A great movie which keeps you interested for every minute of the 3 hrs. Indian villains really are superb actors - Ronak Singh is magnificient and you will spot the serial killer as well but here in a good role.

It is a joy that Bollywood movies are being shown in multiplexes on the big screen - a refreshing change from the dingy halls one grew up with . Apart from teeny boppers I dont understand why people sit at the back of half empty halls. The visual impact is twice as great near the front and the photography in this movie is very very good.

There is a hells angels and their molls scene at the beginning playing chicken with locomotives and I hope it doesnt become a craze ! Fight scenes are truly awesome . Some may mock but I think they are choreographed superbly . The boxing scene with the villain getting beaten up first is also good. Make up artists have done a great job in these fights and their consequences. Children must be taught that its all make believe and nobody can sustain repeated blows to the stomach and keep fighting,and tonever give a blow to anyone on the mouth - the hand can get infected and may need to be chopped off.

This movie doesnt have the hundreds of dancers turning up out of the blue and the masti dances so may not be meant for repeat viewing but its definitely worth a once dekho.

Starring: Urmila Matondkar and introducing Chakravarthy Director: Ram Gopal Varma Music: Vishal

SATYA is a truly excellent, completely atypical Indian film. It's a gangster movie (a "triad" movie if you will) with the values of an art movie. The story is gripping, the photography and acting are great, the setting is realistic, and unlike most Indian films, the action scenes are done well.

Non-Hindi speakers will be able to appreciate the visual and musical aspects of the film, but will be frustrated at not being able to understand the dialogue, even though the overall story is still comprehensible. I really hope this movie gets subtitled and released in American theatres. Ironically, I think SATYA will appeal more to western audiences than to Indian ones.

Although the soundtrack album is very good, the movie actually has very little singing and dancing in it. It's mostly a straight western-style drama, with the music played in the background. In the two lone dance numbers, the director seems to deliberately flaunt Indian film conventions. In one number, instead of good-looking actors in gorgeous costumes dancing to elaborate choreography, we get scruffy, undershirted gangsters goofing around in a bar. In both numbers, the mouth-to-voice matching is very careless so that men end up mouthing to women's voices, individuals mouth to choruses, etc. -- as if to say "this is all very silly, you know." I got the feeling the director wanted to make a non-musical, but was required to put in dance numbers by commercial forces.

Also non-standard is that the intermission comes about 2 hours into the film and the second part only runs for a half-hour or so. Ram Gopal Varma also directed the films SHIVA, DROHI, RAAT, RANGEELA, DAUD and the upcoming KAUN. If SATYA is any indication, they should all be worth checking out.

Unsubtitled: Worth seeing, but frustrating Subtitled: Highly recommended Rave reviews (which include plot summaries):

http://www.indiabollywood.com/filmreview/satya.htm
http://www.planetbollywood.com/Film/satya.html
http://www.indiaworld.co.in/open/rec/films/new.html
http://www.indolink.com/bollywood/mvierevs.html

And one not-rave, but which still agrees it's excellently made: http://www.indiamovies.com/darmi.htm

(I don't agree with the criticisms in this review. I think the reviewer just didn't get it, but it may echo the feelings of the average Indian filmgoer.)..Kent Johnson

But, without taking away any credit from Ramu (director), Satya is engaging becoz of ManojBajpai's Outstanding performance. as the local underworld don (character which is rumoured to have traces of ArunGawli). The last time a new actor gave such a mesmerising performance on his debut was NanaPatekar and that was ages ago. All the time, you feel that this guy is living the role , rather than acting it. It bestows the movie with credibility and raises it above the usual underworld yarn.

Another unique aspect of Satya is the dialogues. It's filled with punch and has those gags which lightens up a tense scene. Check out for the scene, when Manoj's gang goes to collect "Hafta"- where the sidekick cracks a joke which almost puts u in a light mood, but a violent ambush brutually cuts it short. Or the scene which has Manoj torturing a rival gang member,whereas the gang members around manoj casually joke and rag chakri about Urmila, Gotta mention about the "Chu*ya" dialogues - wondering how it got past the censors! No doubt, it's a commonly used slang and gives the interaction between characters a "natural" look, but what did Ramu offer to get it past the fickle censorboard?

Satya scores on the technical aspects too. Photography is good and jells well with the different moods of the movie. Ramu got a Cinematographer from outside to get a "outsider perspective" of Bombay. There isn't too much experimentation - lighting etc.

Editing is another highlight. As i mentioned before, there is hardly a dull moment, except for the short period where two songs follows each other in rapid succession. Songs are OK. I liked the Background score better. It's a pity that Background music is hardly given any importance in our films, whereas it has a great role in enhancing the affect of a scene. Satya has a good Bg score.

On to the acting credits. We see a different Urmila here. A sariclad, demure character. No, there are no "dream scenes sneaked in to show her dancing Rangeela style" :-) . She has given a decent performance. Chakri barely manages to scrape thru as Satya. He lacks the screen presence or personality to enact "sunnydeol" type of role.

