Sarkar Raj

Sarkar Raj (transl. Government rule) is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language political crime thriller film directed by Ram Gopal Varma. The film is a sequel to the 2005 film Sarkar and the second installment of Sarkar film series. The film was premiered at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival,[2][3] the New York Asian Film Festival,[4] and the 9th IIFA World Premiere-Bangkok.[5]

Sarkar Raj
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRam Gopal Varma
Written byPrashant Pandey
Screenplay byRam Gopal Varma
Produced byRam Gopal Varma
Praveen Nischol
StarringAmitabh Bachchan
Abhishek Bachchan
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan
Dilip Prabhavalkar
Supriya Pathak
CinematographyAmit Roy
Edited byNipun Ashok Gupta
Amit Parmar
Music byScore:
Amar Mohile
Songs:
Bapi-Tutul
Production
companies
Adlabs
Raksha Entertainment
K Sera Sera Productions
Z Picture Company
Distributed byBalaji Motion Pictures (India)
Eros International (International)
Release date
  • 6 June 2008 (2008-06-06)
Running time
125 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹ 280 million
Box office₹ 594.6 million[1]

The film was archived at the Academy of Motion Pictures library.[6] The primary cast features Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan (who reprise their roles from the original) and new entrant Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Supriya Pathak, Tanisha Mukherjee and Ravi Kale also reappeared in their respective roles from Sarkar. The film released on 6 June 2008 and was critically and commercially successful.[7][8] The continuation and third installment Sarkar 3 was released on 12 May 2017 to positive reviews.[9]

A promotional mobile video game based on the film was released by Mauj Mobile in 2008.[10]

Plot

The sequel is chronologically set two years after the original film. Anita Rajan (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), is the CEO of Shepard Power Plant based in London, holds a meeting with Mike Rajan (Victor Banerjee), her chairman father, and Hassan Qazi (Govind Namdeo), as a seemingly shady business adviser and facilitator; regarding an ambitious proposal to set up a multibillion-dollar power plant in rural parts of the state of Maharashtra in India.

Qazi states that this project will be impossible due to possible political entanglements. When Anita asks him for a solution, Qazi states that enlisting the support of Subhash Nagre (Amitabh Bachchan) (commonly referred to by his title of Sarkar), who he describes as a criminal in the garb of a popular and influential political leader, might help their cause. Along with the Chief Minister of Maharashtra, Shinde (Shishir Sharma), they approach Sarkar with the idea of this project, who refutes the idea, due to the fact that the power plant will be built in various villages, affecting the livelihood of 40,000 people. However, when Shankar (Abhishek Bachchan) convinces him of the benefits of the project to the state, Sarkar agrees to the proposal. Shankar advises Anita to stay away from Qazi, as he is not trustworthy. Qazi joins hands with Kaanga (Sayaji Shinde), who wants to become the Chief Minister of Maharashtra but could not as Sarkar is the overlord for Shinde's political party. Shankar and Anita begin campaigning in Thackerwadi to gain support of local public for the project. During their chat Shankar mentions that his toughest decision of life was to kill his own elder brother Vishnu, Anita tells that her father never saw her as a daughter and was her boss.

Sanjay Somji (Rajesh Shringarpure), leader of farmer's association is shown to be protesting the Nagre's. Meanwhile, Avanti, now Shankar's wife reveals to him that she is two months pregnant, Shankar also has growing friction in relationship with old family aid Chander (Ravi Kale). On the other hand, Shankar's wife Avanti's car is bombed within the premises of Sarkar's villa, and Avanti is killed, Sarkar who is shaken suffers a shock and is admitted to a hospital. Shankar replaces Bala (Sumit Nijhawan) as head over Chander (Ravi Kale), and asks him to quickly find out who was behind this brutal attack. Kantilal Vohra (Upendra Limaye) come to Sarkar requesting him to shift the project to Gujarat. As Sarkar refuses, Vohra, Kaanga, Qazi, are shown together hatching a plan. Chander calls up Shankar telling Qazi was behind the blast, Shankar shoots Qazi in his house. Mike comes to India and is seen to be meeting Vohra discussing about eliminating Shankar as, they both want only profit and Shankar aims for development for 40,000 villagers living in Thackerwadi also.

