Let me begin by saying that I loved the first movie Sarkar. I have seen it 4 times till now, which is good enough number according to my standards to term it as ” I love this movie ” ( Haven’t I mentioned that yet ?? ) . The other movie from Ram Gopal Verma which I adore is Satya. Brilliant. These 2 movies give RGV a different status altogether in Bollywood.

And thats why I went to see Sarkar Raj with lot of anticipation ( mind you , not expectation ) . I ignored all the mixed reviews from critics and friends. I wanted to go to the theater with a fresh and clean mind.

But within 5 minutes after the start, I started getting the feeling that this movie will be a disappointment after all. The feeling turned into reality within 25 minutes. The less said about the movie, the better. The movie was no where near the charisma of its prequel. Everything in the prequel was close to perfection. But here, in the sequel, you feel that everything was being done in a hurry. By everything I mean the dialogues, screenplay,music, even the acting ! The scenes just came one after the other, without allowing the illogical plot to sink in. The dialogues had no effect whatsoever, which were blurted out by actors just for the sake of saying it. The first movie had a brilliant casting of supporting actors ( the likes of Silvermani , Swami , Vishnu ), which was missing from the second.

The only saving grace in Sarkar Raj was the climax of 15 minutes, which reminded of classic RGV-style movie-making. All in all, a hastily done over-hyped movie. I have observed that this happens a lot to directors who set a level for themselves with their previous work. I sincerely wish he regains that level soon.

It is for movies like Taare Zameen Par, that I still have trust in Bollywood. I went to watch this movie, with lots of expectations, and Aamir delivers again, and this time, brilliantly as a director.

First, let me clear this :

• The movie is not about dyslexia.
• The movie is not for kids, but for parents ( the lyrics by Prasoon Joshi are evidence of this. I don’t think any kid below 15 will be able to understand most of the songs )
• The movie is a must-watch for all, or would-be parents ( you might have heard this hundred times, but believe me, its true )

Now, the movie is about a boy ( the main Hero ) who is not good at academics, but has a hidden talent in himself. But, as our Indian educational system doesn’t value anything less than 95% in academics, the teachers, principals, children, parents all think that the boy is good for nothing. Then eventually, Aamir Khan ( our second Hero ) comes along and identifies the hidden talent in the boy and also what is the main reason behind his poor performance in academics. In the process, Aamir Khan gives some award-winning speeches ( for which he wont accept a single award , let me remind you ) , making the audience realize what the whole society has become into and how it is effecting the kids in the process.

So, the movie is fantastic, direction is great, the songs are wonderfully done, dialogues are too good, etc etc etc. I don’t want to ramble on and on about the technicalities of film-making. The movie just speaks for itself. All in all, a properly executed movie worthy of a Filmfare ( the equivalent of an “Oscar” in India !!! ) .

I have heard that majority of the female audience has cried during the movie. And many males too have wiped a tear or two.( yes, there wont be any such thing as ‘the weaker sex’ in our society in near future. Yay !!! ) . Although people might refuse to accept it, but the fact remains that every kid has been a victim of his/her parents wishes.And parents (sitting in the audience ) do realize that they have done it so, sometime in their kids life.This is why everyone in the audience , every single person, does relate to the movie.

The movie is made purely for India, and not for the “international” market ( take that , Karan Johar , Farah Khan, Yash Chopra, etc. It is also entirely shot in India, just like Lagaan and Mangal Pandey were ) It addresses a issue which is prevalent everywhere in India. I doubt many of our global audience will be able to relate to it, as their educational system is different than our’s.
Aamir Khan has not succumbed to the pressure of entertaining our Indian audience throughout the movie, and for that reason, the movie might seem a bit boring in the middle. But that is to make you feel how the kid is feeling, every scene in the movie speaks of the feelings of the boy.

I know, I know, I have not mentioned anything about our main Hero – the boy – till now. Well, Darsheel Safary is fantastic. He makes you laugh, he makes you cry. He reminds you of children’s innocence. He makes you sympathize with him in every shot. The guy has done a marvelous job at all these, overshadowing even Aamir Khan. I hate that Filmfare has an award for ‘Best Child Actor’,because I know that the judges will put him in that category and therefore, will deny him of any nomination in the Best Actor category, which he very well deserves.( Come on, the kid has carried the whole film on his shoulders, what else do you want ?? )

Our second Hero doesn’t give a damn about the Awards, but I hope Darsheel gets an award worthy for his work.Till then, I will try Welcome too, who knows, it might be up to my expectations.

Update : Well, I didn’t watch Welcome. And, Darsheel got a nomination for Best Actor in Filmfare. He did not win it, but at least a nomination amongst other great actors of Bollywood is worthy of a mention. I am now waiting for the DVD of TZP. Hope it is launched soon.