Sarfarosh

Ajay was studying medicine. In an attack on his family his brother was killed and his father crippled. He left the university and became a policeman. Years later the case he is working leads to arms smuggling; weapons come across the border and are distributed inside the country, and who runs the chain is not clear. Ajay admires a ghazal singer, Gulfam Hassan, a gentle, cultivated man whose door everyone knocks on. As the investigation advances the end of the chain reaches that man. John Mathew Matthan wrote and directed; it is his first film. Aamir Khan plays Ajay and Naseeruddin Shah plays Gulfam Hassan. Sonali Bendre and Mukesh Rishi are in the cast. It is an Indian production. The film opened in 1999 and became one of the most discussed productions of the year. The matter it treats is who the enemy is; instead of a stock villain the film puts a beloved artist in that place. Naseeruddin Shah's character is the coolest head in the narrative and the conflict runs at a dinner table rather than at gunpoint. Through a Muslim police officer the film also works on identity and suspicion. The narrative keeps the detective structure; the clues open in order and there is little room for coincidence. The action is restrained for its time and free of display. The songs interrupt the story, though the ghazal sections sit inside it. The ending gives the reckoning face to face. Its limit is length; the narrative is long, the middle slackens, and some side lines are unnecessary. Who it is for: viewers who like nineties Indian crime films and character driven tension. Who it is not for: it is long, politically heavy, and the ending harsh.