Satya (1998)

one of my absolute favorites!

Expected more

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Ok... Let's be honest. It cannot be the best movie but is quite enjoyable. The movie has the potential to develop a great plot for future movies

Now, this is what I call a great film. 'Satya' is no highly-stylized, cool-guy-with-a-gun gangster film but a gritty, honest portrayal of a man who is dragged into a life of crime.The movie starts outside a crowded station when a young man named Satya (J.D. Chakravarthy) comes to Mumbai in search of a job. Living in a small slum, he finds a petty job soon. But his life is turned upside down when he gets into trouble with the egoistic local goon who beats him up and throws him into jail where he is charged for a crime he did not commit. There, he meets the psychotic gangster Bhiku Mhatre (Manoj Bajpai) who agrees to help him avenge his humiliation in a bid to get rid of his own enemies.One of the primary reasons why 'Satya' works is that Ram Gopal Varma is not scared to take risks. He doesn't try too hard to make the audience feel sympathy for the characters. The film does not boast of picturesque locations and you're glad that it doesn't, because it makes the viewing even more meaningful. Varma masterfully toys with the script in a way that every dialog and nuance falls perfectly into place. J.D. Chakravarthy, who plays the lead role, turns in a convincing performance and so does Urmila Matondkar who plays his love interest in the film. The performances of the rest of the cast are worth bragging about but the real star of the film is Manoj Bajpai. I would happily single out his performance as one of the best I've seen and he deservedly won a National award for it. The screenplay, jointly written by Saurabh Shukla and Anurag Kashyap is pitch-perfect, because they have a wonderful ear for the local lingo. Gerard Hooper's and Mazhar Kamran's stark cinematography is an absolute wow, adding to an already long list of the film's positives.If I have to criticize 'Satya' for something, it would be the timing of the songs. I feel that the film could've done without the songs, but then, the film is so near-perfect that you tend to not pay attention to the film's negatives.For me, 'Satya' will always remain the greatest Indian film ever made. The film's depiction of a desperate man struggling to make an honest living but failing to do so is so realistic that it terrifies you. It defies every single rule on how to make a perfect Bollywood-style film. Grab a DVD and watch it. The film is something extraordinary.

This is one of those films where I wish I really understood the language. That's because although the captioning is decent, for some inexplicable reason, the songs are NOT! I said songs because that is one of those quirky things about Indian movies--the ones made during the last few decades all seem to have song and dance numbers--even a gangster movie like "Satya". Is this always the case? I dunno--you'll have to ask some Indians or experts on the films if this is the case. I do know that older Indian films often don't have singing, as the Satyajit Ray and Merchant-Ivory films I have seen are song-free. But here, in a film that is gritty and violent you STILL have the obligatory musical numbers. I like them and have learned to expect them...but really wish I could have understood them.Satya is new to Mumbai (Bombay). However, he soon finds himself face to face with a gangster with an attitude. Satya is very proud and a bit foolish and does not handle it well--and eventually gets beaten for not showing the thug proper deference. Later, he meets up with the gangster again and Satya tries to kill him--and once again, he's beaten. He's also set up for a crime he didn't do and is sent to prison. In prison, he continues to have an attitude--like a lone wolf. Soon, he finds himself standing up to another gangster and this time Satya is able to hold his own. Because he's so fearless (and a bit crazy) he's earned the respect of the gang in prison and they arrange for his release--and for a job in their mob. Throughout all this, Satya is VERY emotionally constricted and bright and soon works his way further and further up the ranks.Although Satya is a bad man, so far in the film he's confined all his killing to bad guys from other mobs. He also has fallen for a nice young lady--and he manages, at least for a while, to keep these two lives separate--the thug and the respectable lover. The two worlds collide, however, when he and his friends decide to 'help' her in her musical career--using threats to convince a record producer to giver her a record contract--though she has no idea that this is occurring. Will they fall in love? Will Satya be able to balance his two lives or will he be forced to choose a life or crime or a life of love and respectability? Tune in and see for yourself in this gangster love story--a combination of genres you certainly won't find here in the States.Overall, this is a very gritty and realistic film. Now I am not saying it's perfect. The Satya character seemed way too non-emotive to me--almost zombie-like. And, while song and dance numbers are a sweet addition to Indian films, they just seemed out of place here and distracted from an otherwise intense and adult story. But, apart from these minor problems, the film was very well done...and quite bloody. I liked how Satya and his friends were NOT likable or over-glamorized. Well worth seeing but not a film for younger audiences or people who will be put off by the realistic gore.By the way, since I am not an Indian I really have no idea how realistic all this is. Has there been a time in recent history when gangs have been THAT brazen in Mumbai or was this overdone for the sake of the movie? Just curious.

I saw a lot of reviews here mentioning that the performance by the protagonist was a let down. All i can say is that those people probably didn't pay enough attention to the storyline. It is clearly shown right in the beginning that 'Satya' comes from South India. Now anybody who is from India should clearly be able to understand that Hindi is not the 1st language of the character portrayed, and hence the discomfort in speaking in Hindi. I think RGV picked the caste perfectly and intentionally picked a South Indian actor to portray Satya, as the dialogue delivery would appear more natural (and it did).That argument apart, there should be no doubt that this is one of the most realistic and complete movie ever made. The cinematography is brilliant. Every second of it is acted out perfectly by the caste. The characters feel extremely realistic and you can not help but feel sad even after the death of a gangster. The 2 songs - Kallu mama and Sapne mein milti hai remain etched in your memory forever.And there are some scenes which unarguably deserve to be amongst the greatest in Indian cinema. For example the climax and the scene where Bhiku Mhatre declares himself "Mumbai ka baadshah" can give you goosegumps.A must watch for everyone.

Now folks .... This is the best crime movie ever made in Indian Cinema. The film is so mature, so aggressive. Ram Gopal Verma is a real matured, brainy director. Besides that, credit also goes to the writing duo Anurag & Saurabh shukla. The writing, screenplay, background music, editing, cinematography are just amazing. And above all .... Manoj Bajpai comes as a storm !!!!!! He has literally lived the life of Bhiku. Stunning performance. Saute to this great actor. Mumbai(formarly Bombay) is the centre of most of the underworld activities. And this city remains on top in such crimes for obvious reason ---- the money. Being the financial hub of Indian subcontinent, this city em-brasses the biggest names in underworld. Many characters in this movie are based on real-life persons. For example Inspector Khandilkar. This guy is encounter specialist. This character is based on one famous ACP in Mumbai Police. And then bhiku, his wife, DCP, bhau thakur etc. all these are closely similar to real people. As a Bombayite, I have been hearing & reading about these people since childhood. This is a story of a newcomer in underworld, his progress in the criminal world, his brains, his awesome decisions at crisis times, his fellow criminals, his rivals/friends, his race against time, and finally his downfall. The story moves so well. Its like all is happening in ur neighborhood. and so well picturized. I can tell at least 25 scenes which are one of the best-shot-scenes of all time...like for example the theatre scene, or death of guru, or death of bhiku, Satya's first ever crime, police encounter sequence, murder of DCP and so on & on & on. There are so many unforgatable scenes. I have seen this movie 13 times. And will keep on watching again & again. Its a sheer joy. Highly recommended. 10/10. Ram Gopal Verma is a genius !