Sarfarosh

Plot synopsis:
Arms trafficking is taking place in India. An arsenal enters Indian territory via the state of Rajasthan, which makes its way to interior of India with help of many middlemen. Bala Thakur, a gun handler in Chandrapur, provides the arms to Veeran, a forest dwelling brigand. Later, Veeran and his gang attack a wedding bus, mercilessly gunning down every person in it which includes women and children. The government appoints a Special Action Team in Mumbai to trace the roots behind the attack. The team learns about Bala Thakur, but thanks to his informants, Thakur flees before he can be apprehended.
Meanwhile, ACP Ajay Singh Rathod, a resident of Mumbai, is attending a concert by the famed ghazal singer Gulfam Hassan (a Muhajir), where he spots a familiar face, Seema. Ajay had a crush over Seema when they were studying in Delhi, but never got the courage to propose to her. The duo are happy to meet each other again and gradually fall in love. Gulfam, on the other hand, is Indian by birth, but had to move to Pakistan as a child during partition. Deeply scarred due to the experience, he is still happy that the Government allows him to live in his palatial residence whenever he comes to India. Gulfam finds a huge fan in Ajay, who used to attend his programs as a child. Despite the age difference, the two bond.
Inspector Salim a Muslim inspector is taken off from the Special Action Team when a notorious gangster Sultan escapes his clutches and he is severely reprimanded his superior for this failure and for cuing the death of three other officers in the attempt. Despite being an honest and upright police officer with the best intelligence gathering network in the force, Salim is rueful that he is being given second class treatment because he is a Muslim and is being perceived as having let Sultan escape because he was a Muslim as well. His anger at the system doesn't lessen when Ajay, who was his junior, is told to head the team. Ajay wants Salim on the team, but Salim refuses. It is revealed that Ajay's father was going to testify against some terrorist who had threatened him not to testify, but in an attempt to stop them from doing so, Ajay's elder brother was killed. Ajay's father was kidnapped and by the time the terrorists spared him, the man had lost his voice. This motivated Ajay to join the police force.
Unknown to Ajay, Gulfam is also working for the Pakistani intelligence which is attempting to create havoc in India and create a proxy war between both sides. Since Gulfam likes Ajay, he sees to it that nothing untoward happens to him. Here, Salim finds the location of Bala Thakur along with the information that Sultan, the man who escaped from his clutches, will also be there. Salim gives the information to Ajay who makes peace with Salim and convinces him to join the team again. An encounter at the criminals' rendezvous results in the death of Bala Thakur and Ajay is seriously injured. Though Sultan and his right-hand man Shiva manage to escape, the operation is deemed a success as the team is able to intercept a large consignment of lethal arms and ammunition meant for terrorist Veeran and his terrorist acts around the country. Sultan is later assassinated on Gulfams orders because of his failure and false information is leaked that he has escaped to Pakistan.
While recuperating, Ajay has an epiphany which leads the team to Bahid in Rajasthan and to "Mirchi Seth" Rambandhu Gupt. The investigative team save for Ajay and Salim camp in Bahid and gather all possible information on Mirchi Seth. Ajay comes over to Bahid to investigate and meets Gulfam who is temporarily staying in his ancestral manor near Bahid. Gulfam attempts to derail the investigation through political means and ordering an assault on Ajay to subvert the investigation, but of no avail. The repeated failures on Gulfam's part displease the senior officers in Pakistani Intelligence, who dispatch Major Aslam Baig to take care of the business.
Here, Ajay goes through the information collected so far and realises that he has seen many key suspects near Gulfam, but fails to make the connection. The investigative teams prepares for a final assault on the gun-running operation and in the pursuit of Mirchi Seth land up at Gulfam's mansion. Ajay feels betrayed when he learns of Gulfam's treachery, but is aware of lack of substantial evidence to indict Gulfam for his crimes. He goads and tricks Gulfam into killing Baig and arrests him for the offence. After realising what happened, Gulfam reveals how the incidents that happened during the partition embittered him and why he did those deeds.
In retaliation, Ajay makes him realise that his actions are not benefiting people of any religion. After Ajay makes him see the error in his ways, Gulfam, unable to stand the humiliation and guilt, commits suicide. Gulfam's suicide is hushed up and the team returns triumphant to Mumbai to much accolades for busting the terrorist racket. At Mumbai Airport, Salim is tipped on the whereabouts of Veeran and Ajay embarks on another investigation with his team.

Tags: cruelty, murder

Review:
Aamir Khan as ACP Rathore is superb.
This actor usually plays only "black" characters - this surely added to the impact of his performance (for me, at least).
Sonali Bendre as Rathore's love interest provided some (much-needed) light moments.
Aamir's the best actor- undisputed.
B4 watching sarfarosh, me n my pals were like these "cool" Hollywood movie buffs.
