Satyagraha (2013) User Reviews

Good Story but not hard hitting

[SivakumarBalachandran · 6/10 · 31 August 2013]

This time I would like to keep my review short. "Satyagraha" as the name depicts Insistence on the truth and non violence against corruption and current Indian political system. It is said as a work of fiction but even a small kid can say the story is closely resembles Anna's (played by Big B) movement and his deputy Arvind Kejriwal (played by Ajay Devagan). The movie definitely dwells bollywood-ism at times like item song at start and an irrelevant romantic song. But we can watch it for the solid performances of Big B and Manoj Bajpai. Definitely not hard hitting as Madras cafe but has got some good message about public awakening.

-Reviewed by Sivakumar Balachandran

([e-mail])

Fiction Is Stronger Than Reality. ♦ 60%

[nairtejas · 6/10 · 31 August 2013]

The theme mirrors the current political state in India. But the plot has been seen in many Bollywood political thrillers were everything is predictable. Satyagaraha is no different.

Talking about the revolution by the people of a district against the corrupt government, Prakash Jha has tried to do what he does best: RESEARCH & SHOW! The first half is brutally original & I appreciate that. But come second half, and your enthusiasm will see a drastic decline due to the usual, "borrowed" elements from his previous films and/or other potboilers. Yes, it does tell a tale worth watching with average dialogs, simple setup, but the punch-power withdraws as the 150- minute screenplay advances to ultimate predictability.

Cast performance is very good & I don't need to mention who did well. Of course, the antagonists. Now, come on! But the protagonists have done well, too. Score is below average, editing is fine & the whole setup - gives a natural appeal. Mostly, towards the end it again takes an authentic turn when they show how the repercussions of a people's revolution can turn out to be. Laudable!

And, there was no need for that item song and romance! But, welcome to Bollywood!

BOTTOM LINE: Fresh writing garnished by stale ingredients, that is what Satyagraha is. It manages to convey a message, but we all know, reality can never be manipulative as fiction. 6.0 out of 10! Youth can go have a look!

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? YES

Profanity/Nudity/Sex: No | Mouth-Kiss: very Mild | Violence/Gore: Critical | Smoking/Alcohol/Drugs: No

Satyagraha – the lesser truth

[Swapnilagarwal · 5/10 · 1 September 2013]

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!

Must Join this Revolution

[VikasBansal · 31 August 2013]

Prakash Jha is back with another social subject oriented movies, this time he focuses on Corruption and dirty politics of current system. The movie begins with very small issue which becomes the starting point of revolution and slowly and steadily revolution gains pace and momentum. First half of the movie is very slow and predictable but as movie enters second, it energies the audience with every scene showing the true character of current government towards public's welfare. Packed with intense dialogues and brilliant capture of rural locations of country, Jha was able to bring down the truth on silver screen. Movie has lots of flaws. Love story between Ajay and Kareena seemed totally out of the way as per movie's subject and story. Music is also not up to the mark except for just one song. "Raghu Pati Raja Ram" song keeps audience engaged with its excellent lyrics. Whole Star cast did full justice to their roles, Specially BIG B, he was simply brilliant. Ajay as usual good with intense roles and Manoj good with his negative image. Overall brilliant effort by Jha to bring this corruption problem on silver screen from which whole nation is suffering from past so many years. He tried his best to show the root causes of this dirty politics. Overall everyone must join this revolution to contribute against corruption. My verdict to this is 3/5 Stars.!!!!

MY REVIEW: The Truth Is Still Not Out!!

[saytosandeep · 7/10 · 31 August 2013]

May be Parakash Jha thought picking a sensitive subject like anti-corruption movement, signing few great actors, making them speechifying their dialogs, put some usual masala will be good enough to steer the audience in theaters. He did not realize, it would require a tense and dark atmosphere and well synchronized story telling to make the kind of impact that audience were expecting when they enter into the theaters on first day itself. Movie delves into too many issues and ends up finding no solution for anything. Obviously many scenes touch but disappointing thing is those scenes were having potential to tear you apart and it was never tried. The movie remains a dramatic presentation of Anna Hazaare Jan Lokpal Movement. Manoj Bajpayee is outstanding. Amitabh does not miss a beat. Ajay Devgn seems committed but not in top form. Amrita Rao is average. Kareena Kapoor is being wasted. Why she has to look best of herself in every scene? Romance between her and Ajay Devgn is forced and out of the context. I did expect some volcanic emotional eruptions and ended up lighting few more candles.

