Satygraha Movie Review: Not Fulfilling Enough

A new landmark, a revolution was created in the history of Ambikapur, after thousands of enraged commoners thronged on the streets to raise their voices against the corrupt and unjust system of the country. That's what the maverick filmmaker Prakash Jha has tried to portray in his new release Satyagraha, that features Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Arjun Rampal and Manoj Bajpayee in the leads. Prakash Jha's motive behind making Satyagraha is noble at heart, but the half-baked script fails to make an impression on the audience.

Story
Satyagraha introduces us to the 'satyavaadi', Gandhian Dwarka Anand (Amitabh Bachchan), who bears an uncanny resemblance with the real-life anti-corruption crusader Anna Hazare in the film. Anand's 'satyagraha' starts after he loses his son Akhilesh (Indraneil) in an accident that was later suspected as a cold-blooded murder. This movement was joined by Akhilesh's wife Sumitra (Amrita Rao), his friend Manav (Ajay Devgn), a journalist Yasmin (Kareena Kapoor) and a goonda-turned-self-appointed youth leader Arjun Singh (Arjun Rampal), who demands that the Government should clear all the pending public applications, dues and petitions within a month's time. Satyagraha is somewhat an onscreen portrayal of Anna's anti-corruption campaign, but the movie falters big time and doesn't do enough justice in making a strong impact on the viewers.

Satyagraha lacks research and has been served too cold for the viewers to endure. There are indeed quite a few intense and touching scenes, but those unfortunately get lost in the ocean of a lame and weak script. Satyagraha boasts of a powerful starcast, and yes, you heard it right! Prakash Jha does a cameo in the flick. Yet, nothing manages to keep the audience engaged and convinced.

Performances
In one word, there was nothing good in the Satyagraha, apart from Amitabh Bachchan and Ajay Devgn's stupendous performances. Kareena Kapoor is too artificial and made up for a journalist's role. Arjun Rampal doesn't get enough scope, while Manoj Bajpayee as the shrewd minister doesn't look or act shrewd enough. His lame jokes and unneccesary giggling are sheer blunders.

And finally comes the biggest flaw - Amrita Rao! Rao is possibly the biggest disppointment in Satyagraha, who doesn't even manage to deliver a percentage of quality performance throughout the movie.

Verdict
Satyagraha is neither compelling, nor gripping. Unlike Jha's other hard-hitting political dramas, this one is too light and monotonous. The movie goes on and on with a poor script, at times testing your patience. Nothing can spare you in Satyagraha, until it concludes and you get a breather finally!