Satyagraha Movie Review: Jha’s Revolution Road

Satyagraha Movie Review-In Short:
A retired school principal, a businessman-turned-social activist, a journalist and a local leader join forces to take on a corrupt system.

Satyagraha Movie Review-Verdict:
Though Prakash Jha makes a powerful point with the film, Satyagraha could have benefited from better execution...

Satyagraha Movie Review-Story Plot:
Dwarka Anand (Amitabh Bachchan) is a retired school principal, who doesn't hesitate to fight against corruption in the system. Manav Raghvendra (Ajay Devgn) is an ambitious businessman, who believes only in self-progress at any costs whereas Yasmin Ahmed (Kareena Kapoor) is a journalist, who wants truth to prevail at any cost.

When the population of small-town Ambikapur gets frustrated with the corrupt system, these unlikely heroes come together to join forces with local leader Arjun (Arjun Rampal) to take on the system and the corrupt leader Balram Singh (Manoj Bajpayee).

Satyagraha Movie Review-Performances:
Amitabh Bachchan is like an old lion, whose roar is still respected and the veteran delivers a masterful performance as the dignified and incorruptible Dwarka Anand. Ajay Devgn, a favourite of Prakash Jha, is reliable as always when it comes to delivering an intense performance whereas Rampal and Amrita Rao have decent but short roles. Kareena does her part well, though her ‘holier than thou' act gets on your nerves at times. Last but not the least, it is Manoj Bajpayee, who makes the film worth watching. As the sly Balram Singh, Bajpayee simply dominates every scene that he is a part of and elicits the maximum whistles and claps with his ‘comic baddie' act.

Satyagraha Movie Review-Direction:
Prakash Jha is known for making films, which deliver a strong message and as far as that goes, Satyagraha doesn't leave any room for complaints. However, the film seems to try too hard at times to make its point (In an unnecessary scene, Kareena's character castigates a colleague for suggesting that they carry a news about some prominent figure involved in a MMS scandal). Moreover, for all her lectures about ethical and unbiased journalism, Yasmin comes to Ambikapur to cover the protests and before you can say ‘Kareena Kapoor Khan', she pledges her support to the movement and becomes a fellow activist! Devgn's transformation from an unscrupulous businessman to a social activist happens too fast to seem convincing and the love track between Devgn and Kapoor too is highly unnecessary and takes away focus from the main plot.

There is no doubt that Jha set out with noble intentions, while making the film, but with better execution, the film could have been more successful in connecting with the audience.

Satyagraha Movie Review-Final Word:
Jha fans might enjoy the flick, but be warned that some elements might be a bit too tough to digest.