'Satyagraha' Review Roundup: Worth a Watch

Bollywood films based on political thriller have not failed to entice film critics and moviegoers somehow, and Prakash Jha's latest flick, "Satyagraha" is one of those films.

The film, which tells the story of a mass revolution against a corrupt government, has been reviewed by critics and most of them have appreciated the political thriller. 

Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Arjun Rampal, Manoj Bajpai and Amrita Rao play the lead roles in the film.

Here's roundup of what critics have said about the film:

Srijana Mitra Das of The Times of India said: "Satyagraha weaves together urban legends of corruption, encompassing corporate lobbyists to murdered engineers. It features slices of histories, Chauri Chaura, Mandal, Anna Hazare's Jan Lokpal Andolan. It takes a real issue - corruption - to reel life, movingly fusing fact with fiction, leading to a security guard accompanying a politico at its screening to sing out aloud, "Aam aadmi kitna aam, Raghupati Raghav Raja Ram..."

"Satyagraha grapples with this dilemma. More philosophical than fiery, it adorns reality with gloss and loss. Satyagraha deserves an extra half-star for capturing corruption from root to branch - a government babu complains, "Yahan toh table ka bhi bhaada dena padta hai". Showing true Satyagraha has no short-cuts, it also shows solutions glimmering ahead, as ephemeral, yet powerful as a rainbow cleansing the dust."

Saibal Chatterjee of NDTV said: "Prakash Jha's Satyagraha is a political film that, for all its well-meaning bluster, neither stings nor scalds. It fails to hit the core of the truth that it seeks. Unfortunately, Satyagraha barely skims the surface of a complex theme, leaving many a crucial question unanswered. As a result, it can hardly be expected to shake a vast nation and its somnolent rulers out of their torpor.

"The film raises all the right issues, but it tends to not only too many loose cards on the table but also to employ the wrong tools to get its point across.  Parts of Satyagraha make perfect sense but, on the whole, it never comes close to clicking into top gear. It leaves you more disappointed than angry."

Mohar Basu of Koimoi said: "Prakash Jha's Satyagraha is an altruistic film with a clearly positive motive at heart. However, with a script that drags, characters that are both predictable and caricatures, Jha has made you familiar with in his previous films, this one is a tiresome tirade!

"Inspired from the real life instance of Anna Hazare's Jan Lokpal Andolan, Satyagraha blends fact, fiction and slices from history to make a well intentioned film.

"Prakash Jha's Satyagraha is a weightless film that leaves by a transitory impact on its audiences. Wasting the enigma of such talented bunch of actors, the film with its overbearing story and its erratically structured plot lacks the much needed blaze. Emerging as a warped product of political correctness with an unconvincing climax, somehow the entire product had the stench of unbearable staleness. It wasn't a terrible film, just not the promising Prakash Jha venture you might have wanted to watch."

Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama said: "The timing couldn't be more appropriate, for SATYAGRAHA summarizes the mood of the ordinary man and the nation in general. Jha minces no words while flaying and condemning the fraudulent and unscrupulous politicians and the unjust system in a style that's now synonymous with his brand of cinema -- realistic, hard-hitting, forceful -- that leaves a hammer-strong impact.

"SATYAGRAHA is embellished with qualitative performances, with each actor grabbing eyeballs. On the whole, SATYAGRAHA is an all-engrossing, compelling drama that mirrors the reality around us. In fact, it's yet another brilliant addition to Prakash Jha's credible repertoire, who has created some of the most politically momentous motion pictures."

Subhash K Jha of IANS said: "It is certainly not a sequel to Jha's Raajneeti, as has been reported in some wise over-informed sections of the media. And yes, it is most certainly based on the movement that Anna Hazare started against corruption. 

"There is little time for emotions in Prakash Jha's world of politics and national awakening. Prakash Jha's film is a timely wakeup warning, a massive clarion call for the conscience, brilliantly manifested in Prasoon Joshi's title song which tells us enough is enough ,and listen... getting Gandhian on the cancerous community of corrupt politicians is a symptom of cowardice.

"Satygraha conveys the uncontrollable anger and energy of a nation on the brink. For telling it like it is and for creating a compelling film out of the raw material of presentday corruption, the film deserves a standing ovation."

Prasanna Zore of Rediff said: "Producer-director Prakash Jha has his heart in the right place as he once again chooses a topic -- in this film's case corruption -- that is singeing the country more than anything else today but delivers a potion that is but a terrible hodgepodge of Arakshan, Rajneeti and Gangaajal.

"When the film ends - a good 152 minutes later - one comes out with a feeling that Jha might have outsourced his job to somebody who was under no compulsion to do justice to his audience as well as to the film's superstar-cast.

"Having said all this Jha must still be appreciated for making films on topics that the mainstream Bollywood producers-directors happily ignore to explore. Never mind the film's treatment, though."