Sarkar 3 review: The graph of Ram Gopal Varma's franchise goes further down

Sarkar (2005) was not only one of Ram Gopal Varma’s best works, but it also stands out among the huge number of films done by Amitabh Bachchan. Sarkar Raj (2008), however, did not match up to the first film and turned out to be average fare. With Sarkar 3, the graph of the franchise goes further down. In fact, it makes the second film appear good (don’t even think of comparing it with the first).

After the death of his son Shankar Nagre (Abhishek Bachchan), Subhash Nagre aka Sarkar (Amitabh Bachchan) manages his party affairs single-handedly along with his close aides Gokul (Ronit Roy) and the mute Raman (Parag Tyagi).

One day, millionaire businessman, Gandhi (Bajrangbali Singh) approaches Sarkar to help him clear slum dwellers from an area of Dharavi for his mega housing project. Sarkar refuses and vows to make sure the project work does not commence.

Gandhi teams up with a fellow millionaire, Michael Vallya (Jackie Shroff). The two of them are hell bent on getting Sarkar out of the way. Deshpande (Manoj Bajpayee), Sarkar’s political opposition, too, wants to destroy Sarkar to gain power in the state. Things get complicated when Sarkar’s grandson Shivaji aka Cheeku (Amit Sadh) joins his grandfather. His girlfriend, Annu (Yami Gautam) is the daughter of a man killed by Sarkar in the past. In such a scenario, who can you trust?

Sarkar 3 has all the elements associated with a franchise in this genre — the iconic ‘Govinda Govinda’ and ‘Saam Daam Dand Bhed’ background sound, unconventional camerawork, use of silence and expressions, dark colour scheme, short and to-the-point dialogues, war for power and regular twists.

But the film lacks the most important ingredient — solid content. There is nothing much of a story, except the old idea of a group of characters wanting to finish off Sarkar. This is further hampered by a loose screenplay, weak dialogues and shallow characterisations. Believe it or not, even the character of Sarkar doesn’t have much of an impact. In other words, the characters here are more like caricatures.

The climax has a big twist, which can be easily guessed. But the real problem with it is that it doesn’t make sense. Varma does not bother telling his audience the leap in terms of years his characters and his setting has taken. So, it looks like in nine years (since Sarkar Raj released) Shivaji has turned into a full-fledged man, ready to take responsibility. Shivaji was only a kid when Sarkar Raj ended.

The bad content is coupled with forced ‘Govinda Govinda’ chants in the background. It gets annoying as it's used every now and then, seemingly without the impact it seeks to make. The cinematography is skilful and creative, though. Thankfully, it doesn’t suffer from being over-creative like RGV’s previous films like Department (2012). This is perhaps the biggest plus point of Sarkar 3.

The content has a negative impact on the performances. Amitabh Bachchan is believable as Sarkar only because we have seen the first two films. He does display his ability to shine in a few scenes, but that’s about it.

Sadh manages to show some glimpses of his talent. He certainly has the ability if given the right script. May be some more costumes (other than the same black shirt he wears through Sarkar 3) would also help.

Ronit Roy gets a chance to perform only on a couple of occasions. He is mostly seen standing besides Sarkar. Parag Tyagi, as the mute Raman, isn’t bad.

Singh, as the ruthless Gandhi, scores fairly well. Yami has nothing much to do apart from giving mean expressions. Supriya Pathak carries forward her role well. But why does she speak 90% of her lines in Marathi in a pan-India film?

A fine performer like Bharat Dabholkar is wasted. The same can be said about a seasoned actor like Manoj Bajpayee. He is supposed to be Sarkar’s biggest political opposition but he is nothing more than a buffoon. We wonder why Rohini Hattangadi agreed to become a laughing stock as Bajpayee’s mother? Their characters are clearly inspired from a real life mother and son whose once powerful party is losing all power in the past few years.

But the film has something for those who know how to laugh at a film. Such unintentional comic relief is provided by Shroff, his girlfriend and their idiotic conversations. The girl is seen doing dumb antics every time. For example, she swims in a pool as if she is searching for something. After a point, you start laughing as soon as the two appear on screen. This is the second plus point of Sarkar 3.

Reviewed by Keyur Seta