Vohra and Kaanga now hire a hit-man to kill Shankar for 5-Crore. While, Shankar and Anita are on a holiday, Anita cautions Shankar about an impending attack on them, a sniper shoots at Shankar six bullets, who later succumbs to his injuries in hospital. A furious Subash suspecting Vohra kidnaps him. Sarkar tells Anita that his men have killed-Kaanga, Chander, Vohra and her father who was in London as revenge. He also tells her that these people were just pawns and the mastermind behind all this was his own guru, Rao Sahab (Dilip Prabhawalkar) who wanted his grandson Somji to take over Shankar. His guru comes to home to pay tributes to Shankar, where Sarkar shows him his dead grandson. The film ends with Anita becoming Shankar's replacement.

Cast

Reception

Critical reception

The film mostly garnered a positive critical reception. Critic Taran Adarsh from Bollywood Hungama gave the film four stars out of five and noted "Besides its strong content, Sarkar Raj has been filmed exceptionally well with superb performances. Amitabh Bachchan, expectedly, comes up with a terrific performance. He's as ferocious as a wounded tiger in the finale and takes the film to great heights. Abhishek Bachchan is cast opposite the finest actor of this country, yet he sparkles in every sequence. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is fabulous and delivers her career-best performance."[11] Sify gave a two-star rating and said, "The only reason you might want to catch this is the performance level and the relatively good ending. Amitabh Bachchan is dependably good. Abhishek holds his own, though with a more filled-out character, he could have taken it to another level. Aishwarya is superb in the emotional scenes, but again, is let down by the unforgivably simplistic character sketching."[12] Rediff which also gave a two-star rating noted "This is a watchable".[13]

The Economic Times gave a three star rating out of five and said "Sarkar Raj clearly gains major marks for its clever culmination, which was so much lacking from recent RGV products. The considerately and crisply penned dialogues by Prashant Pandey add a lot of insight to the scenes and depth to the characterizations."[14] Anupama Chopra from NDTV stated "What works here are the performances. The Bachchans-all three of them are in fine form. Despite wonderful performances and nicely done dramatic moments, Sarkar Raj doesn't pack the visceral punch of Sarkar".[15]

Nikhat Kazmi of The Times of India rated the film with three and a half stars and applauded the lead performances saying "This film carries the sequel forward without losing out on the gritty feel and retains the charisma of the central characters".[16] Critic Nathan Southern of MSN gave four stars citing that "Sarkar Raj thrives on its narrative cliffhangers, that the film never once fails to engage the audience; the premise and its characters are rock-solid, its dialogue convincing, and its suspense palpable. Varma and scriptwriter Prashant Pandey pack such unusual twists and double-crosses into the tale that even the most hardened and seasoned moviegoer will find the conclusion impossible to foresee".[17]

Box office reception

Sarkar Raj grossed almost ₹ 340 million in India[18] and over $1 million in the USA. The Filmfare Magazine (August 2008 issue) and other media declared it to be among the only four hits in the first half of 2008 (along with Race, Jodhaa Akbar and Jannat).

The producers reported that the movie had earned more than the entire grossings of its hit prequel in its first two weeks itself. According to the year end report of The Free Trade Journal, Sarkar Raj was the seventh highest all-India grosser of the year after (in order) Ghajini, Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, Golmaal Returns, Singh Is Kinng, Dostana and Race. The trade magazine also reported high international collections. It was declared an average grosser at the box office with noted film journal Film Information mentioning that although the film was a profitable venture for its producers, the distributors outside of Bombay circuit stood to lose.

