''Sarfarosh'' () is a 1999 Indian

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

-language

action thriller film Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...

written, produced and directed by

John Matthew Matthan John Mathew Matthan (also John Mathew Mathan/John Mathew) is an Indian filmmaker from the southern state of Kerala. He is known for his 1999 Bollywood film '' Sarfarosh'', starring Aamir Khan and Naseeruddin Shah Film career John started his ...

and starring Naseeruddin Shah,

Aamir Khan Mohammed Aamir Hussain Khan (; born 14 March 1965) is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi films. Through his career spanning over 30 years, Khan has established himself as one of the most notable actors of Indian ci ...

and

Sonali Bendre Sonali Bendre (born 1 January 1975) is an Indian actress primarily known for her work in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu films. She did modelling assignments prior to making her acting debut with '' Aag'' (1994), which won her the Filmfare Award for N ...

. John started working on ''Sarfarosh'' in 1992. Seven years were spent on the research, pre-production and production till it finally released in 1999. The film deals with an Indian police officer's quest to stop cross-border terrorism. The film was released just before the

Kargil conflict The Kargil War, also known as the Kargil conflict, was fought between India and Pakistan from May to July 1999 in the Kargil district of Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere along the Line of Control (LoC). In India, the conflict is also referred ...

when tensions between India and Pakistan were high. On release, the film was both, critically and commercially, successful. The movie received praise, for the cast performances, especially Shah, Khan and Rishi. Its technical aspects, music and story were also praised. The film won the

National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment The National Film Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, India, and was constituted in the year 1975. This is one of the ''Golden ...

, the

Filmfare Critics Award for Best Film The Filmfare Critics Award for Best Film is awarded during annual Filmfare Awards, given by the Filmfare magazine. The awards are the oldest and most prominent film awards given for Hindi films in India. The yearly awards started in 1954. M ...

, and was screened at the International Film Festival of India. The film was remade in

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

as ''Sathyameva Jayathe'' with

Devaraj Devaraj (born 20 September 1953) is an Indian actor and theatre actor who works in Indian film industry. He has largely featured in Kannada films performing various roles as a lead character, supporting character and villainous character. He ha ...

and in

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

as '' Astram'' (2006) with

Vishnu Manchu Manchu Vishnu Vardhan Babu (born 23 November 1982) is an Indian actor and producer known for his works in Telugu cinema and television. Manchu had a brief stint as a child artist with the 1985 film ''Ragile Gundelu''. Years later, he starred in ...

and Anushka Shetty.

Plot

Arms trafficking is taking place in India. Bala Thakur, a gun handler, provides the arms to Veeran, a brigand. Veeran and his gang attack a wedding bus, gunning down every person in it. The government appoints a Special Action Team in

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' fin ...

to trace the attack. Assistant Commissioner of Police Ajay Singh Rathod (

), a resident of Mumbai, attends a concert by famed ghazal singer, the elderly Gulfam Hassan ( Naseeruddin Shah), a

Muhajir Muhajir or Mohajir ( ar, مهاجر, '; pl. , ') is an Arabic word meaning ''migrant'' (see immigration and emigration) which is also used in other languages spoken by Muslims, including English. In English, this term and its derivatives may refer ...

. Gulfam is Indian by birth but had to move to

Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 243 million people, and has the world's second-lar ...

as a child during the partition; deeply scarred by the experience, he is happy that the government allows him to live in his palatial residence whenever he comes to India. Gulfam finds a huge fan in Ajay, who used to attend his programs as a child, and the two bond. Ajay also reunites with Seema (

), whom he had a crush on when they were studying in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders ...