Take your favourite game with you because this film doesn't attempt to involve you at all - flat, linear pace, lacks story

[ale-xpressed1 · 3/10 · 1 September 2013]

The trailers of Satyagraha promised a lot but delivers absolutely nothing. The film runs at a linear pace with limited content and not even trying to keep you involved. It fails to capture the attention of the audience and fails miserably at delivering its high drama political story. Characters are weak and ill defined except for Manoj Bajpai who is good as always. Kareena was not needed in the film at all. You don't want to mix glamour and romance if you're attempting a political drama but Prakash Jha couldn't resist the Bollywoodisation. There is no chemistry between Kareena and Ajay Dewgun and the most romantic/intimate scenes of the film are actually it's most funny scenes resulting in loud laughters in the hall. Essentially, you've a man or two fighting for democratic rights but are both extremely autocratic and don't even try to keep you involved in this films which has no story. Still better than Chennai Express - there is nothing much on so you may want to go and watch it.; Make sure you've Candy Crush Saga on your phone as you will need it. My rating 3/10.

Initially Enthralling but Lacks after wards....

[akasharma1996 · 6/10 · 30 August 2013]

Satyagraha:Jumma Review.. First half was too good but the second half was losing grip a bit ..the songs made no sense in the movie and the Romantic Duet was just a modified version of "Mora Piya".Ending could have been much better and convincing....Watch It for Good Acting and Direction...Story was just OK..OK....Could have been edited a lot and made short.(like my review) when we usually watch these type of flicks then adrenaline rush happens that we are gonna change the system but i had no idea where to start to struggle???

Prakash Jha is a good director and i don't think any director can film a slap scene so precisely like he does...be it Ranbir getting slapped in Raajneti..or The mild violence in Gangaajal

Speaking of Amitabh Bachan, he came after a long time and nailed it as Dadduji and praising is just repetition of facts.He is turning out to be the stereotype Sasurjee of widowers (Baabul,Viruddh and now this)

Amrita Rao is totally underrated because the screen time she had she performed it really well even better than Kareena of whom i heard went to Journalism workshops for enhancement but sucked anyway.

Ajay Devgn was the core of the movie and Manoj Bajpayee..still manages to get the best dialogues in the movie

Arjun Rampal was true portrayal of how a wannabe goon who is expelled from school behaves and develops his own following in the town.

A vague attempt to exploit a recent national issue, which is again made in Jha's same old set pattern, with no impressive solution for the problem.

[bobbysing · 4/10 · 8 September 2013]

If reputed directors like Prakash Jha are only interested in coming up with clever but weak products such as SATYAGRAHA repeatedly, then I am also only willing to a spoof kind of review of the film in the form of a fictional conversation between a producer and a director as below: Producer : Hi Director Saab, These days this 'Anna movement' is in news majorly, so lets make a film on this subject.

Director : Sure, Why not……and I have even started conceiving in my mind right away! Pr : OK, Good then who would you cast as Anna? Dr : Who else, it will be the most respected name of the Industry itself, Shri Amitabh Bachhan….and believe me he will look damn good in the make-up of an old man on fast with extremely tired expressions.

Pr : Great, but what about the script? Dr : Oh, that's easy. We will plan first half, following the hit pattern of RAAJNEETI and then would bring all main characters together at one platform announcing the intermission. In the second half we will strictly follow what happened in the Anna Movement in Delhi, involving both the ruling as well as the opposition parties and then end the film with a roaring climax.

Pr : Good and what can you do about the other cast? Dr : Don't worry about that as I will bring in my Hit ensemble of RAJNEETI again i.e. Ajay, Arjun, Manoj and together they will make a great poster with Amitabh in center.

Pr : Fine, now what about the female cast, it should at least have a glamorous face, a love song, an item song and one Deshbhakti song to go with the mood of the film. Dr : No problems, we can easily rope in Kareena in the role of a beautiful reporter who will be always there with her make-up on and along with that we can take Amrita Rao to play it low as the victim. Plus as desired the three songs will surely be there, which can be placed anywhere before or after the interval looking at the story-flow.

Pr : Haan, In songs do take a soothing classical number from Aadesh and also put in these currently famous social networks too in some sequence like Facebook, Twitter and more. If possible make a new version of "Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram" as it gels well with our national theme. Dr : Yeah, that is really a good idea. Pr : OK, lets add some more fiery incidents and some fine actors too in order to make it more dramatic. Dr : Fine, then we can add a young boy setting himself on fire in front of Anna only (Daadu in film). Many current issues like the costly Power tariffs complaints & more corruptions related ones can be shown too. Regarding fine actors, we can bring in names such as Vipin Sharma and Indraneel Sengupta to play two key characters. But for the item song we do require some sizzling girl dancing in a revealing outfit.