But, the director has used him Smartly; he hardly speaks in the movie (must be some record) and most of the scenes are (deliberately?) dominated by Manoj or Urmila, whenever they are around. In effect, Ramu seems to have converted a major liability into an asset, by making Chakri a passive pivot around whom the film revolves.

A movie worth a look; Considering the drought of engaging movies around, it is Definitely worth a visit.

cheers.. raj

Take the scene where she & the hero are sitting together and she suddenly wonders why he hasn't ever talked about what his folks/family are like...

We see her say that almost as a normal conversational gambit, then suddenly realize that it's true that he doesn't talk about his family much, then realize that it might be that he's been giving her the runaround and already has a wife stashed away somewhere, then wait with an almost sickening feeling as to whether this is when he tells her a sob-story about a wife who doesn't understand him, then on hearing him say that he is an orphan, and not mentioning any wife in the background, you can visibly see her relax and then make the appropriate sympathetic noises for the hero's misfortune... All this happens within seconds and almost in a single shot, without her fears being uttered or underlined in any specific way. And the camera doesn't linger on the scene but moves on...

An interesting and different kind of movie. Kajol is determined to avenge the death of her sister at the hands of a serial rapist killer. How do we know he is a bad guy ? Because he has a religious symbol on his forehead ! The Police want to kill him in an encounter but the do gooder citizen's group wont let them ! A real superb performance by the villain -forget his name.

She is trained by a blind major -Sanjay Dutt-who also boxes in the ring. His opponent has to wear a bell on his arm (its a bare knuckled fight) but the opponent cheats by taking off the bell. I am surprised the song and dance where all the army officers and their wives are drunk was passed by the military censors.

After days of hard training Kajol gains a lot of self confidence when she beats up a banker. There is also a little afro-indian girl in this movie who I think is the real life daughter of Vivian Richards the West Indian captain. The fight , rape scenes are a bit too realistic and quite awful to watch at times but people should know the truth . As the serial killer says 'its my hunger '. Kajol looks good now that she has gained some flesh and I must say the killer's wife is very pretty too .

It is interesting to see how people when they get angry speak in English.

Some memorable phrases ' you are afraid of relationship because relationships might give you pain' . The emotional impact is a bit spoilt by having a double role. A different older sister would have made more impact.

Those who have had a loved one die will be deeply affected by the lyrics of the song' Na chithi ,na sandesh , ye kon sa desh jhan tum chale gaye'- 'Neither a letter , nor a message do you send , what kind of country is this that you have gone too.?. ' Nothing can touch the heart like a bit of good Urdu shairi.. mo

More interestingly, all the policemen in this movie are "good". Is this a strategic shift for Hindi films, I wonder, with the public fed up with all those bad cop movies. Think about the possibilities of having postmen as villains in more Hindi movies. More interesting, as sidekicks - the number of Ajit-style dialogues possible in the situation surely boggles the mind. Here's a few suggestions:
Villain to postman henchman:

"Iske maate pe hamara stamp laga do"
(After robbing a bank)

"Abey idiot, usko acknowledgement due kyon de raha hai?"
(After the hero arrives suddenly) "Yeh to unregistered hai"

So on and so forth. Guess others could come up with a few more. Regards.. Raja

Dear Amit Uncle,

I still remember the first time I cried in a movie hall. It was in 1975, when I watched you die in Dharam chacha's arms in "Sholay". After that, for years, your charismatic presence and that voice which rattled off power-packed dialogues with unmatched fluency, drew me back to the movie halls over and over again like millions of your loyal fans. You had the power to make me laugh hysterically and weep uncontrollably for all the time that you cast your spell on me, in film after film.

Last night,

I cried again. I walked into a movie hall to watch you recreate that magic yet again in Major Saab -- undeterred by Mrityudaata and Mirinda. But Uncle, pardon my ignorance, I couldn't understand what the film was all about. Mercifully, you had clarified at the outset itself that although you were playing a Major and had shot portions of the film at the NDA, the film did not, in any way, reflect life in the army. So, you and Tinnu Anand uncle had the artistic licence to infuseall the regular filmi masala. What was your exact role in this film? Your clothes made it look like you were participating in a fancy dress drama, your beard weird and the wig didn't fit. And your trademark histrionics too looked a pale shade of your old self. Apparently, you spent your time at the NDA training cadets like Veeru (Ajay Devgan), whose leitmotif is to make your life miserable, that is, when he is not harassing Nisha (Sonali Bendre). He makes his way out of the academy every night to woo her, and his methods are charming -- throwing garbage on her head and shoving her all over some exotic location. Of course, you thrash him out of his arrogance and he soon becomes your and wife Priya's (Nafisa Ali) favourite. Naturally, when Nisha's brother Shankar (Ashish Vidyarthi) refuses to let her marry Veeru, you then lead your cadets into his house and `rescue' her. Then when some kohl-eyed Bihari (Mohan Joshi with a Mrityudand hangover) kidnaps her to make her his bahu, you and Veeru storm into his castlewith the army weaponry and loyal cadets in tow and to save her again. Like always, the army takes note of your deeds only after the job is done.