Mukesh rishi deserved best supporting actor award.
great movie - definitely worth a watch.
This movie leaves the theatre with you and stays in your mind for a long time.
A realistic and honest look at the problems our police system is facing is the theme of this movie.
Amir Khan, is as usual,incomparable and produces a strong and honest performance.
He and his team are a bunch of honest, hard-working cops trying to get Mumbai rid of all the terrorism and criminals.
Amir Khan plays a tough cop with a rough past (his brother was killed by gangsters) and the event has led him to try and sweep crime away from Mumbai.
All the actors in the movie have done their job very well, especially the actors in Amir Khan's police team.
Naseeruddin shah is amazing as usual, and goes through with his character with ease and perfection.Worth a watch, the movie will surely not fail to impress..
John Matthan directs a fantastic film in his directorial debut.
With so many characters popping in one after the other it would have been very difficult to maintain the flow of the film which John Matthan has done very successfuly.
Aamir Khan as usual has given an excellent performance as A.C.P Rathore who is set to end the flow of Arms and ammunition from Pakistan to India.
Aamir, the dedicated actor that he is, had studied all about the police force, the IPS people, talked with many police officers and stayed with some of them to study the role of ACP rathore.Nasserudin Shah has only 6 to 7 scenes but he dominates the movie.
The surprise factor of the film is the acting of Mukesh Rishi which has got lots of critical acclaim from the critics and the general audience.
Do not be surprised if he wins all the awards for "The Best Supporting Actor".
Although the film is very predictible,the climax is the best part of the scene.
This is the one of the best climax ever used in an hindi movie.
A good movie, very good action scenes.
The back of the DVD case claims that Sarfarosh is the first Hindi movie to take a look at some of the real reasons behind terrorism and insurgency in India.
I don't want to hold the claims on the DVD case against the movie though, as SARFAROSH is certainly an interesting take on the subject.Ajay Singh's brother is killed and his father brain damaged by terrorists when Ajay is a small boy, because his father was going to stand up against them in court or something.
Ajay takes this to heart (as you would), and as a young adult he devotes himself to becoming a police inspector and fighting against crime, and terrorists in particular.
The movie is essentially about one case, where Ajay has to get to the roots of an operation smuggling guns into the country.
The operation is backed by a Pakistani general, with the rationale that arming criminals in India is a cheap but effective way of waging war.
The movie does push a fairly unbalanced "Pakistan aggressors, India = victims" message, though it is very careful/keen not to equate this with Muslim vs Hindu and turn it into a religious issue.
The movie is fairly serious throughout - although there is a romantic interest (the lovely Sonali Bendre), it's not overplayed and does serve a useful function by building the character of Ajay and putting the case in the context of his life.
For the most part though, the movie is focussed on the investigation and the encounters between the police and the criminals as they trace the criminal network closer to its roots.
It's quite an action packed movie, and features some of the best action scenes I've seen in an Indian movie.
A lot of people die in the course of the movie, and a few of them in quite gruesome ways.
One thing I've noticed in quite a lot of Asian movies is that police violence is treated quite sympathetically - even as quite noble.
The cops in Sarfarosh don't mess around - if threatening, beating or framing a criminal is the best way to get a result then they don't hesitate to do so.
If a criminal happens to get killed in the course of an operation then they don't seem terribly upset either, unless it was somebody they wanted to interrogate .Ajay Singh is played by Aamir Khan, an actor I haven't come across before.
He's not a pretty boy by any means, but he does a very good job with the character.
The rest of the cast all do a good job too, although Sonali Bendre doesn't have a lot to do except look pretty and dance around in the musical numbers.The script for the movie is very tight, with both the criminals and the cops operations and motivations seeming quite convincing.
The direction is very confident and focussed, and sound and cinematography throughout are good throughout.All round, a good movie worth seeking out..
Universally liked movie.
Sarfarosh is a movie very few people can dislike.Movie is neither intense one nor over exerting.It is a movie tightly followed to a very good script.Story of the movie is fast paced,engaging like Sidney Sheldon's novels, has depth and all characters looks very natural and evolved.Although movie is over 3 hrs long but time just flies by.Topics like terrorism,crime , patriotism are dealt with a great aplomb.How arms are smuggled through border and reaches naxalites or bandits,how the police functions,movie makers had clear idea of.It is one good performance of Mukesh rishi as saleem,Aamir khan as ACP and even other small characters like Aamir's department's colleague,family members, everybody has done excellent job.None of the scenes in film looks forcefully inserted and movie progresses to a very concluding climax with every scene.A great movie from debutant director John Mathew Mathhan..
Who said Indians cannot make action movies.
Aamir Khan is too tough to look sweet in this movie.
A solid movie with sharp dialogues and a crisp script..
One of the best things about this movie is that it shows the hero taking the right path to revenge.