Pr : That I can arrange when we finalise the shooting schedule but do use the song very intelligently as people are nowadays very much interested in criticizing them. Dr : OK, then we will use it while the titles are running on the screen as then it will not be noticed by everyone so firmly. Pr : Aur yeh aajkal Brand Promotion kaafi chal rahi hai. So I will get some Chaawal or other brands too for using in one or two scenes. Dr : No problem. Pr : One more thing Director Saab. Please write few scenes wherein Amitabh is crying silently as who can beat Amitabh in such emotional scenes with tears in his eyes. Dr : That is perfectly true Sir. But towards the end we will also put some murder mystery kind of thing to add some pace.

Pr : Ya sure. But with Anna movement in the second half, how are you planning to end it? Dr : Oh! That is very simple Sirji. As we know that this system is not going to change so easily and there is no immediate solution lying with anyone of us……….! Hence obviously the system will stand still as it is........... and it has to be the character of "Dadu" only who will die in the end, shot by the police through a conspiracy. That's it.

Pr : Haan yeh theek hai and you can show the conspiracy being done by any individual leader on his own. So in this way we will also not disturb any political party too and have a safe path. Dr : Right. But what are your releasing plans for this! Pr : Ammm……We would try to release it at Independence Day in 2013, but if any big movie is around then can shift to late August. But definitely before the elections.

Dr : OK, but honestly Sir, I wish to give a strong message through this film to the whole country about our election system and wrong choice of candidates all over! How you feel about this message? Pr : Message…….What message?? Listen Director Saab, we are film-makers not social reformers. So just use this burning issue for your script and make an entertaining film with lots of conflict between Anna, Police, People and Politicians, that's all. Dr : Got it Sir and I will surely try my best to make a commercially viable film selling this relevant social issue of our country in the name of cinema and who knows we might have another jackpot in our hands like earlier.

(With this, the conversations ends and so does the review of SATYAGRAHA, giving you all the possible hints about the movie itself.)

More of a Political Commentary on Anna's movement

[jain35-1 · 8/10 · 10 September 2013]

Director (Prakash Jha) seems to be confusingly treading the path between fiction and non-fiction but achieves neither.

Nevertheless , those who want a 2 hour interpretation of Anna's movement and had not followed it , may find it useful , treating the movie as non-fiction Historic Drama .

Out of all the characters, Manoj Bajpai's (Balram Singh) is the best executed. Kareena's character (Yasmin Ahmed) is frivolous. A more in-depth analysis was expected for Amitabh's (Anna) and Ajay's (Arvind) character.

The script needed to convey more than what met the eye through traditional media but it is just a 2 hours summary of TV reporting of last 2-3 years. In comparison, Madras Cafe, brings out a lot more than what was in Public domain earlier .

The script also lacks a proper climax and logical end .

But in spite of short comings , I would still rate it high as Movie does convey a message convincingly and logically and does have a Moral of the Story. It holds a mirror to the Voters of India , many of whom are still not convinced that corruption is a major issue in the country.

Satyagraha (7/10) - good political/social drama which can be enjoyed with family

[chirag_rawal · 7/10 · 30 August 2013]

Prakash Jha makes movies using political/social themes that many other directors/producers steer away from. Some of his movies include... Gangajal, Apaharan, , Aarakshan, Chakravyuh, Rajneeti etc.

His recent movie Satygraha uses a great star cast including Ajay Devgan, Amitabh Bachan, Arjun Rampal, Kareena Kapoor, Amrita Rao and Manoj Bajpayee who all can be given credit for excellent performances. They all justify their characters in the movie providing the audiences a great entertainer that can be enjoyed with family.

However, there are a few points that the movie lacks and therefore may fall weak in the eyes of the audiences. For example, the part where Ajay Devgan discovers intelligence reports by hacking into the PC could have been better portrayed and used to fight their case against the government in the movie. Instead they use the information and get Sangram (Balram's younger brother) arrested and that story dies there. This such information could have been for instance used in media to gain public vote or at least used against Balram to weaken his political strength. However this story was not effectively explored and could fail to meet the expectations of the audiences.

