Movie Review – Satyagraha (2013)

There was a lot of hype generated for this flick given it’s inspiration from Anna Hazare and his movement, but the movie disappoints in more ways than one.

For a movie that names itself Satyagraha, it does not inspire or evoke even an iota of patriotism. And what startles more is that a movie which boasts of heavyweights like Amitabh Bachchan, Prakash Jha, Ajay Devgn and Manoj Vajpayee could be so insipid and dull.

What could’ve been an epic drama and though provoking tale, turns out to be a forced effort what with shoddy acting, confused storyline, unnecessary songs and zero passion (literally and metaphorically). Amitabh Bachchan dons the same old ‘parampara & adarsh’ hat while it seems Ajay Devgn has totally forgotten what it’s like to act in performance oriented movies after starring in the likes of Son of Sardar, Himmatwala and Bol Bachchan belonging to the current favorite genre – “idiotic action comedies”. Manoj Vajpayee is the only saving grace though even he hasn’t been given enough opportunity to save the sinking ship. Kareena Kapoor Khan looks like she was perennially waiting for pack-up so she could get back to her blissful married life. And well, Arjun Rampal and Amrita Rao don’t merit any mention.

The story doesn’t need telling as we were witness to it on all national news channels. The real movement was way more exciting and had us much more invested than this movie could – the marriage of fiction and reality needs to be dealt with skillfully which somehow wasn’t done despite Prakash Jha being at the helm of it all.

And what’s supremely interesting is that even after 100 years of cinema, Bollywood still hasn’t learnt the real color of blood. It definitely isn’t pink. Watch it only if you must!

Related articles

• Satyagraha is PJ by Prakash Jha (neerajbhushan.com)
• Film Review: Satyagraha is a bad script with good actors (dnaindia.com)
• Satyagraha review: A mission left unaccomplished (dnaindia.com)