Sarkar Raj is 'almost an intelligent movie', says Malaysian critic

Kuala Lumpur, June 29 (IANS) Full of political overtones and violence that is rarely displayed on the screen, "Sarkar Raj", starring the three Bachchans - Amitabh, Abhishek and Aishwarya Rai - is "almost an intelligent movie," says a leading Malaysian film critic.

Thanks to this, despite the Big 3, and an established director like Ram Gopal Varma, the film has done well only in big Indian cities, notes K.N. Vijiyan in the New Straits Times.

"This is because this is not the normal sort of movie from Bollywood, that is, full of songs, dances and comedy scenes.

"This is a more "talkative" kind of movie, with plenty of dialogue and political undertones," says the critic.

Varma gives this movie a television-like treatment, with plenty of close-ups.

He seems to shun violence, despite the subject matter. When a bomb explodes, you don't see the explosion, only the effects. You don't see people being shot (except in one scene). He prefers to show the dead person instead, the critic wrote.

To make up for the absence of songs and the slow pace, there is a good background score. The unexpected ending is superb, Vijiyan says.

There are many Ram Gopal Varma fans out there and they seek more than the usual fare from Bollywood. This is for them. It's almost an intelligent film," he says.

Hindi films are popular in Malaysia, besides the Tamil cinema fare that is the staple entertainment for the Tamil-majority ethnic Indian population.

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Sarkar Raj