Exoticalot People are voting emotionally.

FeistyUpper If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Beystiman It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Mathilde the Guild Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

eldino33 It is disappointing to see as talented an actor as Amitabh Bachchan in such a weak role, especially when he was beyond sensational in BLACK (which I highly recommend). One line in the film states: "Sakar is not a mere man, he is a thought and a philosophy." Director Ram Gopal Varma credits THE GODFATHER as an inspiration for this movie, and perhaps that is the problem. It seems like a badly mangled American movie set in India. The Left Elbow Index considers seven elements of film-making--acting, continuity, plot, character development, dialogue, artistry, and production sets--on a scale from a high of 10 to a low of 1, with 5 given as a average score. The film continuity seems high, an 8, by maintaining a violent tone infused with drama in places, and using justice outside the legal system as motivation. However, there seems to be a lack of emotion connected with the evil of organized crime. The acting rates a 4, it appears too weak, even when someone is being beaten or murdered, it seems hoohum. For example, when one character is shot in the forehead, I found myself wondering if, or when, he was going to fall. He does not, and ala Ronald Reagan he is placed in an automobile, with his bleeding face cradled ala John F. Kennedy. The plot rates a 5 as an example of American-style gangsterism, with a family oriented Robinhood at its head. Character development appears static, and the characters seem like chess pieces on an abandoned chess board, thereby earning a rank of 3. The dialogue seems stilted, and appears to be forced to fit some Bowery pattern of speech--a 4 for dialogue. Production sets look to be below average--a 4. And, artistry is puzzling, with far too many close-ups, too rapid panning, and too many group scenes where the actors seem over rehearsed--a 3. To me, too much camera movement is disruptive. The average of the Left Elbow Index is 4.4, and with a slight deduction based on poor derivatism it moves down to a 4. Two questions continually arise in the film: one, why are so many people eating so often: and, two, does not India have its own brand of organized crime? Do films like this have to be so dependent on Western cultural examples? As much as I like Amitabh Bachchan, I cannot recommend this film.

TheCinemaphile It's Ramu's(Ram Gopal Varma)turn to pay homage to the Cult Classic 'The Godfather'.I have no idea how many Directors actually got inspired by THE GODFATHER,but I am least bothered.Because Ramu's 'Sarkar' is good enough for me.Subash Nagre(Amitabh Bachan/Big B) is a ray of light for the down-trodden and ill-treated in the dirty lanes of Mumbai.He is respected by the 'aam janta'(public) and feared by the sinners.If found reasonable,Nagre is a man who will murder a person for the sin he committed!!!His family comprises of his wife,elder son Vishnu Nagre(Kay Kay Menon) a wastrel,foreign returned MBA graduate Shankar Nagre(Abhiske Bachan),Avantika(Tanish) Shankar's cousin.Nagre is up against Selva Mani(Srinivasa Kota Rao),Swami Virendra(Jeeva)amongst other.Rashid(Zakir Husain in a chilling villainous role) approaches Sarkar with a drug and the latter warns him against moving forward the drug plan.Rashid teams up with Sarkar's other enemies and they try their best to dethrone Sarkar,but to no avail.In the midst of this,we have Shankar returning to Mumbai with his girlfriend Pooja(Katrina Kaif),who later is force to ditch him for obvious reasons.Vishnu lands himself in trouble over a murder and he is thrown out of the Nagre house and he is aptly used by the Rashid team.With everything against him,Sarkar is is imprisoned and an attempt is made on his life.And at this point of time,Abhishke(Shankar) takes over the show and delivers one of his unforgettable performances ever.His revenge spree coupled with the haunting 'govinda govinda' background score,sends shivers down the viewers spine!!! Big B is too good for us to ignore his performance and the scenes are power-packed with his presence.Things get even better when his Shankar slowly gains screen presence and marks his stamp during the final part of the movie.It is difficult not to make comparisons with 'The Godfather',but when Ramu has given us an excellent piece of adaptation,who is to complain.I thoroughly enjoyed the film..two thumbs up Ramu!!!

zubair3001 Every time i look back at this film i never see Amitabh Bachchan as Amitabh Bachchan, i always see him as Subash Nagre the 'Sarkar'. That's how captivating Big Bs performance is. This has loads of similarities to Godfather but who said it didn't. RGV said he had been 'inspired' by it. Facial expressions make this film, there is very little said by Sarkar but his expressions tells the story. As for Abishek, being father and son in reel life only made the film sweeter. He gives a great performance from being a normal person to going on to help his father. One person that also deserves a lot of credit is Kay-Kay, his role as the 'unloved' son that turns bad you could say, was portrayed masterfully. I give this film 10/10 because of how everything fits so beautifully, the scenery is black and white mostly giving it a drowsy feel while the soundtrack heightens as more tension is built, the direction by RGV is top class, every camera angle, every word, every expression is taken into account. And finally the performances alone deserve full marks, every person even with the small roles such as the Sarkar's right hand man put everything into it. Truly a great film.

Aam Aadmi But the angle is too steep, he's coming in too fast and looks like he's gonna.... BOOOM, CRAAASH, DUUHHHHHH!!!Seeing this in Sept. 2005, the initial thinking was that maybe it was a very good adaptation of an all-time favorite, The Godfather. But Ramu-G overdosed on his love of all things Shiv Sena including the supremo Bal Thakrey, and while trying to kill 2 Bakras (prey) with 1 bullet, ended up becoming one himself!!So in the end this movie is not quite like Godfather, and not entirely about the Sena (not enough research, not enough material) and its chief either. So what is it about?! Heck, no idea. Possibly, its a Mumbaiyya gangshta movie or something. Bad guys whacking good guys. More bad guys whacking other bad guys. Good-guys-turned-bad-guys whacking....you get the gist. Thankfully, Thakrey did give Ramu permission to distribute it in Mumbai following a private screening. You can be assured this Chai-Pani version is safe for you and family. The story is more-or-less the same as TGF, so you can rent that one first and then see this one.Is Ramu "Gangshta" Varma happy with his latest creation? It appears so. He's laughing all the way to the factory. Oops sorry, the bank.