The movie runs at a steady pace and it does deliver both excitement and entertainment by the on and off comic dialogues by Manoj Bajpayee's Balram and the typical action you would expect of a Prakash Jha movie. Also as always Amitab Bachan portrays his character (Dwarka Anand) very well and is one of the few reasons why this film is worth watching.

However, again the movie fails to deliver a good conclusion to the story and therefore may lose a few votes from the audience. The steady paced movie ends all of a sudden where in the last 5 minutes of the movie, out of nowhere Ajay Devgan finds Manoj Bajpayee (who at the time is hiding and running away from police and the government) and hands him to the police custody. We don't see a concrete conclusion to the well built story and are left with a few loose ends.

Overall this is in recent time a well attempted political-socio drama which is a good entertainer that can be enjoyed with family. It has typical dialogues and action sequences that you would expect from a Prakash Jha movie and will not let you down.

I would give this movie 7 out of 10 rating.

It succeeds to touch but fails to penetrate

[dineshprakash · 5/10 · 30 August 2013]

Bravo for choosing such type of subject, which is very related to now a days social problems. Director Mr.Prakash Jha is known for it. Concept is good. Screenplay is written very conveniently rather that showing some mind game. Almost every incident is common. Problems are taken and shown in general way. Somehow, it reflects a naive approach because all this incidents are very common as an audience due to media coverage of lots of Satyagrahas. Surprisingly sad track is very weak. You won't feel that much of pain, which will be being shown on screen. Same fate for love scenes. A person is emotionally complaining to you for your carelessness then rather showing concern you just made a lip lock and finishes the conversation!!!? Even, it was first time your love shown towards that person. First lip lock shouldn't be so accidental and impulsive. Metaphor of that wine bottle is also not very emotional. Two persons are angrily arguing across the railway track and trains are being passed between!!! It is too much. Performance wise Mr. Amitabh Bachchan is amazing. Ajay Devgan is superb. Manoj Bajpeyi is outstanding. Kareena Kapoor Khan is very good. Amrita Rao is OK. Music doesn't support the film well. In this type of film, music has to pace up the mood but all tracks are just so so.

Somewhat realistic view of Satyagraha and teaching us how a Revolution can turn to Terrorism or Civil War , And how to stop it from turning into one.

[djsidharth-288-728492 · 10/10 · 31 August 2013]

Best movie I have seen gives a somewhat realistic view of Anna type Satyagraha , And TELLING US how a Revolution can turn to Terrorism or Civil War , And how to stop it from turning into one. It is a Tribute to Gandhi Ji and Anna Ji. And helps us understand mistakes that Anna and Team Anna Must have make like how government made Anna have food and stop the biggest revolution i have ever seen in my life time by false promises. It teaches how a revolution with non violence should work and what type of mistakes should be avoided. For me it is 5 out of 5 . And Best of Prakash Jha till date . According to me people should and watch this movie (And learn) and not to go by reviews

Good film but could have been better

[koustavavc · 6/10 · 30 August 2013]

The film has been a good experimentation effort by prakash jha but somehow fail to touch the heart. Acting effort from everyone seems like they were pretty much dedicated to the film. Salim Suleiman was superb in back ground score. I felt the film to be little lengthy but overall one word is ACCEPTABLE.Big B was as perfect as expected. Ajay devgn steady and serious appearance seems to be good. Arjun Rampal retain his maturity level of acting from D-DAY. MANOJ BAJPAI was perfect in his character after ARAKSHAN... Still expectation was little higher from prakash jha..

The film is watchable...

worst movie ever seen in my life

[abhijeet-kaushal · 1/10 · 23 July 2014]

Now is the worst movie of prakash jha I just walked out of the hall after interval. No story line , this movie makes no sense. This movie tried to capture the anti corruption movement of anna hazare but totally failed.

I believe prakash jha has totally lost the way. It is impossible for me to believe that he made awesome movies like gangajall and apaharan Its look like he just want to make movies without any story and dialogues.