. The duo falls in love. Inspector Saleem ( Mukesh Rishi), an honest policeman, is taken off the team when notorious gangster Sultan ( Pradeep Rawat) escapes his clutches. He is reprimanded for this failure and for causing the death of three officers in the attempt. Despite Saleem doing his duty sincerely, his senior officers look down upon him because he is a Muslim. When Ajay, who is younger, inexperienced and was mentored by Saleem himself before assuming charge, is told to head the team, Saleem is annoyed and refuses to take part in the investigation. Ajay's past is revealed: his father was going to testify against a terrorist, and in an attempt to stop them, Ajay's elder brother was killed. His father was kidnapped, and by the time the terrorists spared him, the man had lost his voice. This motivated Ajay to join the police force. Gulfam is revealed to be working for the Pakistani intelligence, which is attempting to indulge in a

proxy war A proxy war is an armed conflict between two states or non-state actors, one or both of which act at the instigation or on behalf of other parties that are not directly involved in the hostilities. In order for a conflict to be considered a pr ...

with India. Since Gulfam likes Ajay, he sees to it that nothing happens to him. Saleem finds the location of Bala Thakur and Sultan and gives the information to Ajay, who convinces him to join the team again. An

encounter Encounter or Encounters may refer to: Film *''Encounter'', a 1997 Indian film by Nimmala Shankar * ''Encounter'' (2013 film), a Bengali film * ''Encounter'' (2018 film), an American sci-fi film * ''Encounter'' (2021 film), a British sci-fi film * ...

with the criminals results in the death of Bala Thakur while Ajay is injured. Though Sultan escapes, the operation is a success as the team is able to intercept a consignment of lethal arms meant for terrorist Veeran. Sultan is assassinated on Gulfam's orders because of his failure, with false information relayed to Salim's informer network that Sultan has escaped to Pakistan. While recovering from his injuries in the hospital, Ajay has an epiphany which leads the team to Bahid in Rajasthan. Following his recovery, Ajay meets Gulfam in Bahid, who is temporarily staying in his ancestral manor. Gulfam's attempts to derail the investigation, even ordering an assault on Ajay, are of no avail. The repeated failures displease the Pakistani Intelligence, which dispatch Major Aslam Baig to take care of the business. The team prepares for a final assault on the gun-running operation and land at Gulfam's mansion. Ajay feels betrayed when he learns of Gulfam's betrayal, but is aware of the lack of evidence to indict him for his crimes. He tricks Gulfam into killing Baig and arrests him for it. Gulfam reveals that he did what he did because of how his experiences during the partition hurt him. Ajay makes him realise that his actions are not benefiting any people of any religion, and Gulfam, unable to stand the humiliation and guilt, commits suicide. His suicide is hushed up, and the team returns to Mumbai to much accolades for busting the terrorist racket. Saleem is tipped on the whereabouts of Veeran, and Ajay embarks on another investigation with his team.

Cast

* Naseeruddin Shah as Gulfam Hassan, the main antagonist, a Pakistani singer who works for ISI *

as ACP Ajay Singh Rathod, Gulfam's friend/enemy and Seema's boyfriend *

as Seema Nagrath, Ajay's girlfriend * Mukesh Rishi as Inspector Saleem Ahmed * Akash Khurana as Mr. Rathod, Ajay's father *

Smita Jaykar Smita Jaykar is an Indian actress known for playing supporting roles in Bollywood movies and TV shows. She is currently working on a theatrical adaptation of Devdas with Ashvin Gidwani Productions (AGP World). A native of the Thakurdwar ne ...

as Mrs. Rathod, Ajay's mother *

Sukanya Kulkarni Sukanya Kulkarni Mone is an Indian actress who mainly works in Hindi and Marathi films and serials. Personal life Kulkarni was born in a Hindu family. She is married to Marathi veteran actor Sanjay Mone. The couple has one daughter, Julia ...

as Ajay's sister-in-law *

Akhilendra Mishra Akhilendra Mishra is an Indian film and television character actor best known for his role as ''Kroor Singh'' in the 1990s Doordarshan fantasy television series '' Chandrakanta''. His other notable works include the character of ''Mirchi'' Se ...

