Cheating the Revolution

Can a film that injects item numbers and street romance in the theme of anger against corruption really be authentic

Prakash Jha is in desperate need of a makeover - be it the actors he chooses, locations he shoots in or, more importantly, the scripts he writes. Jha, over the years, has made "issue-based" cinema his own brand of film-making. If Apaharan (2006) dealt with rampant kidnappings and extortions in Bihar, then Aarakshan (2009) was based on the issue of reservations in the Indian education system. His last film, Chakravyuha (2011), tried to bring the Naxal problem to light. His latest, Satyagraha, is inspired by the Anna Hazare "revolution" of 2011 which tried to take on the perennial issue of corruption in the Indian system. But all Satyagraha does is scratch the surface of a serious problem and bores you into submission after 152 minutes of viewing.

Amitabh Bachchan plays the role of idealist Dwarka Anand, a retired school principal. Ajay Devgn is cast as an industrialist who turns into a revolutionary, while Kareena Kapoor plays a TV journalist, and Arjun Rampal, a local bahubali. Manoj Bajpayee, as he always does in Jha's films, takes up the role of an evil politician. Jha's characters look like they have walked in from his previous films, mouthing similar dialogues but on different subjects. Bachchan and Bajpayee, as you would expect, deliver decent performances. Kapoor and Devgn are barely believable in their roles, while Rampal is hardly noticeable.

The problem with Jha isn't his actors but his script and the way he tries to meddle in everything. There's a very Madhur Bhandarkarish feel to Jha's films these days - and that's not a compliment by the way. The film is inspired by real-life political scams and Jha is bent on showing the might of the social media. So there are Twitter hashtags, Facebook updates on how a small-town revolution started by an idealist to take on the political class turns into a national uprising.

Then there are the songs - especially the absurd Janata rocks, Janata talks - which are the biggest problems with the film. There's an item number, romantic number and the patriotic revolutionary song. One understands the need to inject a dose of song and drama, but in a film that deals with the issue of corruption, the songs are, honestly, pointless. Jha also dramatises the issue of corruption with a needless romantic angle between Devgn and Kapoor, who even on the streets while protesting has her hair in perfect shape and looks made up to for a catwalk rather than to brave water cannons.

It's a laboured effort to fictionalise the Anna Hazare movement and while Jha's other films, mainly Apaharan and Chakravyuha, were far from being perfect films, they weren't over the top. Jha really needs a reality check when it comes to writing. His lines are so out of tune with today's times that most of his main characters don't talk like normal people. Almost every line is meant to be delivered as a killer punch line which either should make you feel angry at the system or pained at the plight characters face. These are statements of intent - they're meant to shake you up and anger you. Unfortunately, neither of that happens. There are certain portions of the film which do make sense - largely due to competent actors like Bachchan and Bajpayee. Overall it's a big disappointment and you're better off avoiding Satyagrah.