I will recommend everyone not to watch this pathetic movie and waste your time . kareena kapoor is looking awesome in this movie but there is nothing more than her in this pathetic movie

Non Cooperation with Satyagraha

[ashishgautam87 · 1 September 2013]

Well there is a scene in the movie where Manoj Bajpai (arguably the best performer of the movie) mocks Satyagraha movement of Mr Ambitabh Bacchan. He ridicules the protesters because of their corporate (read westernized) culture ,rock bands (hard to believe)and serving of eateries at a site of a hunger strike.The scene captures the essence of the movie which tries to be too serious about the topic but fails to stir an emotion in the audience. The actors don't have well defined roles ,songs are irrelevant ,cinematography below par (believe me I have stayed in Bhopal for more than two years and she has much better places to shoot than a couple of sets and educational institutions which are shot so many times that somewhere down the line you pray you were HANUMAN so that you can burn down those sets to ashes) and direction well Prakash Jha direction personifies his role in the movie (Watch out for the beggar in the crowd).The protesters in all the scenes seem to be more zealous than they actually should be ( to add some somber tone afterall we are not there to watch a Rohit Shetty film). The movie lacks any emotion and even the most heart breaking or heart aching ones leave you unaffected. On the acting front I would say Manoj Bajpai has done a decent job , Ajay Devgn is totally wasted , Karina seems more fashion conscious for a professional journalist and Amitabh Bachhan is more of an authoritarian (without violence) than a Gandhian.All in all the movie is a waste of time with a runtime of about 3 hours. Go outdoors or watch a repeat run on TV rather than wasting your time on this.

4/10.

A sincere attempt to portray the stinking truth of Indian politics. Should be watched by every Indian

[ketgup83 · 7/10 · 2 September 2013]

Prakash Jha is famous for his contribution to hard-hitting political dramas like Mrityudand , Gangajal , Rajneeti. Satyagraha leaves no stone un-turned in divulging the corruption and hypocrisy that is very much predominant in our society.

Satyagraha tells the story of fight and struggle of old school teacher Dwarka Anand against government , system , politician.

From veteran director Prakash Jha , Satyagraha starts off with a bang with initial reels showcasing the fight between common man and government. Actual drama unfolds when Dwarka Anand is arrested for slapping a local collector for not releasing government compensation for his son's death. The movie follows series of events which is breath- taking and engrossing. However, the screenplay falters later and you began to loose interest in this elongated tale. Direction wise Prakash Jha chooses the true incidents( Anna Hazare's sacrifice) but loses the balances tripping down the rabbit hole. Screenplay is better. Editing should need a serious attention. Music is disappointing. Performances by the star cast compensates for this . Amitabh Bacchan is outstanding. Watch for him in the climax scene. Ajay Devgan and Arjun Rampal lends in a good support. Manoj Bajpai is good as wicked politician. Kareena Kapoor and Amrita Rao is passable.

Overall , Satyagraha is a sincere attempt to portray the stinking truth of Indian politics. Should be watched by every Indian. Good 3/5

Lame execution of the Anna Hazaare Movement delivered by top Indian actors with pathetic acting.

[aks-strings · 1/10 · 1 September 2013]

A great potential of a story gone to such a waste. I don't think I want to write a review for the movie, just a suggestion, stop watching such movies. I can't really understand how this movie got such a high rating of 7.2 so far on IMDb and the local newspapers. Even if you were to manage to sit through the gruesome and torturing 3 hours of utter nonsense, the soundtrack of the movie will make you wish you never had ears. The cast on the first impression makes you think this might be a great piece of work, but... what a disappointment. Such fine bollywood actors like Ajay Devgan and even Amitabh Bachchan seemed to have forgotten how to act and the direction could be the biggest disaster in recent bollywood history. Manoj Bajpai was alright, although I fail to understand why he would have agreed to act in such a pathetic movie. The best acting was done by a female in a scene with her 2 hungry kids.

I gave it 1 out of 10 on IMDb, it deserves less than that.

Typical Prakash Jha Film

[suchipalem · 6/10 · 31 August 2013]

The movie is all about the corruption in the government and a retired school principal take the government.It is a typical Prakash Jha film and the movie is about a common problem with every Indian.The good side of the movie is acting of Manoj Bajpayee ,Amitabh Bachchan. Their acting in the movie is really good.The bad part of the movie is that it has a abrupt ending and the movie's pace falls in the second half and lot of unnecessary scenes in the second half make's it quite boring. Songs in the movie where unnecessary.It is like every Prakash Jha film based on the common man's problems faced in India.It is a good and decent movie but a one time watch movie.

Satyagraha dosen't do justice....

[ckaran80 · 3/10 · 1 September 2013]

Great star-cast, electrifying promos and a intense topic of corruption...all this leads you look at this movie with high expectations, but the fact is that satyagraha fails to do any kind of justice to the audience.Satyagraha is about the protest against corruption initiated by a group of people and is loosely based on Anna Hazare's movement against corruption...

