Ardh Satya (1983)A newly appointed police rookie deals with corruption, romance, and brutality. Director:Govind Nihalani |
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Ardh Satya (1983)A newly appointed police rookie deals with corruption, romance, and brutality. Director:Govind Nihalani |
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| Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
| Om Puri | ... | ||
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Smita Patil | ... |
Jyotsna Gokhale
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| Amrish Puri | ... |
Faujdar Velankar
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Shafi Inamdar | ... |
Inspector Hyder Ali
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Achyut Potdar | ... |
Inspector Patil
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Sadashiv Amrapurkar | ... |
Rama Shetty
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| Naseeruddin Shah | ... |
Mike Lobo
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Prabhakar Patankar |
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Rafique Mukadam |
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Madhuri Purandare |
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Shanta Gokhale |
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Ila Arun | ... |
Neha Vajpayee
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Leela Jariwala |
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Arun Kakde |
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Suresh Bhagwat | ... |
Complainant
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After having watched his cop father abuse his mother and compel him to become a Sub-Inspector with Maharashtra Police, Anant Velankar, who had wanted to complete his MBA, re-locates to live in Bombay. It is here he meets and falls in love with a Lecturer, Jyotsna Gokhale. Proud of his profession and hoping to make a change, he soon realizes that the police are manipulated by politicians like Rama Shetty to do their bidding. Frustrated, he turns his anger on suspects held in cells and beats them mercilessly. His frustrations arise after he is sidelined for a medal while apprehending a dacoit, and being counseled by Jyotsna to resign from this job. Things only get worse after he is humiliated by Rama Shetty, who is now campaigning to be a Municipal Councillor, as well his superior, Inspector Patil. He takes to alcohol, gets suspended and with a Delhi-contact gets reinstated. Things only get worse after he brutally assaults another suspect resulting in death. It is this news that will ... Written by rAjOo (gunwanti@hotmail.com)
Any story comprises a premise, characters and conflict. Characters plotting their own play promises triumph, and a militant character readily lends oneself to this. Ardh Satya's premise is summarized by the poem of the same name scripted by Dilip Chitre. The line goes - "ek palde mein napunsaktha, doosre palde mein paurush, aur teek tarazu ke kaante par, ardh satya ?". A rough translation - "The delicate balance of right & wrong ( commonly seen on the busts of blind justice in the courts ) has powerlessness on one plate and prowess on another. Is the needle on the center a half-truth ? "
The poem is recited midway in the film by Smita Patil to Om Puri at a resturant. It makes a deep impact on the protagonist & lays the foundation for much of the later events that follow. At the end of the film, Om Puri ends up in exactly the same situation described so aptly in the poem.
The film tries mighty hard to do a one-up on the poem. However, Chitre's words are too powerful, and at best, the film matches up to the poem in every aspect.