Review by Nabeel Mohideen
June 10 (Bloomberg) -- Director Ram Gopal Varma returns to familiar ground after his disastrous remake of ''Sholay'' with ''Sarkar Raj,'' the second installment in the trials and tribulations of the Nagre family.
''Sarkar,'' the first chapter in the saga, was about the charismatic Subhash Nagre presiding over Mumbai's fortunes, a role that came easily to Amitabh Bachchan. ''Sarkar,'' a synonym for overlord as well as the government, was also about the son, Shankar, coming of age and taking over from the father.
Varma's new film is about a foreign company wanting to set up a power plant in Maharashtra, the western Indian state of which Mumbai is the capital. Shankar, a role reprised by real- life son Abhishek Bachchan, is convinced the project stands for progress and is essential for the state's economy.
Ranged against him are the farmers whose land will be needed for the plant and a group of shadowy, corrupt fixers. Anita Rajan (Aishwarya Rai Bachchan), whose company wants to set up the plant, rounds off the main cast.
Varma redeploys the atmospherics of ''Sarkar'' -- the looming close-ups, the doom-laden score and the near monochromatic frames. However, it's all undone by a weak script and loose plotting. The film is based on the story of the plant built by the collapsed Enron Corp. in Maharashtra and the recent conflict that arose over a federal government decision to allow factories to be built on farm land.
While the treatment isn't helped by the cliched and stilted dialogue, the script seems to have undergone some chopping and changing, with an overlong coda that extends into a third act.
Abhishek Bachchan doesn't have the heft or star power needed to pull off the central character role. An unsmiling, unshaven visage just doesn't cut it. His real-life wife Aishwarya, completely out of her depth, founders so pathetically it's painful to watch. Only Amitabh Bachchan, as the sorrowing patriarch, towers over everybody else amid the dross.
''Sarkar Raj,'' from Adlabs Films Ltd., opened worldwide on June 6. Rating: *.
'Aamir'
Raj Kumar Gupta, who makes his directorial debut with ''Aamir,'' knows a thing or two about atmospherics -- effortlessly bringing to life the Mumbai street, especially the Muslim ghetto of Dongri and the alleyways of Grant Road.
The film is about a few hours in the life of a Muslim doctor, Aamir Ali, returning to Mumbai from the U.K. The man's encounter with a suspicious airport official soon after he lands sets up the audience for a relentlessly edgy ride.
As he emerges from the airport, a mobile phone is thrown to him by a pair of helmeted motorcycle riders. It starts ringing, he picks up the call and the nightmare begins.
Indian Dream
Gupta, working from his tightly wound-up script, rapidly plots Aamir's journey, which is being manipulated by the voice on the phone. Along the way, the film scores telling points about religion, the Indian dream and the cowardice of the terrorist.
The pace flags a bit in the second half, although the sense of grim foreboding never lifts.
Television star Rajeev Khandelwal makes an assured debut as the man unable to control his destiny -- hunted, haunted, argumentative, defiant, above all fearful, but finally convinced of what he needs to do as his final act of redemption. Gajraj Rao, as the man on the phone, is flawless, exuding menace, his face shadowed throughout as he talks to Aamir.
Director of photography Alphonse Roy mixes handheld shots and long lenses expertly, in keeping with the film's mood and rhythm as Gupta confines the narrative to the decaying, decrepit lanes and buildings. Amit Trivedi's score and Wasiq Khan's production design serve to lift the narrative, while creative producer Anurag Kashyap's fingerprints are all over the film.
''Aamir'' is an unflinching, sometimes angry film, the kind of unstoppable entertainment that forces its audience to think after the credits have rolled.
''Aamir,'' from UTV Software Communications Ltd.'s SpotBoy Motion Pictures, opened on June 6. Rating: ***.
What the Stars Mean:
**** Excellent
*** Good
** Average
* Poor
(No stars) Worthless
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