The title Satyagraha in itself enough to explain the magnanimosity of the movie, but that is where it fails to enhance.Given the idea of corruption, the writers and directors should have capitalized on the concept,instead they just managed to make it as cliché and banal as they possibly could...

The movie, at no point whatsoever is even close in touching your emotions.Rather, emphasis is given on personal relations between the characters which you feel as if you are watching some daily serial.The plot has many loopholes...the movie begins on a high note and then goes literally nowhere from there onwards and after the movie you feel like what was the point of this all anyways? In view of the current scenario in India, movie based on corruption should try to raise anger among the viewers just like movies like nayak did...but as for Satyagraha-thumbs down...

Script is disgusting, screenplay is going nowhere, background score is average, songs are childish and the dialogs are too old-school and unenergetic.

As far as performances are concerned,Ajay Devgn and Amitabh Bachchan are not up to their best,Arjun Rampal is wasted, Kareena Kapoor is good in the first half and Amrita Rao is good,only Manoj Vajpai manages to impress as always...

+points - intense topic and Manoj Vajpai's performance -points - 1. lack of neat execution

2. poor direction

3. pathetic dialogs

4. poor climax

Disgusting narration - 1. Ajay Devgn starts a revolution simply...as if its a piece of cake. 2. Excessive use of twitter and face-book. 3. There has to be a romantic angle between Ajay and Kareena, no matter whatever they do. 4. The protagonists are themselves unaware of their actual motives.

In short, Satyagraha is a movie which gives you high expectation in the first 15-20 minutes and then just betrays you till the very end...

Satyagraha : A movie you should not miss.

[rhl-sachan · 8/10 · 1 September 2013]

The best thing in the movie was to bring it very close to real life experiences. You will easily find yourself familiar with the movement against corruption which is the base of the movie. In a scene Ajay explains how we can use strategic experience to solve problems of ground level easily. Also when the war breaks out between crowd and police forces, you can see what in reality happens behind our backs at such protests.

Each and every one has done his/her role nicely. Only the character which is played by Kareena (Yasmeen) is not clear but she has done her work nicely. Amitabh Bacchan has delivered another great performance. He never stops and get better with every single films. He has carried his character with so much grace that you can't find words enough to appreciate him.

I advice you not to believe in critics rating. You can't afford to miss such a movies in Bollywood. We get very few of this kind in Bollywood. Don't worry about having romantic masala ingredient. It's just for less than 5 minutes.

For me: Acting 10/10, Script 8/10, Direction 8/10, Songs 9/10, Music 10/10. Overall, its worth a watch for the audience which believes that India needs to get corruption free soon. The theme song Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram will bring out the emotion in you. The music excellent. http://qr.ae/Ij0ys

For me the movie lost track only at two places. First was when projecting Ajay's character as addicted to bad business world and second as expected, Ajay & Kareena's love scene and romantic song. It was not more than 6-7 minutes in total and rest of the movie gelled well with the script, theme and subject.

A must watch for those who love to be inspired...but goes impractical in some ways!!!

[koushikdas508 · 7/10 · 23 September 2013]

A hard slap to that Corrupted Govt. Servant and then that powerful voice echoed in every corners of the theater "Enough!!!..Naukar hai aap janata ke aur Bartamizee bardast nahi karenge hum!!!"..... n ‪#‎Claps‬ from each spectator who were present into the theater!!!...The greatest Actor of Indian Film Industry as usual Rules over the billions of Indian Movie Lovers!!! ‪#‎HatsOff‬ ‪#‎BigB‬ Sir!!! ..................... Watched Satyagraha today!!!...May be its not among the best creations by the Mastero ‪#‎PrakashJha‬, may be it adds some extra-colour n goes little awful in the basis of reality in some times,but this Political Drama definitely sends a Strong and Powerful message to the Generation X and Y!!!..They can feel its time to arise,awake n reform our beautiful country which is unfortunately driven by the corrupted Govt.!!!‪ #‎Satyagraha‬ is a timely wakeup call for a wounded nation!!!It showed the corruption n injustice of our society from the very root!!!..The Songs specially 'Raghu Pati Raghava Raja Ram' was treat to hear..The Background score n Cinematography were just perfect..!!! .................... ‪#‎SultanOfBollywood‬ did so many roles in this type of character before...it was not among his bests too..‪#‎ArjunRampal‬ almost resumed his role of ‪#‎Raajneeti‬ in an another name n other recognition....‪#‎KareenaKapoorKhan‬ was so so..‪#‎AmritaRao‬ suppressed her,I feel..‪#‎IndranilSengupta‬ n other actors were decent!!!! .................... But the Show-stealer & off course the Damn best performer who suppressed all in this movie,he surely was not the Hero, he was the main Antagonist Character which was played by Bollywood's one of the best actors Veteran ‪#‎ManojBajpayee‬ Sir!!!....His spontaneous dialogue delivery,humorous acting n outstanding attitude were the lifeline of this film!!!..Very Very Special Thanks to him!!!! ‪#‎Salute‬ to #ManojBajpayee Sir!!! ................... Overall its a Good movie n must watch for all!!!..You surely feel to contribute something for our India when the end credits start rolling...!!!! ................... #Satyagraha

