‘SARKAR 3’ Could Be The Return Of Ram Gopal Varma To Prolific Filmmaking

Ram Gopal Varma, once prolific Bollywood filmmaker, and now full time Twitter troll, attempts  a comeback to the big screen with a sequel of one of his own franchises, 'Sarkar'. 

The original film, based on Francis Ford Coppola's 'The Godfather', released another sequel entitled 'Sarkar Raj'. 'Sarkar 3' would be the third film in the franchise, that tells the story about a gangster that moonlights as a philanthropist and public servant. Indulging in criminal activities while giving back to the community around him, the character emulates the values and guidelines of the original portrayed by Marlon Brando.

The 'Sarkar 3' Trailer increases all stakes from the previous films with some brand new characters.

The trailer works in typical Ram Gopal Varma fashion. There is rousing and intense regional music of religious inclination playing to a crescendo throughout. Intense stares from amazing actors framed flawlessly in trademarked shots that Varma excels at. An over all sizzle reel that titillates from beginning to end with incredible scenes that only increase curiosity and interest in the film. It's enough to get the blood boiling really, but in a good way.

In the lead role, Amitabh Bachchan gets a lot of focus, with most of the dialogues and shots featuring him alone, and he looks incredible. The veteran actor boasts of intensity that is essentially the marquee of this film. It's an appropriate end to the franchise as well, (I assume) given that the first film was about introducing Sarkar's domination while his son took over, and the final film sees him having to get his hands dirty again.

We're also introduced to all the other players which include Amit Sadh's character playing the grandson of Sarkar, who looks to be the only character that connects to the two previous films. Bachchan's son in the two previous films, played by his real life son Abhishek Bachchan is absent in this film, but is referred to so many times in the Trailer alone, that it's safe to say that the previous films will definitely have an impact on the story of this one. Especially when it comes to the character development of Sadh's character

Side note: Anyone know what the Junior Bachchan is so busy doing these days that he couldn't be a part of this critically acclaimed franchise once again? No, seriously. Someone find out.

'Sarkar 3' has some insane amounts of incredible talent behind it. The cast features the likes of Jackie Shroff, Ronit Roy, Manoj Bajpayee and Yami Gautam. Movies featuring these individual actors are always worth watching, so with them all included into one action packed and emotionally riveting story is going to be the thing that packs screenings once the movie releases. Or so I would hope.

Unfortunately though the trailer doesn't really give much information about the story, or even a steady through-line into the film itself. It leaves a lot to be desired. While this trailer will excite Varma fans, (like me) or fans of any of these actors, (also me) the set-up is lacklustre. There should be more to a film's trailer than being an on-screen brag about all the actors they were able to afford, but that may be too much to ask these days?

Besides a general sense of 'Kill Sarkar!', for what will of course be crazy convoluted political reasons, the Trailer doesn't really provide any other sense of story. Which is really my biggest complaint.  And while we don't really need to know what the story is about with these performers on screen together, it would've been nice is all I'm saying.

I am hoping that 'Sarkar 3' really brings out the best in Varma as a filmmaker, as it's been something that's been sorely missing from his recent work.

Also: stop tweeting!

'Sarkar 3' stars Amitabh Bachchan, Jackie Shroff, Manoj Bajpayee, Amit Sadh and Yami Gautam and is directed by Ram Gopal Varma. Releasing April 7th, 2017.