Soundtrack
Sarkar Raj
Soundtrack album
Released15 June 2008
Recorded2007
GenreFeature film soundtrack
LanguageHindi
LabelT-Series

The music is composed by Bapi and Tutul. Lyrics are penned by Sandeep Nath and Prashant Pandey.

Track listing
No.TitleLyricsSinger(s)Length
1."Chaah Bhanwar Trishna"Sandeep NathSunayana Sarkar Dasgupta3:30
2."Jalte Rawan"Prashant PandeyAbhishek Nailwal3:02
3."Jalwa Re Jalwa"Prashant PandeyKailash Kher, Sunayana Sarkar Dasgupta4:37
4."Jhini Jhini"Prashant PandeyRoop Kumar Rathod, Shweta Pandit4:04
5."Saam Daam"Sandeep NathKailash Kher3:29
6."Saher Saher Ke Hajharon Sawal"Sandeep NathArun Ingle, Bapi, Tutul2:49
7."Subah"Prashant PandeyPamela Jain3:43
8."The Govinda – Chant"Sandeep NathKailash Kher, Bapi, Tutul2:59
9."The Govinda – Groove"Sandeep NathBapi, Tutul, Jankee Parikh3:03
10."The Govinda – Theme"Prashant PandeyBapi, Tutul3:34
11."The Govinda – Trance"Sandeep NathBapi, Tutul, Jankee Parikh3:25
12."The Jalwa – Club Mix"Sandeep NathKailash Kher, Sunayana Sarkar Dasgupta4:47

Accolades
Award[lower-alpha 1] Date of ceremony[lower-alpha 2] Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Filmfare Awards 28 February 2009 Best Supporting Actor Abhishek Bachchan Nominated [19]
International Indian Film Academy Awards 11–13 June 2009 Best Supporting Actor Nominated [20]
Producers Guild Film Awards[lower-alpha 3] 5 December 2009 Best Actress in a Supporting Role Supriya Pathak Nominated [21]
[22]
Best Actor in a Negative Role Govind Namdev Nominated
Best Screenplay Prashant Pandey Nominated
Best Cinematography Amit Roy Nominated
Best Art Director Sunil Nigvekar Nominated
Best Sound Recording Debashish Mishra Nominated
Best Re-Recording Leslie Fernandes Nominated
Screen Awards 14 January 2009 Best Film Sarkar Raj Nominated [23]
Best Director Ram Gopal Varma Nominated
Best Actor Amitabh Bachchan Nominated
Best Supporting Actor Abhishek Bachchan Nominated
Best Actor in a Negative Role Dilip Prabhavalkar Nominated
Best Background Music Amar Mohile Nominated
Best Cinematography Amit Roy Nominated
Best Editing Nitin Gupta, Amit Parmar Nominated
Best Sound Recording Debashish Mishra Nominated
Stardust Awards 15 February 2009 Best Director Ram Gopal Varma Nominated [24]
Actor of the Year – Male Amitabh Bachchan Nominated
Abhishek Bachchan Nominated
Actor of the Year – Female Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Nominated
The New Menace Rajesh Shringarpure Nominated

Controversy

Debutante Rajesh Shringarpore's character of Sanjay Somji was also reportedly based on Raj Thackeray, the estranged nephew of political leader Bal Thackeray; thus furthering the general viewpoint that the series is based on Bal Thackeray and his family. Apparently Ram Gopal Verma had even shown Raj Thackeray rushes of the film to allay his fears of being wrongly portrayed.[25]

Sequel

In 2009 Ram Gopal Verma stated that he had no plans finalised for the third instalment in the series and shelved Sarkar 3.[26] However, in 2012 it was reported that the sequel would go ahead once again and currently is in the pre production stage where the script is being written. The film is expected to go on floors at the end of 2013, primarily with the same cast of Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan although his character dies at the end of this film and also Aishwarya Rai is to be left out.[27][28]

In August, 2016 director Ram Gopal Varma confirmed Sarkar 3.[29] He told on his Twitter that Abhishek and Aishwarya will not be a part of the third installment.[30]

Notes
  1. Awards, festivals and organizations are in alphabetical order.
  2. Date is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.
  3. Previously known as Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards.