This is in contrast with the regular Bollywood hero, who takes the shorter and easier path justified with tit-for-tat logic to kill a particular villain in the story.
Best movie, Best Performance.
Aamir Khan has performed at his best.
Loved the movie.Ajay Singh Rathod (Aamir Khan) is a honest officer who hates the criminals and terrorist.
He gets some information about criminals who are involve in supply of arms in order to create terrorism.Ajay solves this mystery and reaches the root of this gang.
But at the end he comes to know that this terrorism was under-supervision of his very good friend and singer "Gulfam Hassan (Naseeruddin Shah)" The story, Music, Dialogues, everything is just perfect.A MUST SEE.
The movie haunts you long after watching it also.
The story of a sincere police officer in Mumbai crime branch is just a front end for many other stories like love, friendship, patriotism, religion and bigotry etc.Aamir Khan made excellent cop in Mumbai police.
But, the character of Inspector Salim is the most impressive in the movie.A must watch for all those movie buffs as this has been a very genuine effort to show what is happening across the Indo-Pak border.
What made this film a different experience is the genuinity in the script.A must watch for every one out there.
One of the best and most inspiring Indian movie.
The best thing about this movie is that it does not glorify the image of terrorists and cops.It shows how a common man can give his contribution to the society.Every thing from the direction to editing and acting and music,both songs and background is top class.It is the first movie directed by John Mathew Matthan but it looks like a very experienced direction.Performances by Aamir Khan,Naseeruddin Shah,Sonali Bendre and Mukesh Rishi are of top quality.The pace of the movie is very fast which makes it more adorable.The scene between Aamir Khan and Mukesh Rishi are the best part of the movie.A must watch for everyone irrespective of the age bars..
Now its the movie which turned my love for Amer movies into an obsession.."There are certain things that you do in your life, which at the end of the day make you proud, For Amir SARFAROSH is one such thing for him"Its songs are near to perfection....ACTING WISE amir was at his very best, and RISHI(inspector salim) was fantastic..sonali looked desperately beautiful in that mini skirt...
Even though every dialogue in this film are well knit ,but that one dialogue (when salim comes to amir to complain about people chastising him for letting a criminal go) salim: "kya yeh desh mera nahin hai"rathore:" shayad nahin hai"is the best....End is also a cliff hanger...one of the best i have ever came across...
A Very Realistic Movie featuring Most Realistic Performances..
Sarfarosh is the story of a man, Ajay Singh Rathod(Aamir Khan).
Ajay is a normal youth, he lives a life of every youngster in India until, one day his brother is killed by the terrorists, his father is beaten up ruthlessly.
Because they had the courage to say the truth, to stand up for it.Ajay Singh later begins his career as Police Officer.
An International crime, or Inter-Country crime, source is Pakistan, and Ajay has to find the root of the problem which starts at smuggling and ends at war, terror war from ISI(Pakistan Intelligence Agency).Coming to Performances:Aamir Khan as Ajay Singh Rathod is simply mind blowing in a hard hitting, sincere cop role.
Director John Mathew Matthan direction is spot on, and the pace of the movie is well maintained, except for some time in the middle of the movie where you feel that film is being dragged.
But for a debut this movie has to be a great achievement.Other Departments: Naseeruddin Shah is impressive as a Singer cum Terrorist.
Action scenes are well shot.On the whole this film deserves to be used as a Prototype for Cop/Terrorism-based movies.
I remember watching this film opening day in a crowded Ahmadabad theater when I was 9 years old (the good ole days); at that time I must have seen it a dozen times.
The story is set against the backdrop of Pakistani drugs and arms smuggling to India.
But at it's core, it's about one honest cop (Aamir Khan as ACP Ajay Singh Rathod in one of his best performances) and his personal fight to eradicate crime and bring criminals to justice...The basic story is well thought out/researched, dialogs are superbly written, cinematography is top notch, and acting is excellent by the whole cast (special mention to Mukesh Rishi who plays Salim and the always fantastic Naseeruddin Shah).
Of the songs, "Zindagi Maut Na Ban Jaye" which plays along with opening credits and details the smuggling operation stands out, as does "Hosh Walon Ko", a classic, which has been sung impeccably by the late Jagjit Singh.
The pace does slack towards the end and it veers into preachy Patriotism, but these flaws can be overlooked.This is one of the best Hindi films of the 90s and easily one of Aamir's greatest roles.
Awesome and one of the best cop films.
