Satyamev Jayate (2018) [Movie Review]


Dir: Milap Milan Zaveri
Starring: John Abraham, Manoj Bajpayee
Dur: 2 hrs 20 mins
Genre: Action-Drama
Rating: 3/10

I cannot understand why Bollywood keeps torturing us with films. I think they just ought to take a break for a while, get together and discuss how they can stop making films that suck and start making films that actually have some meaning. Don’t get me wrong, this film has good intentions behind it but a good idea is shrouded by shoddy film-making, barely average acting and horrendous camera work and choreography. Don’t let the trailer fool you as it did me. The trailer is merely an amalgam of all the best parts of the film. What it doesn’t show you is what a disgrace this film really is.


The idea of vigilante justice is not something altogether new. Gabbar is Back did a comparatively brilliant job with it. Satyamev Jayate seems to trip on the very first hurdle. I honestly thought that Bollywood would slowly realize that spicing up films with unbecoming item numbers is not an appropriate way to sell art but evidently they are slow learners. Not only have they forced a romance in an otherwise enduring drama they managed to do so while showcasing all the possible stereotypes: girls are weak, authorities are corrupt and the like. The director has not been so gullible as to give into these stereotypes, he has tried to contrast them with opposing ideas but it all comes across as a mish-mash, and not as a meticulously done product (What can you expect from a 5 month project?). From the very few films that I have seen John Abraham act in, this is hands down the worst. Manoj Bajpayee is the only one worth watching in this 2 and half hour waste of time.

Frankly, this is a poor way to salute our country’s ideals. I sincerely hope that Bollywood would stop making these awful pieces and call them films. That is giving film a bad name. Films aren’t just about the money or about feeding public imagination. Films ought to educate and inspire while entertaining. This is something Bollywood is a long way from and will hopefully pick up in the near future.  


Trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=odXKXLG43co

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