Don’t miss the symbolism

Sarkar Raj could not have been more opportune. In recent days, nothing has raised more political turmoil than land acquisition...

Sarkar Raj could not have been more opportune. In recent days, nothing has raised more political turmoil than land acquisition, especially in West Bengal and Navi Mumbai. Ram Gopal Varma’s latest film—after a long time this attempt from the once-acclaimed director merits a discourse—zeroes in on this topical subject to make a statement on the politics of power.

The backdrop is Maharashtra. The references to the state’s most powerful political family, the Thackerays, are apparent, though Varma has repeatedly denied being inspired by any real-life politician. One can’t miss leader Subhash Nagre’s (Amitabh Bachchan) physical resemblance to a charismatic political leader of Maharashtra. To avoid further allusions and controversies, the director even stayed away from holding a special screening for Bal Thackeray.

However, Varma’s ‘comeback’ film should make the patriarch of the Shiv Sena family happy. The situations are believable—how multiple parties try to capitalise when an NRI company wishes to set up a power plant in interior Maharashtra. But all that the movie’s Nagre family, that enjoys a political stronghold, is concerned about is the “welfare of people”. (A series of tragedies strike the family and the setting up of the power plant almost seems a personal conviction, especially for the dynasty’s scion Shankar, played by Abhishek Bachchan.)

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Given the current situation, it is hard to take this “concern for people” seriously—it can, at best, be called oratory needed to build the film’s drama. All political parties in India are far from the kind of idealism that inspires the junior Nagre in Sarkar Raj. The veneration of the family can easily come handy for the Shiv Sena during their promotional campaign. The party has consolidated its position in Maharashtra by playing on the demand for greater rights of ethnic Marathis and stayed silent when Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray demanded that the migrant workers from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar to be driven away from the city.

“Sarkar Raj is just another film,” Varma recently told me in an interview, when asked about how crucial this release will be for him. The director is most likely to repeat the same line, in defense of his movie.

But again, a film cannot be watched in a vacuum, especially Hindi films—their reach is too far and wide, and inspire critical commentary. And Varma is not a popcorn-entertainer.