This is one of the best cop films except the Pak bashing which is one flaw yet the way the film is handled brilliantlyThe cops aren't shown larger then life here and are shown realistic Also even a Muslim is shown as a good person and that z niceThe film follows a no nonsense approach and works well throughout Though the pace slows and drags at times when the focus goes on the villains but luckily they are several good scenes and brilliant handling that overpowers itThe climax is brilliant too, the face off between Naseer and Aamir is brilliantJohn Matthew Mathan makes a commendable debut, his best work Sad he couldn't follow it up and made a dud like SHIKHAR Music is good and suits the film Cinematography is aptAamir played a cop in BAAZI with a filmy style but here he is more restrained, mature and natural He acts like he is for real and doesn't try to hog the limelight but let's us focus on the dialogs between the co-stars Mukesh Rishi for once gets an opportunity to act and be a good guy and he does a fantastic job as Salim He is superb, hope he gets such roles more Sonali provides comic relief and is good Naseeruddin Shah is given a clichéd role and he does well Amongst others Pradeep Singh Rawat(villain of Ghajini), Govind Namdeo and the cops are all perfect.
For a directorial debut, John Mathew Matthan put up a great show, bringing to us a taut storyline, impressive dialogues, a star cast full of undervalued gems and scintillating music, all wrapped in a cinematic treat.
Diverse, because it focussed on a variety of sub-genres under the umbrella of an action film - be it the innocent romance between the college sweethearts Ajay (Aamir Khan) and Seema (Sonali Bendre) or the grey natured Gulfam Hassan (Naseeruddin Shah) whose character was scarred for life with the ravages of the Partition - the film covers all extremes while keeping the pace of the film just perfect.
Note that this review has been written after seeing the film multiple times..
Aamir's best performance till date.
There are so many brilliant films given by Aamir Khan but acting wise his best should be counted as this and would rate it above lagaan, dil chahta hai, ghulam, rangeela etc but it goes the dangal way where also his acting was commendable and effortless...Direction and other pointers are amazing alongside a film of Mr. Perfectionist I can view anytime from anywhere as the plot is routine as usual making it memorable but not close to Gangaajal which remains the best cop-politician nexus ever in Bollywood and second one being this...Not to be missed!!.
Terrific film n terrific acting by the Dangal actor..
Aamir Khan and Naseeruddin Shah face off against each other here and both excel.
Aamir is convincing despite looking too young for his role.
The film is patriotic and squarely blames a rival nation for inciting trouble in India.
I personally liked a gentle ghazal sung by Jagjit Singh.
Am writing a review for this movie after many years of it release but its never late.I have watched this movie more than 50 times now and it still entertains me in the same way.
And i bet you won't be disappointed also.Aamir does a superb job of portraying the character of ACP.
She supports the character well.The songs are also nice and soothing.Overall a must watch for all aamir fans.I rate it 10/10 even after 8 years of its release and watching it uncountable times..
It may have been cutting edge then, however it now plays like an episode of Aaron Spelling's Glitter magazine (Season 99).Aamir Khan plays boy next door Ajay Singh (nice fro bro).
Tomorrow Andy is destined to be man addicted to ink who has forgotten how to exit the gymn.Supporting our hero, we have 2 very strong performance from Naseeruddin Shah (blind dude from Mohra) and Sonali Ben (unforgettable in Mumbai).Naseeruddin plays a gentle poet who sings ghazals sweet as the morning dew.
This provides Salim with the opportunity to make a forgettable but film award winning speech about 'how he loves Eden Gardens more than his future Mrs'.As for the ending.....
When I watched this movie, I was expecting yet another action flick with a decent storyline.
A great movie with some realistic scenes and an excellent story, this is probably the best action movie in a long time in India.In a country that has been target of terror, it is not uncommon that weapons like AK-47 are smuggled deep into the heart of it.
The film also touches sensitive subjects like the loyalty of the common Indian Muslim towards the state, the mentality of the people who have suffered the partition of India, friendship and loyalty etc.Aamir Khan does a splendid job as Ajay Singh Rathore, the patriotic cop previously a victim of terrorism who vows to fight them.
All the aforementioned actors did a good job, but the surprise package in the movie is Naseeruddin Shah.
He is probably the best actor in the country at the moment and one can say, looking at this role why.
He is brilliant as Gulfam Hassan, the singer born in India and brought up in Pakistan.A great movie with a good story and excellent performances.9/10.
As usual, Amir Khan is best.
But well here the direction, story, screenplay, dialogue are as good as he is.
It's John Matthan's first film, but its just amazing and fantastic to watch.
Nasiruddin Shah and Mukesh Rishi are unforgettable in the movie.
Sonali Bendre doesn't have much to do, but she has done her part well.Music score and the lyrics are very good.
Favourite Aamir Khan movie.
I am big fan of Aamir Khan and this is my favourite movie of his.
An intelligent film but still a commercial one which I like.
Aamir Khan is a joy to watch.
You can tell with some actors when they are trying hard to portray their characters it makes you enjoy the movie even more.
There are several scenes I enjoy in the movie.
I also love the dialogue between the Aamir Khan and Mukesh Rishi when he tells he tells him his purpose of joining the police force.