominence and credibility.
But not enough to evoke any real patriotism.

It doesn’t remotely match what directors Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra and Rajkumar Hirani had effectively achieved in their epic sagas ‘Rang De Basanti’ and ‘Munnabhai MBBS’.

Jha and Anjum Rajabali’s story glorifies some characters and abandons others at their whims and fancy. They even weave in a murder plot and love story to a drama that’s otherwise loaded with plots and sub-plots.

And, his characters, much like in his earlier endeavors ‘Aarakshan’ and ‘Chakravayuh’, invest substantial screen time lecturing the audience about society and its various evils. Everything from capitalism to corruption is touched upon in ample doses.

The only silver lining in this otherwise mundane tale is Manoj Bajpai’s electrifying act as the manipulative leader Balram. He’s effortless, and owns every frame he’s in. Surely the movie would’ve benefitted more from allowing him more screen time, something that Jha would now regret.

Amitabh Bachchan is reliable as the retired teacher, who is Gandhian in his thinking and action. Much like his reel image, he carries the burden of the movie on his shoulders. And, he’s adequately assisted by Ajay Devgn, who excels as a reformed capitalist. Even Arjun Rampal is faultless and appears to have mastered the role of a fiery leader.

The women, however, aren’t allowed to do much. Amrita Arora is instructed to play the dutiful daughter-in-law, who indulges every wakeful hour in shadowing the aged Anand, while Kareena Kapoor is told to toss the microphone around to play a TV journalist. Hers could possibly be the most uneducated portrayal of a journalist.

Jha himself makes a blink-and-you-will-miss cameo.

“What sort of a nation have we made?” asks Bachchan during one of the most poignant moments in the movie.

But, that left us wondering; “What sort of a movie have you ended up making, Mr. Jha?”