Uncleji, I walked out of the hall and wept all the way home. Because after being mesmerised by you for years, it was impossible to believe that you could have lent your presence to this monumental mess.

Yours respectfully, A die-hard Bachchan fan. ..Chirag

some examples
'Iske chehre se iski muskan cheen lo ' - wipe the smile from his face .Sonali orders the servants -truly memorable
'Yeh to trailer tha - no se bara ka sho to shuru hone wala hai'-that was only a trailer 'says the villain' the 9-12 show has yet to start' having beaten the hero black and blue and resting for a while !
'Bhik me to paisa hi milega , wo bi khota sika'- if you beg they will only give you a cent , and that a false coin !-says Amitabh , superb in his delviery as usual.
'Hindustani Fauji gardan katne par bi bhadta rehta hai ' - Indian soldier keeps advancing even after his neck has been cut off !
Will post more such examples when I see the movie again.

The first 20 mins after the interval contains some of the most stirring patriotic dialog I have heard for a long time. Of course some mistakes -you dont shock people with stopped hearts without removing the clothes , you cant revive people from the dead after their heart has stopped beating for 10 mins by talking to the person and people with broken legs do not get up and walk -but in a movie as good as this they can be overlooked.

The traditions of the Indian army , the training methods and the conflicts between the civilians and the army have been very well brought out and the various ways the civilians (bad ones) are killed is good education for anybody contemplating an army career.

Sonali now she has become a bit more top heavy is turning out to be a fine actress . Certainly she has never looked as sexy as this.
Nafisa Ali with her green eyes is too firangi to be working in Bollywood movies ( Joke ! - dont take the bait !-she has turned in a fine performance and the interaction between her and Amitabh is a good portrayal of an enduring romance).

Biharis are soon going to object being labelled as criminals all the time in Hindi movies . The photography of the mountains filmed in Australia is absolutely superb -the highlight is the man being thrown off the cliff and seeing the mountains in their true majestic heights as he falls.

Perpetual moaners who found even fault with Sholay condemning it as a 'multi-starrer disaster' when it first came out will complain - I think they do so for all movies since they know that 90% flop and so they will be right 9 times out of 10 , but if this one flops then Indian audiences really have no taste at all.

Great movie - one of Bollywood's finest.

A beautiful well made film. This is the way Bollywood should be showing other countries -in this case Nepal. The temple scenes are breathtaking , the Nepali costumes out of this world -just look at the bridal dress - is there any in the world that can beat it ? Also shown are local dances and even the language . Perfect.

Of course there are some odd notes. Nepalis who cant speak Hindi , in the second half are suddenly doing a Bhangra in perfect Punjabi ! Bollywood is not only showing local culture but also making it ! After this Bhangra is going to become a Nepali folk dance.

If South Asian movies could show more of this -local folk rather than Indian women in jeans dancing on Swiss mountains I think they would remain popular. Also on the Lollywood top ten they were showing a Sindhi folk which was the best bit but has now dropped out. What was the movie ?

People say there are lots of ethnic differences on the subcontinent . I wonder if its really true. Here Rambha a South Indian actress passes off quite well as a Nepali.

The dialog is also great -thanks to India's supremely gifted Afghan -Kader Khan - a great actor in this movie and writer . If anybody deserves a lifetime achievement or national award its him. One example 'Guzrta vakt har masle ko suljha deta hai- Time solves all problems . Of course it sounds much better in the situation.

What is the sexiest female dress in the world?. After watching this film -and there is a song 'Ghungat' where a bevy of girls more beautiful than you will find in a Miss World contest model some , my vote goes to the 'Lal Kagra' -made famous by Deepti in the video.

The distributors have cut a couple of verses out of the much advertised song 'yeh mera tabla , yeh meri bongo'. They should really be tied up and the soles of their feet whipped.

If this movie is not a hit as for example Qila -another very 'Indian ' movie in its songs and costumes , it will be the fault of the English language schools which wont teach Hindi and are making teens ashamed of their culture and are killing it and the new govt should close them down.

Ten out of ten..

On Mon, 29 Jun 1998 12:34:41 -0500, Anurag Chaudhry wrote:

You got to be kidding. This movie was total "bakwaas".

Answer: Songs , dances , gorgeous girls , beautfiul dresses a story line that keeps you glued to the end . What else do you want from a movie ?

The Nepali bit was very well done. Not like the usual Bombaywalahs go to an area , wave to the natives and then back home. This one really showed the culture of Nepal quite well. Something that makers of Koyla ( Arunachal Pradesh) and Uf ye Mohabat ( Sikkim ) should have done.

Besides a comedy movie always gives that impression the first time but gets better with repeat viewing. Of course the Nepalis dont circle with horses and play a game like the Afghans do but that was just cinematic license. A lady from Mauritius I met really enjoyed it . Dastak was shot in Mauritius but again it showed none of the local culture ..