SARKAR (2018)
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| Critic - No.162 |
Director: A.R.Murgadoss
Casts: Vijay, Varalaxmi, Kajal Agarwal, Radha Ravi, Pala. Karuppiah
Language: Tamil
Genre: Action / Drama
Music: A.R.Rahman
SYNOPSIS:
NRI corporate tycoon Sundar Ramasamy comes to India to vote, only to learn that his vote has already been cast. While he reclaims his right legally, it also sets in motion a chain of events that eventually lead him to enter the political fray, trying to change the system.
REVIEW:
Vijay and A.R. Murugadoss are coming together for the third time looking for a hat trick blockbuster hit backed by a big player, Sun Pictures. Even before we catch the film, the story is already flashed out, thanks to all the pre-release controversy the film got looped in. Does the film contain sensitive scenes like mentioned in the cases? Yes and No. The film might be the most boldest from A.R.Murgadoss, with direct attacks on the ruling party and depiction of real life historical moments (including death of important leaders). Even though fictionalised, the film does poke the threshold a few times. Some are necessary and some seem to be inserted to spark Vijay's political aspirations.
Sundar Ramasamy’s character is quite interesting on screen and it becomes more powerful when he meets his formidable enemies who in strong political positions. Yes, Sundar doesn’t know the lifestyle and deep problems faced by the locals on ground but he knows the economics well to eliminate the corruption in the ruling party. Sundar’s flashback about his fisherman father’s death seems interesting and makes us root more to his motivations. However, a rich tycoon just resigning to fight injustice in India seem to be a drastic measure that is logically questionable. And yes, this is not the only logic gaps we have in the film, but luckily they are not jarring and only identifiable when we reflect after the film ends.
The screenplay is quite fast and we are brought to the repetitive but impactful interval template of Murgadoss-Vijay combination in a blink of an eye. Watch out for the pre-interval fight scene laced with A.R.Rahman’s killer ‘Top Tucker’ track. However, the ‘OMG ponnu’ sticks as a sore thumb in the rapid screen play and is unimaginatively visualized. The film is too focused on Sundar’s ideologies to an extent that when Keerthy talks to him romantically using pure Tamil to refrain from the kids to understand, he advises on how the society sees pure Tamil as a new language. Vijay even talks to the camera at times when he churns out dialogues on the flaws of the political system. After a while, Sarkar transits from a commercial action film to a preachy propaganda. That is when it gets stuck in tonality.
I have to agree that Sarkar has a better, realistic story line compared to Vijay previous outings such as ‘Theri (2016)’, ‘Bairvaa (2017)’ and ‘Mersal (2017)’. However, the preachy tone of the film waters down its potential by a fair bit. Vijay excels in his acting no doubt and looks dashing and charismatic as always. Keerthy’s presence is very minimal and her romance with Vijay goes nowhere. Among the supporting casts, Radha Ravi, Varalaxmi and Pala. Karuppiah deliver memorable performances. Even though Karuppiah and Varalaxmi look formidable at start, 75 percent of film, we see Vijay conveniently winning that makes the whole challenge between hero-villain, disappointing, after a decent build up.
Technically, Sun Pictures has splurged generously to get each of the department perfect. Be it Girish’s rich cinematography, Silva’s nerve-wracking stunts or Deepali and Pallavi’s stylish costume design, the film looks top notch. Unfortunately, we can’t say the same for A.R.Rahman’s album and BGM. This might be his weakest in recent times but his Oru Viral Puratchi and Top Tucker tracks do aid to elevate the scenes.
A.R.Murgadoss never fails to balance social themes and entertainment quotient in his films but in Sarkar he leans more on the former that gets a little exhausting. Nevertheless, Sarkar will be remembered as one of Vijay’s strongest films in terms of story.
VERDICT:
With a solid story, A.R.Murgadoss crafts a
high octave political drama that looks rich and relevant but also outright preachy.
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