rajeev@sfsup.UUCP (S.Rajeev) (02/08/86)
Ardh Satya [Half-Truth]: Directed by Govind Nihalani. Hindi 1983 Lead Roles: Om Puri, Smita Patil. Om Puri steals the show with his portrayal of the decline and brutalization of a policeman. This is a violent, powerful and visceral movie. Nihalani shows considerable virtuosity in handling social themes: in many ways, both "Ardh Satya" and his earlier film "Aakrosh" deal with the outsider who dares to challenge the system and pays the price for it. I understand that this was an enormous popular success in India; which is interesting considering that it certainly does not cater to the usual masala formulas that most Hindi movies adhere to. The story is that of a reluctant police inspector, Ananth Velankar (Om Puri) whose ambition had been to study literature and become a teacher. His tyrant of a father, himself a constable, decided that Ananth was to attend the Police Academy. Ananth has grown up watching his father terrorize and physically abuse his mother, and he is too weak to stand up to his father. As an official, he faces moral dilemmas because there is really no place for an honest man in the corrupt police force: his attempts to nab his nemesis, the local mobster, Rama Shetty, are all doomed to failure because of Shetty's connections. He feels humiliated; and takes to drink. He meets Jyotsna (Smita Patil), a college lecturer, who is attracted to him; but he also frightens her with his drinking bouts and his evident frustrations, which he takes out in alarmingly violent fashion on the petty criminals he has to deal with. She questions him about police brutality, but he brushes it off as part of the job and as media exaggeration. Things look good for Ananth when he tracks down a bank robber: he believes he is in line for a medal and a promotion. However, the cherished medal is awarded to someone else. Feelings of inadequacy and impotent rage drive him to attack one of his prisoners ruthlessly, and he beats him up so hard the poor man dies. (These scenes are filmed realistically and are extremely violent.) Ananth is suspended; his career is almost certainly ruined. His last chance is to go to his old enemy, Rama Shetty, who has now become a successful politican, and ask him (Shetty) to use his influence to get him (Ananth) off the hook. Shetty makes it clear that he wants his pound of flesh: Ananth will be "his man" on the force. The enormity of this betrayal of all his principles is too much for Ananth: in a brief and Pyrrhic triumph, he strangles Shetty. In some ways, Ardh Satya reminds one of "honest-cop-versus-bad-system" movies such as "Serpico", "Fort Apache, the Bronx". However, Nihalani has given it a very Indian ethos and made it realistic in the Indian context. Apart from being graphically violent, the movie had only one other major fault the pace slowed dramatically about the middle of the second half; some of the material could have been eliminated. I would rate this film among my favorite Hindi films, in the company of 27 Down, Bhuvan Shome, Ankur, ... It does have something in common with the "outsider" theme espoused by Amitabh Bachan: perhaps that explains its popularity. However, the decidedly downbeat ending is not calculated to produce box-office miracles. Perhaps the public is now ready to move on from pure escapism?! One of the references in the film escaped me: could someone please tell me what the significance of the Chakra Vyuha is? That is not what Abhimanyu was trapped in, in the Kurukshetra battle, is it -- I thought that was the Padma Vyuha. Sri Rajeev ihnp4!attunix!rajeev
ksp@ulysses.UUCP (Krishna Prasad) (02/10/86)
> > One of the references in the film escaped me: could someone please tell > me what the significance of the Chakra Vyuha is? That is not what > Abhimanyu was trapped in, in the Kurukshetra battle, is it -- I thought > that was the Padma Vyuha. > > Sri Rajeev > ihnp4!attunix!rajeev As I remember it, Chakra Vyuha was the battle formation that Abhimanyu was trapped in the Kurukshetra. Abhimanyu was the son of Arjuna and Krishna's sister (whose name escapes me at this moment). Once when she was pregnant with Abhimanyu, Krishna happened to be visiting and talked about this wonderful called Chakravyuha, and how to break into it. But before he could describe how to break out, they were interrupted. Abhimanyu, in the womb heard and remembered many years later. As a metaphor, I suppose it signifies the trap that Ananth of "Arda Sathya" is drawn into by duty and out of which he cannot break out. Krishna Prasad {ihnp4!}ulysses!ksp (201)870-7525
biyani@unc.UUCP (Vikram Biyani) (02/12/86)
In article <1186@ulysses.UUCP> ksp@ulysses.UUCP (Krishna Prasad) writes: > >As I remember it, Chakra Vyuha was the battle formation that >Abhimanyu was trapped in the Kurukshetra. Abhimanyu was the son >of Arjuna and Krishna's sister (whose name escapes me at this moment). >Once when she was pregnant with Abhimanyu, Krishna happened to >be visiting and talked about this wonderful called Chakravyuha, It wasn't Krishna from whom Abhimanyu learnt about the Chakravyuha, it was his father Arjuna. >and how to break into it. But before he could describe how to >break out, they were interrupted. Abhimanyu, in the womb heard >and remembered many years later. Vikram.
gupta@unc.UUCP (Gopal Gupta) (02/12/86)
> In article <1186@ulysses.UUCP> ksp@ulysses.UUCP (Krishna Prasad) writes: > > > >As I remember it, Chakra Vyuha was the battle formation that > >Abhimanyu was trapped in the Kurukshetra. Abhimanyu was the son > >of Arjuna and Krishna's sister (whose name escapes me at this moment). > >Once when she was pregnant with Abhimanyu, Krishna happened to > >be visiting and talked about this wonderful called Chakravyuha, > > It wasn't Krishna from whom Abhimanyu learnt about the Chakravyuha, > it was his father Arjuna. > > >and how to break into it. But before he could describe how to > >break out, they were interrupted. Abhimanyu, in the womb heard ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > >and remembered many years later. > > Vikram. The name of Krishna's sister and Arjuna's wife was Subhadra. And they were not interrupted before Arjuna could narrate how to break out of a chakravyuha. Instead Subhadra fell asleep before Arjuna could complete his narration.