Movie Review – Sarkar 3 by Suhel Johar

Sarkar 3 Is Spineless And Avoidable.

Sarkar is undoubtedly one of the best works of Ram Gopal Varma. The thought of a figure like Bal Thackeray being enacted by a figure like Amitabh Bachchan is worth a million. The way Big B carried out such a role was splendid. Then came its sequel, Sarkar Raj, after 3 years which somewhat managed to hold the attention if not as much as the original. Sarkar 3 is an unnecessary carryover of a saga that has lost its relevance and sheen. RGV manufactures an undesirable show that has no semblance of a story and an unpalatable script. And the figure of Subhash Nagre is now threatened with obsolescence.

In Sarkar 3, Shivaji (Amit Sadhu), the grandson of Subhash Nagre aka Sarkar (Amitabh Bachchan), returns to his grandfather's house. Shivaji who is Sarkar’s elder son Vishnu’s (Kay Kay Menon), son is keen to fall in to line and dreams of becoming the next Sarkar. However, Shivaji’s intentions seem unclear since there seems to be an angst inside him regarding his uncle, Shankar (Abhishek Bachchan) killing his own brother Vishnu. Sarkar 3 is about Subhash Nagre and his relationship with Shivaji.

Sarkar (Amitabh Bachchan) is living a peaceful life with ailing wife Pushpa (Supriya Pathak) even though he has lost both his sons Sarkar continues to  rule over Maharashtra’s political scene and has now found a trusted aide in Gokul (Ronit Roy). Gokul is not too pleased with Shivaji's arrival and a cold war starts between them which later turns into an open battle.

So like in the previous instalments Sarkar and Sarkar Raj , there are problems internally and externally, that Sarkar has to deal with. 

Shivaji is romantically involved with Anu (Yami Gautam) who plans to seek revenge from Sarkar for killing her father. There are also other characters like Govind Deshpande (Manoj Bajpayee), Gandhi (Bajrangbali Singh)  and Michael Vallya (Jackie Shorff) in Sarkar 3. Father of all these villains is Vallya who is controlling things from Dubai, just to overthrow Sarkar’s stronghold.

The rest of the film is about the motives, the clashes and predictable twists.

Sarkar 3 is the weakest of the three franchises. The plot of the film is sloppy and dysfunctional. The tagline says angrier than ever but the film is nothing but a yawn fest. Merely having Amitabh Bachchan and highlighting his histrionics as Subhash Nagre won’t fetch any brownie points. Even a legend like Big B needs a good script. The first half of the film somewhat garners some interest creating who is up to what. However, as the film progresses, all you will be bugged about is by the theme track of Sarkar. The writing is boring. The interest gradually falls after the interval and as we approach the end, we pray that let this be the last of series and not spoil the brand anymore.

On top of that, there are characters which are half baked. They are brought in with a curiousness but suddenly dispensed away. Manoj Bajpayee, for instance is given a very crucial space, and his whereabouts disappear and we wonder why. Yami Gautam is also given a hype, but restricted to an extension of her fairness cream ad. The recent interview of RGV with Bachchan was much better and entertaining than the film itself.

After a chain of nonsensical films, Sarkar 3 was like a golden opportunity for Ram Gopal Varma to redeem his reputation. Unfortunately, his latest outing is so listless that you wish he takes a break from filmmaking. 

 P. Jaya Kumar's story and screenplay is ordinary. Ramkumar Singh's dialogue are cliched. Background music by Ram Shankar is poor. Cinematography by Amol Rathod is okay. Editing by Anwar Ali is mediocre. Stunts by Allan Amin are effective. There are some terrific shootouts in this film reminiscent of episodes from Ram Gopal Varma's best gangster films in the past.

The performances are largely effective specially those by Ronit Roy and Amit Sadh. The latter comes into his own as Mr Bachchan's uncontrollable grandson. But above all, this is one more triumphant celluloid outing for Amitabh Bachchan that goes way beyond that famous baritone.

Manoj Bajpayee is completely wasted in this political mishap of a film. Yami Gautam looks stoned throughout. She is nothing more than a pretty prop. Jackie Shroff is unintentionally funny. Like most of the characters in the film he has an ill etched role. He is known as a director’s actor but looks like he directed himself in this film. Rohini Hattangady, Supriya Pathak, Parag Tyagi and Bharat Dabolkar are mere pushovers in the film.

On the whole, Sarkar 3 is a mishap of a film. Watch it if  you’re an Amitabh Bachchan fan. An earnest request to Ram Gopal Varma, let this be the last one in the series.

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