| When one thinks of Ramgopal Verma combining the two Bachchans in a remake of one of the greatest films of all time, expectations are raised. And Verma manages to create a great film, although one that falls quite short of the film it's inspired of. However, it remains Verma's best work and one of the best Hindi films in recent times. Now to my review, please note that there are spoilers below:
As far as performances go, Verma has managed to extract award worthy performances from the principal cast. Amitabh Bachchan gives a great, subtle performance where much of his acting is done through his eyes and body language, in direct contrast to his other powerhouse performance of the year, 'Black'. Abhishek Bachchan has shown that the critics who called him the 'lambe race ka ghoda' were correct. Abhishek is never overshadowed in the film, despite being in the films with acting powerhouses Amitabh Bachchan and Kay Kay Menon. Kay Kay is also fabulous in the movie, and hopefully after this performance we will be seeing more of him in other commercial films.
For what it is, the film is extremely well made, and very close to flawless in its execution. My only gripes were with the Swami character, who seems too comic to be taken seriously and takes away from the drama in a few scenes.
Also, if I were to have directed the film, I would have spent more time in the rise of Abhishek Bachchan's character to the position of power. While this may have ultimately been a negative for the Indian film audience, as it would have added to the length of the film, it would have been good to see Abhishek be a little more like a fish out of water when he initially takes over, similar to Al Pacino in the original when he is out to take revenge on the cop who had assulted him.
I would have added some more scenes with Kay Kay and Amitabh, especially one that shows Amitabh forgiving Kay Kay and allowing him back in the house, and maybe some earlier in the film to show their relationship a little more.
Also, 'Sarkar' differentiates from the original 'Godfather' in that the Godfather doesn't die. It would have been good to see a scene where the torch is passed between Subhash Nagre to Shankar. A good scene would have been where Rashid is killed, they could have had both Bachchans on the boat and then Subhash saying something to Rashid, then walk away and then have Shankar deal with him.
These are minor details, and when your only complaints are about one character and to add to he length, then that's a good thing. This is definitely for admirers of more serious cinema, and I highly recommended. In my opinion, this is the best Bachchan film since his comeback.
Final Rating: * * * * ¼.
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