as Rambandhu Gupta / Mirchi Seth * Ahmed Khan as Haji Seth * Pradeep Rawat as Sultan Deep *

Makrand Deshpande Makarand Deshpande (born 6 March 1966) is an Indian actor, writer, and director in Hindi, Kannada, Marathi, Telugu, Malayalam, Tamil cinema, and Indian Theatre. He is often seen in supporting and pivotal roles in various films like ''Jungle'' ...

as Shiva *

Shri Vallabh Vyas Shri Vallabh Vyas was an Indian film and television actor. He was known for films including '' Sarfarosh'' (1999), ''Lagaan'' (2001), '' Abhay'' (2001), '' Aan: Men at Work'' (2004), '' Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose: The Forgotten Hero'' (2005), ' ...

as Major Aslam Baig * Rajesh Joshi as Bala Thakur * Ali Khan as Captain Shafi *

Upasana Singh Upasana Singh (born 29 June 1975) is an Indian actress and stand-up comedian. Singh is known for her role as a deaf-mute in the 1997 film '' Judaai''. Later on, she got famous for her negative portrayal in '' Son Pari'' as Cruella/Kalipari, a ...

as Mala Sharma * Salim Shah as Inspector Rajan Yadav * Manoj Joshi as SI Bajju * Ramesh Goyal as Hawaldar Rakesh Kadam * Khodus Wadia as ISI General * Anil Upadhyay as Fatka *

Govind Namdev Govind Namdev (born 3 September 1954) is an Indian actor who appears in Hindi films. Namdev made his debut as a corrupt cop in David Dhawan's '' Shola Aur Shabnam'' (1992). He has acted in numerous movies, often as a villain. He is an alumnus o ...

as Veeran (special appearance) * Surekha Sikri as Mrs. Deep, Sultan's mother (special appearance) *

Dinesh Kaushik Dinesh Kaushik (born 27 May 1957) is an Indian actor. He is a post graduate in Indian theatre from the Punjab University, Chandigarh. He has worked with professional theatre groups in Mumbai. He has appeared in many advertisements, television ...

as Roshan Nagrath, Seema's brother *

Nawazuddin Siddiqui Nawazuddin Siddiqui (; born 19 May 1974) is an Indian actor known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is an alumnus of the National School of Drama. Siddiqui's feature film debut was alongside director Prashant Bhargava in ''Patang'' (2012). He ga ...

as the goon in police custody which gives information after torture *

Ashok Lokhande Ashok Lokhande (born 9 September 1962) is an Indian film, television and theatre actor. He is best known for playing the role of Arun Rathi (Bhabasa) in the Star Plus Show ''Diya Aur Baati Hum'' and its sequel ''Tu Sooraj, Main Saanjh Piyaji'' ...

as Chandrapur Hawaldar * Dinesh Phadnis as a SI Crime Branch * Sunil Shende as Deputy Commissioner of Police

Music

The film's music was composed by

Jatin–Lalit Jatin–Lalit are an Indian film music director duo consisting of Jatin Pandit and his brother Lalit Pandit. They have written the widely popular scores for films such as '' Yaara Dildara'', '' Khiladi'', ''Jo Jeeta Wohi Sikandar'', ''Kabhi Ha ...

. Lyrics are penned by Israr Ansari,

Nida Fazli Muqtida Hasan Nida Fazli, known as Nida Fazli (12 October 1938 – 8 February 2016), was a prominent Indian Hindi and Urdu poet, lyricist and dialogue writer. He was awarded the Padma Shri in 2013 by the government of India for his contribution t ...

, Sameer Anjaan, and

Indeevar Shyamalal Babu Rai, known professionally as Indeevar, (also credited as Indiwar and Indeewar) (1 January 1924 – 27 February 1997) was one of the leading Hindi film lyricists in the 1960s. Early life He was born in Barua Sagar of Jhansi di ...

