Film Review: Sarkar Raj

"...govinda, govinda, govinda, govinda, govinda, govinda, GO-vin-daaaaa......" go-in-daaa...theaters and watch this film...

It was all in all highly entertaining, even though, this Bachan-Rai (i.e. father, son, and holy daughter) dirty-politics thriller should not get rating of more than 3 stars.

And, it is official: I can no longer stand director RGV (Ram Gopal Varma). For starters, he keeps upping the Muslim body-count in his films. RGV, well-known for films, Satya, Company, Sarkar--all about the dark, politically turbulent Mumbai underworld competing with/running over the state for its share of power and violence--has lost even the ability to cover up loop-holes of the plot. As if Sarkar (i.e. government) wasn't enough, RGV had to go and get seriously rajniti about it all--and the film can be quite didactic in several parts, what with father teaching son, and son teaching father about the sinews of progress. We are supposed to feel sorry, in the end, for the losses that dynastic emperors must endure. The union between corporate interests and right-wing Hindu capital in Sarkar Raj is celebrated with more than a few honorary bullet-holes: main theme here is our traitors are everywhere. And, be especially wary, for a hissing Muslim hood-ster could be waiting right around the corner biding his time before he pops you. Curious about how the BJP is defining Rajniti? It's here.

Sarkar Raj, sequel to 2005 hit, Sarkar, is about populist leader Subhash Nagre (Amitabh Bachan), a.k.a. Sarkar (lit. government), the possibly single most powerful man in all of Mumbai. Nagre's character is modeled on Bal Thackeray (and family), leader of the right-wing Shiv Sena; he is a God-father-esque patriarch who, like Marlon Brando, always gives his clients "an offer they can't refuse." But it's not just that: Nagre also has a political philosophy, elaborated in Sarkar Raj. "To take a life is a crime. To take it at the right time, well, that is good government." (Poor translation of rajniti, I know...but we can chat about all that later.)

In the first, like the second film, the narrative moves forward by wedging Sarkar between 1) the nasty politics of rival underworld competitors below, who typically join hands to violently overthrow, that is, eliminate, Nagre, 2) the corrupt business and state interests from above, who threaten to devalue Nagre's economic net-worth, and 3) his very enormous political constituency, who can turn for, or against him depending on just how much the media spins it. In the world of Sarkar, there is no distinction between civil and political society (see Partha Chatterjee blurb): it's all political. Having tea with Sarkar--even if you are lucky, desperate, or well-connected enough--is pretty loaded (there are armed guards standing around him at all times), but that is as civil as it gets. Nagre's entire family constitutes the extended members of a political party with internal factions that have the capacity to self-implode in expressions of fratricide. (I have to admit, I really miss Vishnu, though I think it's Kay Kay Menon's acting I miss more). All in all, just another day in the life of a hardcore, right-wing Hindu populist organization.

Sarkar Raj's story has strong parallels with the fall of Enron, and is also a commentary on the recent Nandigram crisis in West Bengal. Basically, smart, savvy, sexy, second-in-command CEO (see-eee-oh me in my new power suit), Anita Rajan (Aishwarya Rai) owns an international power company. Dear Anita is planning to build a new facility, a gi-normous, mega power plant in rural Maharashtra and the only way she can build it, is if she seeks permission from Nagre. Problem 1. the power plant will forcibly remove over 40,000 people from their villages and Nagre rightly thinks this is outrageous. Problem 1, however, is solved when Subhash Nagre's son, the U.K. educated, business-savvy Shankar (Abhishek Bachan) sees the project as progress for Maharashtra and convinces his father.

Problem 2. Now Subhash Nagre's mentor, grand village patriarch, Rao Saahb (Dilip Prabhavalkar) of Thakurvadi--the area where the plant is to be built--must be convinced that the project is a worthwhile endeavor. Problem 2 is solved, well, sort of, when the Gandhian Rao Saahb consents to Shankar's request. Yes, he and Anita can go about the country-side in a propaganda campaign, explaining to the villagers, just why the power plant is a good thing. (This is, um democracy?) We hear mainly inspirational music in the background, and peasants nodding their heads in agreement. (Why is it a good thing, exactly? The film repeatedly reminds us that this project "will solve all the electricity problems of Maharashtra forever" and if we have any doubts, we can sit down with Nagre and co. and read the reports for ourselves).

Problems 3, 4, and 5 quickly arise: 3) Rao Saahb's grandson, a fiery leftist (for the left can only yell, whereas the language of capital is calculated calm) is going on a counter-propaganda mission, warning Thakurvadi residents that Subhash Nagre is after what little land they have and the power plant will end up displacing them; 4) an evil Muslim under(over)lord, Hassan Qazi (Govind Namdeo) is conspiring with a Gujarati industrialist and a bought-out petty politician to eradicate Nagre's empire for they want a share in the multi-crore project. Note: dramatic music ensues when Hasan Qazi tells Nagre, 'Sir, I am your biggest fan." 5) lastly, the Nagre blood-line is threatened with extinction and Anita's father, the CEO of Sheppard Co. is plotting with Shankar's enemies to move the power plant project to Gujarat and eliminate Shankar if he has to...

At some point Subhash Nagre does have a heart attack. And Anita, of course, tries to get her smack on with Shankar. But don't worry, the repetitive musical score will so emotionally black-mail you, you may not notice the dead bodies piling up, and you will not anticipate in any way whatsoever, until the very end, just how ridiculously deep the conspiracy theory can go...the trailer's here.