Satyagraha (2013)

A corporate go-getter sees his priorities shift when a personal tragedy brings him face-to-face with political corruption.

Director:

Prakash Jha

Writers:

Prakash Jha, Anjum Rajabali

Stars:

Amitabh Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor, Ajay Devgn

Cast

Credited cast:
Amitabh Bachchan	...	Dwarka Anand
Kareena Kapoor	...	Yasmin Ahmed (as Kareena Kapoor Khan)
Ajay Devgn	...	Manav Raghvendra
Amrita Rao	...	Sumitra
Arjun Rampal	...	Arjun
Manoj Bajpayee	...	Balram Singh (as Manoj Bajpai)
Anjali Patil
Natasa Stankovic	...	Dancer
Vipin Sharma	...	Gauri Shankar
Mukul Chadda	...	Harinath
Mugdha Godse	...	Malini Mishra
Indraneil Sengupta	...	Akhilesh
Ivan Rodrigues	...	Channel Head ABP News
Shireesh Sharma	...	CHIEF MINISTER
Ajay Trehan	...	Durgalal

Storyline

Satyagraha is the story of a son who yearns for a father. Of a father, who grieves for his lost son. Of a young woman who fights so hard with life that she has forgotten to love. Of an ambitious rabble-rouser, for whom action is the knee-jerk mantra. It is the story of how these four discover one another, and come together to raise hell, shaking the powers that be to their very roots! But, Satyagraha is also the story of an influential power-hungry despot who will stop at nothing to destroy them. Satyagraha: The revolution has begun!

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Plot Keywords:

politics | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

30 August 2013 (India)

Also Known As:

Der Widerstand

Filming Locations:

Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh, India

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$23,851, 13 September 2013, Limited Release

Gross USA:

$738,525, 29 September 2013

Company Credits

Production Co:

Prakash Jha Productions, UTV Motion Pictures

Technical Specs

Runtime:

152 min

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The film, starring Amitabh Bachchan as social activist Anna Hazare, was shot mainly in Bhopal and New Delhi. The state-of-the-art news studio set was built in Bhopal as it offered more space. Ralegan Siddhi (village of Anna Hazare), a small village in Maharashtra with a population of roughly 2,500 people, served as one of the main shooting locations.

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Goofs

When Ajay Devgn & Kareena Kapoor read Akhilesh's diary, the hosting website's title is "Dailymotion," which is a video-hosting website.

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Connections

References Gangaajal (2003)

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Soundtracks

Aiyo Ji (remix)
Sung by Salim Merchant & Shraddha Pandit
Music composed by Salim Merchant and Salim-Sulaiman (as Salim-Sulaiman)
Lyrics written by Prasoon Joshi

User Reviews

Satyagraha – the lesser truth

After the super successful political thriller 'Raajneeti', when Prakash Jha gave a confused 'Aarakshan', all were curious to know as to which side will his latest camel 'Satyagraha' sit. Sadly, the movie goes the latter way, though most of the ensemble and genre resemble the former one. Let's delve straight into its facets:

• Plot: The movie draws its name from Gandhian way of dissent which was used recently by Anna Hazare and gang. Yes, it does talk about Gandhian principals and tries its best to showcase the most contemporary topic 'corruption', yet fails to serve the message quite well. The basic problem is- treatment. Unlike the crisp 'Raajneeti', sluggish 'Satyagraha' keeps meandering throughout, trying to match Anna movement, literally. In the process, everything appears fake and characters look mere reel caricatures of the real. It attempts to take you through micro nuances of our rotten politico-administrative system, which finally lead to a macro movement. The intent is commendable; however, it's the content and presentation which falter. Realism gets lost in commercialism (lots of brand endorsements there!), larger-than-life portrayal of a ground-level subject and overdose of crowd-protests. Barring a few moments of real business, movie looks more preachy and glossy (facebooked). Climax is a big let-down out of its abruptness and fictional treatment.

• Casting: The ensemble of big names does not disappoint you when it comes to performance. Big B is a master at his work and exudes both strength and fragility with equal ease. It was good to see Ajay back to some serious stuff after his Himmatwala/ SoS phase, though he is unable to match his Gangajal feat. Kareena looks beautiful in the street-smart character. Hunk Arjun oozes ample masculinity while Amrita Rao is mostly on MMS mode. It's basically Manoj Bajpai who is the biggest saving grace with his comical villain-giri. Though his character is a shadow of Virendra Pratap of 'Rajneeti', he carries off this one too equally well.

• Music: In my previous reviews too, I have mentioned, in movies based on genuine subjects, music should be pushed to background only. 'Satyagraha' loses out here too. Unnecessary songs and persistent rock bands at movement-sthal, all steal authenticity from the flick. 'Janta rocks' makes you wonder whether you are watching a 'Rock on' while Adesh Srivastava fails to repeat a 'Mora piya' with 'Ras ke bhare'. Only 'Raghupati Raghav' manages to touch you both through the remixed music and meaningful lyrics. In all, music only interrupts the already snail- paced movie.

To conclude, 'Satyagraha' does no justice to its name, star-cast and the noble message it intended to deliver. I really hope some other film-maker to grab the burning subject and present to us something more authentic, moving and engrossing. This one is certainly not the one expected from a Prakash Jha!