. Vocals for Shah, Khan and Bendre were supplied by

Jagjit Singh Jagjit Singh (born Jagmohan Singh Dhiman; 8 February 1941 – 10 October 2011) was an Indian composer, singer and musician. He composed and sang in numerous languages and is credited for the revival and popularity of ghazal, an Indian cl ...

Kumar Sanu Kedarnath Bhattacharya (born 20 October 1957), better known as Kumar Sanu, is an Indian playback singer. He is known as the King of Melody in Bollywood. He is famous for singing thousands of Bollywood Hindi songs. Apart from Hindi, he has al ...

and Alka Yagnik, respectively. The album also features the vocals of Kavita Krishnamurthy,

Roop Kumar Rathod Roop Kumar Rathod is an Indian music director and playback singer. He has performed a number of songs in Hindi, Gujarati, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, Oriya, Assamese, Nepali, Bhojpuri and Kannada films. Personal life Rathod is the sec ...

and

Sonu Nigam Sonu Nigam (born 30 July 1973) is an Indian singer, music director and actor. He has been described in the media as one of the most popular and successful playback singers of Hindi Cinema and Kannada Cinema. He has been honoured by the Governme ...

. ''Hosh Walon Ko Khabar Kya'' was penned by

, inspired by the Indian poet

Kabirdas Kabir Das (1398–1518) was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet and saint. His writings influenced Hinduism's Bhakti movement, and his verses are found in Sikhism's scripture Guru Granth Sahib, the Satguru Granth Sahib of Saint Garib Das, ...

' verse ''Haman Hai Ishq Mastana''. Jatin Pandit has specified that Jatin-Lalit recorded the ghazal with Bhupinder Singh, for whom it was originally composed, but on the insistence of the film's administrators and their request for a more popular ghazal singer, leading them to approach

. Jatin noted that he made it a point to create a new tune for the Jagjit Singh version as to honor the work put in by Bhupinder Singh earlier.

Reception

Critical response

Upon theatrical release, ''Sarfarosh'' received critical acclaim from film critics. Naseeruddin Shah was especially praised for his role of a

. The reviewer for '' Filmfare'' rated the film four stars out of five and wrote, "What makes this film so exceptional is its carefully thought out characterization and brilliant performances. Although this is his first film, director John Mathew Matthan draws perfectly crafted outputs from his entire cast. Aamir brings the role of A.C.P. Rathod to a never-before-seen dimension of reality." He further added, "Sarfarosh succeeds in connecting with the audiences, as it manages to transcend its medium and do a great deal more than just entertain." Suparn Verma of ''

Rediff.com Rediff.com (stylized as ''rediff.com'') is an Indian news, information, entertainment and shopping web portal. It was founded in 1996. It is headquartered in Mumbai, with offices in Bangalore, New Delhi and New York City. , it had more than 300 e ...

'' felt that the film "manages to marry serious cinema with the commercial variety" and wrote that the "script has this no-nonsense look to it, clearly and succinctly establishing the protagonist's past ..." In addition to commending the acting performances of Naseeruddin Shah,

and

, he lauded the departments of direction, music, choreography, and called the camerawork "good in parts but lack ngtechnical finesse".

Accolades

Notes

References

External links

* * * * {{FilmfareCriticsAwardBestMovie 1999 films 1990s spy thriller films Indian spy thriller films Indian political thriller films Films shot in Rajasthan Films about Islamic terrorism in India 1999 action thriller films Films scored by Jatin–Lalit 1990s Hindi-language films 1990s Indian films Indian action thriller films Politics of Jammu and Kashmir Fictional portrayals of the Maharashtra Police India–Pakistan relations in popular culture Hindi films remade in other languages Intelligence Bureau (India) in fiction Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment National Film Award winners Films about the Research and Analysis Wing Films scored by Sanjoy Chowdhury 1990s political thriller films Indian police films Encounters in India Films about murder Films about police brutality Kashmir conflict in films