Release date : November 06, 2018
123telugu.com Rating : 2.5/5
Starring : Vijay, Keerthy Suresh, Varalaxmi Sarathkumar, Yogi Babu
Director : AR Murugadoss
Producers : Kalanithi Maran
Music Director : A.R. Rahman
Cinematographer : Gireesh Gangadharan
Editor : A. Sreekar Prasad
Superstar Vijay is back with yet another social entertainer called Sarkar. Directed by Murugadoss this film has hit the screens today. Let’s now see how it turns out to be.
Story:
Sundar Ramaswamy(Vijay) is an NRI who comes to India to cast his vote. But to his bad luck, his vote is already cast by someone else. He hires a top lawyer and files a case. Sundar requests that his vote is given back and also demands fresh elections in the state as many share the same problem as him. This does not go well with the opposition party who try to hunt him down. Upset with this, Sundar takes a decision to contest the elections himself. Rest of the story is as to how he faces all the corruption and comes out with flying colors in the elections.
Plus Points:
From scene one, Sarkar only belongs to superstar Vijay. He steals the show with his standout performance and is extremely good in all the emotional scenes. There are several mass elevation scenes executed for him and fans will just love Vijay as the socially responsible Sundar Ramaswamy.
Yet another surprise package of the film is Varalakshmi Sarath Kumar. She is top notch as the lady politician and has terrific screen presence. All her scenes with Vijay have been executed well. Senior actor, Radha Ravi is superb as the cunning politician.
Keerthy Suresh looks good but sadly, she does not have much to do in the film. The first half is neat as the way Vijay fights for his vote and takes on the opposition has been showcased in a gripping manner.
Minus Points:
The second half is where the film goes for a toss. Things become routine and Murugadoss showcases the set up which is quite common in every political film where an outsider tries to take on the mighty politicians and wins over them.
Even though Varalakshmi does well in her role, she is brought way too late into the proceedings and by then the damage is already done. The so-called drama between Vijay and Varalakshmi becomes jaded during the climax as things happen very easily for Vijay and his team.
The proceedings in the second half lack basic flow. The main thread of CM’s wife changing things on their head during the climax lacks logic and this is where the film end on a dull note.
One more biggest disadvantage is that the film lacks entertainment quotient. From scene one, the proceedings are serious and this might not go well with a section of the Telugu audience who expect popcorn entertainment.
Technical Aspects:
Production values by Sun Pictures are top notch as a lot of money has been spent to make the film look politically perfect. AR Rahman’s music is one of the most disappointing works of his in recent times. Not even one song makes sense but he covers it up with a decent background score. Editing is below par as close to ten minutes of action sequences could have been chopped off. Dialogues are good and the dubbing done is perfect.
Coming to the director Murugadoss, he has made the film keeping the Tamil audience and Vijay’s fans in mind. He has showcased Vijay in a stunning manner and got the first half right. But he falters in the second half where the film does not have proper flow and becomes a routine game of politics which you might have seen in many Telugu movies.
Verdict:
On the whole, Sarkar is a routine political thriller which banks heavily on the screen presence and charisma of superstar Vijay. His performance is the highlight as he carries the entire film on his shoulders. Vijay’s fans will love the film but for the Telugu audience, there is nothing new that the film showcases as it lacks basic entertainment. So, the Tamil version might get a thumbs up but here in the Telugu states, Sarkar will only find a few takers.
123telugu.com Rating : 2.5/5
Reviewed by 123telugu Team