big names bad taste

[vksingh20 · 3/10 · 1 September 2013]

This movie is simply a sad story from the beginning to the middle of it. I saw it yesterday and was forced to come out of the theatre just after 1 hour and 20 minutes to be precise. Looks like all of our directors are having nightmares in directing a good film .Just like RGV , Prakash Jha too has lost his touch. I was holding too much of expectations from this movie after seeing his last movie rajneeti which was slightly better than this one. I sometimes doubt if he is the same director who director who directed two of my all time favourites aparahan and gangajal.

Well about this movie well what to say. You cannot make a movie successful just by good marketing. The movie has too many flaws and no entertainment basically.

Satyagraha Movie Review

[diphood · 10/10 · 30 August 2013]

Satyagraha the movie which has a good script and strong actors & actress for portray the roles in silver screen.. Mr Bachchan is as usual mind blowing ,, Ajay is also appropriate in his role ,, Monoj Bajpeyi too good in negative character again after Gangs Of Wasseypur.. Begum of bollywood is so confident and proper in her new avatar as a news reporter..Amrita Rao is perfect. Now a days Arjun Rampaul is more matured actor... Music by Salim-Suleman along with Indian Ocean is too smart and modern,, the gen-next could easily connect with this music.. "Ram-Dhun" in Rock format is definitely a good experiment for bollywood music.. Not but not least heartiest thanks and good wishes for the man behind the screen Mr Prakash Jha he is truly a maestro...

Satyagrah

Staring:: Amitav Bachchan; Ajay Devgan; Karina Kapoor; Monoj Bajpai; Arjun Rampaul;Amrita Rao

Director:: Prakash Jha

Rating:: 10/10

It's as if the lion has failed to roar when the time came

[rajanahuja4 · 6/10 · 2 September 2013]

A desperately failed & contrived attempt to capture the intensity, passion and purpose of the most important era in Indian political landscape witnessed after Independence - the Anna mass movement against the Indian government.

The film tries to mean too much to too many people, loses track of the purpose midway and tries to appease too many centers of interests including the super stars, politicians or Diaspora of varied audience. In spite of super stellar performance from Amitabh Bachchan, a solid start and a strong subject, the film loses it's grip midway with too many issues, sub plots and customary irrelevant screen time to stars instead of justifying, building & deepening the core plot. It's as if the director in a dire attempt to balance commerce, art and customary allegiance to superstars, loses the grip of the movie in trying to please them all.

Bad implementation, execution, and mitigation, of a possibly hard hitting subject at hand which couldn't be realized. It's like someone has woken you up only to let you return to slumber again. For anyone, who as an Indian watched the Anna mass movement this movie seems to be a faint reflection of the reality, and rather tries to offer center stage to the stars rather than the plot. It lacks the head on audacity which was a must for a subject like this, may be due to censor or other political considerations or may be otherwise, yet it attempts to present itself as a strong heavy weight political voice (without a strong body) . Plastic performance by Kareena Kapoor who at the time of the real time Anna movement was a meek spectator devoid any basic knowledge on the subject( during an interview taken then), takes away the sheen off the subject even though the film tries to make up for it with a dose of sensuousness, glam quotient and spice she has to offer.

If it hadn't been for the face saving intensity of the main protagonist played by Amitabh Bachchan this movie would have seemed a comic assimilation of stars who are trying to vie for screen time to project themselves the flag bearers of a great political subject. One time watch for a good honest attempt and as a support for this genre to prosper.

It's as if the lion has failed to roar at all when the time came.

