The Front Row Review of Satya 2
Satya 2 is Ram Gopal Varma’s latest take on the state of the Mumbai mafia. Satya, released in 1998, was a landmark. It redefined Hindi cinema and helped create Mumbai Noir, a school of dark, gritty movies that explored the underbelly of the city. This film has no connection – either in quality or in narrative to the first. Only here too, the lead is called Satya. And he also comes to Mumbai empty-handed and through sheer guts and wits, becomes an underworld power center. The new Satya, played by debutant Punit Singh Ratn, is a man who believes that takat ki asli power usse chupane mein hai. So even after he becomes the kingpin, he continues to ride in autos. Satya is a man of few words and many scowls. He rises to power by using his brains – people start dropping like flies, including a news-anchor. Somehow Satya makes his head explode. I immediately wondered if Varma would try that trick on me after seeing this review. Varma revels in Satya’s smarts and audacity. He builds him up as a ruthless mastermind. A spectacularly annoying voice-over keeps reminding us that Satya shaher ki taqdeer likhne aaya tha and that the company he creates is not an organization but a way of thinking. Incredibly, Varma also tacks on an interpretation of Satya as a much-needed modern-day Robin Hood who is creating a more just system within the existing corrupt one and merely redistributing wealth. It’s morally specious and unintentionally comical. While the men kill and glower, the women serve tea and flash skin. Anaika Soti, one of the leading ladies, does a version of chirpy, innocent village belle. She is so vapid that I started missing Nisha Kothari. The one bright spot here is Punit who despite being made to deliver dialogue in slow motion, has some screen presence. Watching Satya 2 is like being bludgeoned. I say, stay at home and revisit the first film. I’m going with one and a half stars.
