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<div class="itg-mosimage"><div class="itgimage"><amp-img  src="https://akm-img-a-in.tosshub.com/sites/media2/indiatoday/images/stories/1998July/satya_082812035351.jpg" alt = "" height="425" width="650" class="" layout="responsive"></amp-img></div>A still from the film</div><b>Satya</b><br><b>Director:</b>Ram Gopal Varma<br><b>Cast:</b>Urmila Matondkar, J.D. Chakravarty,<span><span></span></span>Manoj Bajpai, Saurabh Shukla<br><p>Satya, Director Ram Gopal Varma's offering, has much that is praiseworthy. The maverick director - renowned for his MTV-hip <i>Rangeela</i> and reviled for his failed spoof <i>Daud</i> - has broken all Bollywood rules this time. </p><p><i>Satya</i> is an exercise in integrated aesthetics. It has a decidedly realistic feel and taut pacing. It has Urmila Matondkar shorn of make-up and draped in saris. The film was mostly shot in real slums in Mumbai but it also has songs. For the most part, it works.</p><p><i>Satya</i> is the story of a faceless individual (Chakravarty), one of the millions who come to Mumbai trying to make a life. Violent, unafraid and coldly logical, he soon becomes the right hand man of gang leader Bhiku (Manoj Bajpai). A struggling playback singer (Urmila) falls in love with him. But crime does not pay and eventually the police and internal gang wars catch up with him. <i>Satya</i> dies at Urmila's feet, desperately seeking redemption.</p><p>Varma's triumph is his cast ensemble of mostly unknown stage actors. Bajpai, Saurabh Shukla, Aditya Shrivastav and Shefali Chhaya are so good that you can almost smell the Mumbai grime on their sweaty bodies. Even Urmila casts off her sex symbol tag and is convincingly moving. The only jarring note is Paresh Rawal as an inspector.</p><p>Despite the hiccups, <i>Satya</i> is an important milestone. It takes the Bollywood film one step further and kindles hope that perhaps someday, different genres of Hindi movies will happily coexist. <br></p><div id="tab-link-wrapper-plugin"><div class="authors__container"><div class="authors__by"><div class="authlable">Published By: </div><div class="authdetaisl">AtMigration </div></div><div class="published__on"><div class="authlable">Published On: </div><div class="authdetaisl">Jul 20, 1998 00:00 IST</div></div></div><div class="sendros">--- ENDS ---</div></div>

society-and-the-arts

Society & The Arts

films

Films

<div class="itg-mosimage"><div class="itgimage"><img  title=""  class="" alt="" src="https://akm-img-a-in.tosshub.com/sites/media2/indiatoday/images/stories/1998July/satya_082812035351.jpg" loading="lazy" /></div>A still from the film</div><b style="color: rgb(204, 0, 0);">Satya</b><br><b style="">Director:</b>Ram Gopal Varma<br><b style="">Cast:</b>Urmila Matondkar, J.D. Chakravarty,<span class="kno-fb-ctx" style="font-size:medium"><span style="position: relative; left: -5px; width: 0px; height: 0px;"></span></span>Manoj Bajpai, Saurabh Shukla<br><p>Satya, Director Ram Gopal Varma's offering, has much that is praiseworthy. The maverick director - renowned for his MTV-hip <i>Rangeela</i> and reviled for his failed spoof <i>Daud</i> - has broken all Bollywood rules this time. </p><p><i>Satya</i> is an exercise in integrated aesthetics. It has a decidedly realistic feel and taut pacing. It has Urmila Matondkar shorn of make-up and draped in saris. The film was mostly shot in real slums in Mumbai but it also has songs. For the most part, it works.</p><p><i>Satya</i> is the story of a faceless individual (Chakravarty), one of the millions who come to Mumbai trying to make a life. Violent, unafraid and coldly logical, he soon becomes the right hand man of gang leader Bhiku (Manoj Bajpai). A struggling playback singer (Urmila) falls in love with him. But crime does not pay and eventually the police and internal gang wars catch up with him. <i>Satya</i> dies at Urmila's feet, desperately seeking redemption.</p><p>Varma's triumph is his cast ensemble of mostly unknown stage actors. Bajpai, Saurabh Shukla, Aditya Shrivastav and Shefali Chhaya are so good that you can almost smell the Mumbai grime on their sweaty bodies. Even Urmila casts off her sex symbol tag and is convincingly moving. The only jarring note is Paresh Rawal as an inspector.</p><p>Despite the hiccups, <i>Satya</i> is an important milestone. It takes the Bollywood film one step further and kindles hope that perhaps someday, different genres of Hindi movies will happily coexist. <br></p><div id="tab-link-wrapper-plugin"><div class="authors__container"><div class="authors__by"><div class="authlable">Published By: </div><div class="authdetaisl">AtMigration </div></div><div class="published__on"><div class="authlable">Published On: </div><div class="authdetaisl">Jul 20, 1998 00:00 IST</div></div></div><div class="sendros">--- ENDS ---</div></div>

An offbeat production that uses integrated aesthetics.

India Today

Nowhere man - India Today

Film review: Satya, starring Urmila Matondkar, J.D. Chakravarty, Manoj Bajpai

Nowhere man

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Film review: Satya, starring Urmila Matondkar, J.D. Chakravarty, Manoj Bajpai

An offbeat production that uses integrated aesthetics.

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