References
  1. "Top Lifetime Grossers Worldwide (IND Rs)". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 31 January 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  2. "BBC – Shropshire – Entertainment – Sarkar Raj unveiled at Cannes".
  3. "Bollywood biggies bet big on Cannes". Daily News and Analysis.
  4. David (16 June 2006). "The Films of Ram Gopal Varma – An Overview". Cinema Strikes Back. Archived from the original on 25 July 2009. Retrieved 22 February 2009.
  5. "Bangkok for 2008 IIFA Awards". DESIblitz. 31 May 2008.
  6. "Sarkar Raj makes it to the Academy of Motion Pictures library". Bollywood Hungama. 2 August 2008. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  7. "Sarkar Raj : Box Office India". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  8. IndiaFM (18 July 2008). "Apne dhandhe ki jaat hi aisi hai:RGV". Sify. Archived from the original on 21 October 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  9. "Sarkar 3 Review {3/5}: Abhishek Bachchan is in top form, mesmerizing you with his grey shades and grey irises". The Times of India.
  10. Hasan, Sheeba (31 May 2008). "'Sarkar Raj' power play". Masala.
  11. Adarsh, Taran (5 June 2008). "Sarkar Raj : Movie Review by Taran Adarsh". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  12. Chopra, Sonia. "Movie Review : Sarkar Raj (Review)". Sify. Archived from the original on 17 February 2015. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  13. Sen, Raja (6 June 2008). "Sarkaricature Raj". Rediff. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  14. Malani, Gaurav (6 June 2008). "Sarkar Raj: Movie Review". The Economic Times. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  15. Chopra, Anupama (6 June 2008). "Movie Review: Sarkar Raj". NDTVMovies.com. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  16. Kazmi, Nikhat (6 June 2008). "Sarkar Raj". The Times of India. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  17. Southern, Nathan. "Sarkar Raj : Critics' Reviews". MSN Movies. Archived from the original on 23 September 2012. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  18. "All India 2008 (Figures in INR Crore)". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 18 January 2008. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  19. "Nominations for 54th Filmfare Awards 2009". Sify. 16 February 2009. Archived from the original on 17 June 2021. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  20. "Nominations for the IIFA Awards 2009". Bollywood Hungama. 29 April 2009. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  21. "4TH APSARA PRODUCERS GUILD AWARDS NOMINEES". Apsara Awards. Retrieved 4 July 2021.
  22. "Nominations of 4th Apsara Film & Television Producers Guild Awards". Bollywood Hungama. 23 November 2009. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  23. "15th Star Screen Awards Nominations". Screen. Archived from the original on 21 January 2009. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  24. Bollywood Hungama News Network (10 February 2009). "Nominations for Pan Bahar Max Stardust Awards 2009". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 21 September 2011. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  25. Shah, Kunal (9 May 2008). "Why Raj wants to see Sarkar..." Mumbai Mirror. Archived from the original on 24 October 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2008.
  26. Iyer, Meena (21 July 2009). "Sarkar 3 shelved!". The Times of India. Retrieved 9 August 2011.
  27. "Amitabh, Abhishek to star in Sarkar 3". The Times of India. 26 April 2012. Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  28. "'Sarkar 3' on cards, sans Aishwarya: Ram Gopal Varma". IBN Live. 26 April 2012. Archived from the original on 28 April 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2012.
  29. "Ram Gopal Varma announces Sarkar 3". bollywoodhungama.com. 22 August 2016. Archived from the original on 23 August 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
  30. "Ram Gopal Varma on 'Sarkar 3': Reports on rest of cast, apart from Amitji, are wrong". The Times of India. ANI. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 24 August 2016.
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