I've seen enough Indian films to have noticed some changes in their quality in recent years. Starting around 2000 (more or less) the films became more polished....with much better and less tinny sound during the musical numbers and more subtlety in the writing. I mention this because "Sarfarosh" does suffer in this regard. The music sounds poor...like they were playing it over a cassette player and filming that. And, occasionally the film could stand more subtlety. Again, this is NOT unusual for the 1990s but some 90s films sound and look better than this one. I think that this increased quality has resulted in folks now taking Indian films MUCH more seriously...and they are often as good or better than movies coming from Hollywood. But sound-wise, "Sarfarosh" is technically poor. I also wonder if some of this also might have been that the movie, at the time, was NOT seen as such a prestige project and Aamir Khan was not yet a mega-star like he'd soon become. Had he been bigger at the time, perhaps the sound would have just sounded better. Comparing this film to his "Lagaan", made just three years later is shocking...they are THAT different and the degree of polish is that great.
The film begins some time ago with some truly horrible bandits holding up a bus and massacring nearly everyone*. Soon you learn that the Pakistanis are behind selling dangerous weapons like AK-47s to bandits in order to de-stabilize their nemesis, India**.
The film now jumps ahead and is about a tough policeman, Ajay Singh (Aamir Khan). The murder of his policeman older brother in the massacre is why he is now a policeman, as he dedicates his life to dispensing justice to scum like the bandits at the beginning of the film. Vijay's crusade against terrorism with his crime taskforce is typical of what you see quite often in Indian films...the police are outgunned and deal with organized crime by 'bending the law'...such as slapping around folks they arrest and resorting to a LOT of shooting! What's next? See the film as Vijay and his men seek to destroy not only the crooks but the folks supplying them with the weapons.
I was very surprised that none of the reviews I read talked about the issues with the sound in the musical numbers or a few scenes which lacked realism. A few called the film 'perfect' which it cannot be if the sound is this bad during the musical interludes. However, I do acknowledge that the story is excellent and exciting and the film does deserve its positive reviews...but perfection? No...especially when I can think of quite a few Aamir Khan films that are so much better, such as "Lagaan", "Like Stars on Earth", "Dangal" and "Three Idiots"....all films that might be seen as perfect or near-perfect. This one, instead, is exciting, interesting and STILL well worth seeing.
* I had a laugh at the massacre...which should NOT have been a funny part of the film. This is because of one brief scene where a man is shot and he flies about 30 feet...something which is physically impossible...unless you know absolutely nothing about guns or physics! Of course, in Indian crime films this is not that unusual....it's just part of the fun...much like how Vijay's leg instantly heals following surgery and a few hours in the hospital!
**Over the years, both countries have blamed domestic terrorism cases on each other. I am certainly no expert on this but was a bit surprised the film actually said the Pakistanis were to behind these murders.
The film begins some time ago with some truly horrible bandits holding up a bus and massacring nearly everyone*. Soon you learn that the Pakistanis are behind selling dangerous weapons like AK-47s to bandits in order to de-stabilize their nemesis, India**.
The film now jumps ahead and is about a tough policeman, Ajay Singh (Aamir Khan). The murder of his policeman older brother in the massacre is why he is now a policeman, as he dedicates his life to dispensing justice to scum like the bandits at the beginning of the film. Vijay's crusade against terrorism with his crime taskforce is typical of what you see quite often in Indian films...the police are outgunned and deal with organized crime by 'bending the law'...such as slapping around folks they arrest and resorting to a LOT of shooting! What's next? See the film as Vijay and his men seek to destroy not only the crooks but the folks supplying them with the weapons.
I was very surprised that none of the reviews I read talked about the issues with the sound in the musical numbers or a few scenes which lacked realism. A few called the film 'perfect' which it cannot be if the sound is this bad during the musical interludes. However, I do acknowledge that the story is excellent and exciting and the film does deserve its positive reviews...but perfection? No...especially when I can think of quite a few Aamir Khan films that are so much better, such as "Lagaan", "Like Stars on Earth", "Dangal" and "Three Idiots"....all films that might be seen as perfect or near-perfect. This one, instead, is exciting, interesting and STILL well worth seeing.
* I had a laugh at the massacre...which should NOT have been a funny part of the film. This is because of one brief scene where a man is shot and he flies about 30 feet...something which is physically impossible...unless you know absolutely nothing about guns or physics! Of course, in Indian crime films this is not that unusual....it's just part of the fun...much like how Vijay's leg instantly heals following surgery and a few hours in the hospital!
**Over the years, both countries have blamed domestic terrorism cases on each other. I am certainly no expert on this but was a bit surprised the film actually said the Pakistanis were to behind these murders.