25 years of 'Satya': Gangster drama's momentous contribution to industry
Ram Gopal Varma's quintessential gangster drama film Satya was released on this day 25 years ago! Believe it or not, it has been a quarter of a century, and yet, the Manoj Bajpayee-JD Chakravarthy starrer continues to awe audiences due to its gritty storyline, treatment of violence, and multiple surefooted performances. Why is Satya so consequential to the Hindi film industry?
The film catapulted Bajpayee's career overnight
Satya catapulted Bajpayee's career and established him as a dependable, bankable star in the industry. Even though he has played several striking characters over the years, his role as Bhiku Mhatre remains fresh in the audience's psyche, and Bajpayee lent the role the exact amount of rawness and grunge that it needed. He eventually clinched a National Film Award for Satya, and rightfully so!
Depiction of gang wars and crime syndicates in India
Satya is also credited with being an entire intuition when it comes to the representation of crime, violence, and the lives and psychology of hardened criminals working in the underworld. While it has served as inspiration for many filmmakers around the country, it also accorded Varma the confidence to breathe life into his ambitious gangster trilogy, constituted by Company (2002) and D (2005).
Career launchpad for other artists, too
While Bajpayee seemed to have benefited the most from Satya's success, others weren't too far behind. Anurag Kashyap, who wrote Satya, later said, "I learned everything to do with films while working on [Satya] and I still reflect in my movies what I learned during [its making]." Moreover, Apurva Asrani (Shahid, Aligarh, Made In Heaven) was only 19 when he edited Satya!
Dialogues and soundtrack: The many moods of 'Satya'
What's a classic film without memorable dialogues? Ask a Satya fanatic, and they'll remember dialogues such as, "Agar maarna ho...toh bolne ki zaroorat kya hai?" and "Mumbai ka king kaun?...Bhiku Mhatre." Its soundtrack, with songs such as Sapne Mein Milti Hai and Goli Maar, too have contributed to the film's immortal status. Vishal Bhardwaj composed, while Gulzar penned the songs.
