Satya
Satya
| 03 July 1998 (USA)
Satya Trailers

A young man named Satya comes to Mumbai from South India in search of a job. Jailed for something he did not do, the once-honest young man meets an underworld boss, Bhiku Mhatre in jail and joins his gang.

Reviews
SmugKitZine Tied for the best movie I have ever seen
Stevecorp Don't listen to the negative reviews
Tayloriona Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.
Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.
sid-coolking One of the best films Indian Cinema had and will ever produce...Everything was damn perfect about this movie and Sholay pales in many departments in which this film wins...RGV take a bow and thank you so much for giving us a genius in acting called Manoj Bajpai and a Script Writer like Anurag Kashyap who in future is giving good films but nothing can surpass this...One of my favourite film of all time alongside other effort close to it, ie, Company (Second favourite and best)...Anurag Kashyap tried to recreate magic of Satya in all his films and made Gangs of Wasseypur but could not touch the level of this film though his effort was no doubt praiseworthy...Vaastav, Parinda, Nayakan, Black Friday etc were all gangster films but no where close to these gems and even RGV cannot bring back the touch of these classics...Those who haven't watched must visit these films once as they don't make them anymore...
aniket-dave I saw a lot of reviews here mentioning that the performance by the protagonist was a let down. All i can say is that those people probably didn't pay enough attention to the storyline. It is clearly shown right in the beginning that 'Satya' comes from South India. Now anybody who is from India should clearly be able to understand that Hindi is not the 1st language of the character portrayed, and hence the discomfort in speaking in Hindi. I think RGV picked the caste perfectly and intentionally picked a South Indian actor to portray Satya, as the dialogue delivery would appear more natural (and it did).That argument apart, there should be no doubt that this is one of the most realistic and complete movie ever made. The cinematography is brilliant. Every second of it is acted out perfectly by the caste. The characters feel extremely realistic and you can not help but feel sad even after the death of a gangster. The 2 songs - Kallu mama and Sapne mein milti hai remain etched in your memory forever.And there are some scenes which unarguably deserve to be amongst the greatest in Indian cinema. For example the climax and the scene where Bhiku Mhatre declares himself "Mumbai ka baadshah" can give you goosegumps.A must watch for everyone.
Peter Young Satya is a realistic drama which tells the story of its title character, a simple orphaned guy who tries to live life honestly and make a fair living, but is unable to. Only when he enters the underworld, the most dangerous and seemingly dreadful place, does he find financial success, friendship and love. But when he tries to run away and return to his previous simple world, he finds out that all doors are closed for him. Satya is a film that brings very distinct points to its subject matter in comparison to previous films dealing with similar themes. The film is not about underworld. It's about a guy who finds himself trapped in the world of mafia. It's about the pluses and minuses of being involved in such a terrible world. The film is very authentic, and everything in it, from cinematography to music, contributes to this style almost perfectly. The characters are all simple and easy to relate to, they all have dreams of a better life. The story of each character is presented through the eyes of Satya in a minute and unique way.Satya has been blamed for depicting Mumbai as a dirty city of crime, terror and violence. Ram Gopal Varma has also been accused of trying to glorify the mafia. But this view is according to me incorrect; the film clearly shows that anyone who enters this world will end up living under constant threat for his life and eventually find himself killed in the most dire of circumstances. The success, the friendship, the love the film's hero finds, all of it is lost in one unfortunate chain of tragic incidents: the death of his friends, the rejection of his girlfriend, and ultimately his own defeat. That's the result and that's what Varma probably tried to convey. Obviously the hero is portrayed as a good human being and you feel for his ill-fate, but that's to be expected. It's of course partly his own fault, but it's mainly a situation created by circumstances.The acting is terrific. The most sincere performance is that of Manoj Bajpai, who is simply outstanding. He paid attention to both the dark and the bright sides of his character. Urmila Matondkar sheds her well-known image and transforms into a simple dreamy girl in this film. She lets go of her sex appeal and intensity and skillfully creates a sensitive young woman who believes that a better life does exist. An out-and-out excellent performance. Shefali Shah has an extremely small role with little importance. Yet, she is flawless in every possible scene and makes the best of what she is given, which is commendable. The only actor who is not as emotionally convincing is ironically the main protagonist, played by J.D Chakravarthy. He is average in everything he does and was not really a great choice for the part. Satya, while not a film that works for everyone, is an extraordinary film and one of the greatest from its genre. A must-watch.
nikhilerande Now folks .... This is the best crime movie ever made in Indian Cinema. The film is so mature, so aggressive. Ram Gopal Verma is a real matured, brainy director. Besides that, credit also goes to the writing duo Anurag & Saurabh shukla. The writing, screenplay, background music, editing, cinematography are just amazing. And above all .... Manoj Bajpai comes as a storm !!!!!! He has literally lived the life of Bhiku. Stunning performance. Saute to this great actor. Mumbai(formarly Bombay) is the centre of most of the underworld activities. And this city remains on top in such crimes for obvious reason ---- the money. Being the financial hub of Indian subcontinent, this city em-brasses the biggest names in underworld. Many characters in this movie are based on real-life persons. For example Inspector Khandilkar. This guy is encounter specialist. This character is based on one famous ACP in Mumbai Police. And then bhiku, his wife, DCP, bhau thakur etc. all these are closely similar to real people. As a Bombayite, I have been hearing & reading about these people since childhood. This is a story of a newcomer in underworld, his progress in the criminal world, his brains, his awesome decisions at crisis times, his fellow criminals, his rivals/friends, his race against time, and finally his downfall. The story moves so well. Its like all is happening in ur neighborhood. and so well picturized. I can tell at least 25 scenes which are one of the best-shot-scenes of all time...like for example the theatre scene, or death of guru, or death of bhiku, Satya's first ever crime, police encounter sequence, murder of DCP and so on & on & on. There are so many unforgatable scenes. I have seen this movie 13 times. And will keep on watching again & again. Its a sheer joy. Highly recommended. 10/10. Ram Gopal Verma is a genius !