Now it's time for the audience to go for Satyagrah

[jmathur_swayamprabha · 5/10 · 3 September 2013]

The word 'Satyagrah' (a strong urge or insistence for truth) was coined by the Father of the Nation of India - Mahatma Gandhi in the nineteenth century as a non-violent means to oppose injustices and wrongs. After using it successfully in apartheid-hit South Africa, he reused it against the colonial rule in India. However in the post-independence (as well as the post-Gandhi) period, this pious term has been grossly misused. Prakash Jha is the latest misuser of it. He has made this movie under the title Satyagrah which is devoid of Satyagrah only but covers blackmailing under the name of mass movement, hero-worship, violence, item song, ridiculous romance, political gimmickry and above all, a hollow and superficial vision of the protagonists towards the desired end.

Prakash Jha (and his lieutenant Anjum Rajabali) has picked up the Lok Pal Bill movement of Anna Hazaare and his team (known as Team Anna in the media) for the story of this movie and forced the incidents of the murder of the honest officer - Satyendra Dubey by the construction mafia with the silent cooperation of the PMO itself, the non-violent Annshan (fasting) of Mahatma Gandhi against the policies of the British rule in India, the Chauri-Chaura incident which led Mahatma Gandhi to call his movement back in 1922 and finally, the assassination of Mahatma Gandhi himself into the narrative. He has tried to pack too many things in his 152 minutes long movie leading to exhaustion of the audience who (unfortunately) visited the theatres to watch a hard-hitting political comment as is expected from Prakash Jha.

Prakash Jha has put Amitabh Bachchan in the role of the character akin to Anna Hazaare and Ajay Devgan in that akin to Arvind Kejriwaal. Well, quite contrary to Mahatma Gandhi, Amitabh Bachchan is shown as residing in a magnificent mansion and living a highly comfortable (if not luxurious) life. If he is a retired teacher only, how could he afford such a lavish residence and a maid servant too (his son is quite young and not served for as many years in the government job) ? Even the food habits of himself and his family members do not speak of simple living and high thinking. He is highly arrogant (my way or highway approach) which cannot be admired or supported. His movement goes astray and it is not known till the very end whether its objective was achieved or not.

The movie defies logic at several places and the number of holes in the script are more than that in a sieve. It is more an action-cum-emotion packed entertaining drama than the revelation of some truth already not known to the audience. Since it is studded with incidents and twists, the speed of the narrative is quite fast (slackened only by the superfluous romance and the concerned song of Ajay Devgan and Kareena Kapoor). Like the Anna Hazaare movement, he has shown extensive usage of electronic media as well as social media to further the movement ignoring the fact that a mass movement cannot be aroused just by TV and internet. For the most of the participants in such campaigns, it is something like fashion and not something finding its existence from the genuine sentiments in the depth of the heart. Satyagrah has its moments but they are few and far between. For most of its time duration, it appears something superficial whose propagators themselves don't appear to be knowing what's their desired outcome or the alternative system of governance they are aiming at. They are just shouting slogans and cursing the faulty system (plus the individuals occupying the chairs in that).

All the same, it is successful in meeting one objective - entertaining the audience. Perhaps Prakash Jha aims at this objective (culminating in the commercial success of the movie) only now. After Apharan (2005), he seems to have changed his style of filmmaking and lost his uniqueness in that. The climax of the movie is utterly filmy and disappointingly unimpressive.

Technically, this action-packed movie is up to the mark. Prakash Jha has unnecessarily tried to administer a dose of comedy too to the audience through the character of the sycophant of the corrupt minister. Music is okay. Janata Rocks and the title track are according to the mood of the movie. Background score is noisy (at least I felt so). Dialogs are hollow and devoid of genuine punches.

Performance wise talking, Manoj Bajpayee has got a role tailor-made for him and naturally, he is the best performer. Amitabh Bachchan does not look even the shadow of a Gandhian Satyagrahi. He, instead, casts the shadows of his erstwhile angry young man persona (now we can term him as the angry old man). In the context of his son's death, his character can be contrasted with that of him in Mahesh Maanjrekar's Viruddh (2005). Ajay Devgan done justice to his role but there's nothing new in his performance. Arjun Raampaal's character is confused whereas Amrita Rao has not got much scope. Kareena Kapoor's acting is third class and she can very easily count this performance of hers in the five worst performances of her career till date. Her characterization is illogical and her looks are laughable when viewed in the context of the role she is playing.

I recommend Satyagrah as a one time watch to the regular entertainment-seekers because, as said earlier, this is a fast-paced, action-packed entertaining movie. However it's utterly disappointing for Prakash Jha's loyal audience including Jitendra Mathur. Now it's the time to go for Satyagrah and reject his movies.

For whom ? His admirers, obviously.