Satya () is a 1998 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 de ...
-language
crime film
Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...
, produced and directed by
Ram Gopal Varma
Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema in addition to Bollywood, Hindi, Kannada cinema, Kannada language ...
; written by
Saurabh Shukla
Saurabh Shukla (born 5 March 1963) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, and film director who works in Hindi and a few Tamil and Telugu films. He is famous for his roles in '' Satya'' (1998), '' Nayak: The Real Hero'' (2001), ''Yuva'' (2004), ''L ...
and
Anurag Kashyap
Anurag Kashyap (born 10 September 1972) is an Indian filmmaker and actor known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of several accolades, including four Filmfare Awards. For his contributions to film, the Government of France a ...
. It stars
J. D. Chakravarthy
Nagulapati Srinivasa Chakravarthy, known professionally as J. D. Chakravarthy, is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, producer, composer, and singer known for his work primarily with Telugu cinema in addition to Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, an ...
,
Urmila Matondkar
Urmila Matondkar (born 4 February 1974) is an Indian actress and politician. Known for her work primarily in Hindi films, in addition to Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and Tamil films, she has received numerous accolades, including the Filmfare A ...
with
Manoj Bajpayee
Manoj Bajpayee (born 23 April 1969), also transliterated as Manoj Bajpai, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Hindi cinema and has also done Telugu and Tamil language films. Regarded as one of the finest actors of Hindi cinema, he i ...
,
Saurabh Shukla
Saurabh Shukla (born 5 March 1963) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, and film director who works in Hindi and a few Tamil and Telugu films. He is famous for his roles in '' Satya'' (1998), '' Nayak: The Real Hero'' (2001), ''Yuva'' (2004), ''L ...
,
Aditya Shrivastava
Aditya Srivastava (born 21 July 1968) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films, television and theatre. He is best known for his role as Senior Inspector Abhijeet in India's longest-running television police procedural '' C.I.D.''. He has ...
and
Paresh Rawal
Paresh Rawal (born 30 May 1955) is an Indian actor, comedian, film producer and politician known for his works notably in Hindi films, and Telugu, and a few Gujarati and a few Tamil films. He has appeared in over 240 films and is the recipient ...
. It is the first of Varma's
''Gangster'' trilogy about
organised crime in India
Organised crime in India refers to organised crime elements originating in India and active in many parts of the world. The purpose of organised crime in India, as elsewhere in the world, is monetary gain. Its virulent form in modern times is d ...
. The film follows Satya (Chakravarthy), an immigrant who comes to Mumbai looking for a job, befriends Bhiku Mhatre (Bajpayee) and is drawn into the Mumbai underworld.
Varma initially planned to make an
action 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 ...
, but decided to make a film focusing on felonies after meeting some criminals. He hired Kashyap and Shukla to write the film, and opted to use lesser-known actors. The soundtrack and score were composed by
Vishal Bhardwaj
Vishal Bhardwaj (born 4 August 1965) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, music composer and playback singer. He is known for his work in Hindi cinema, and is the recipient of seven National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award.
Bha ...
and
Sandeep Chowta
Sandeep Chowta is an Indian music director who primarily works in Bollywood and Telugu cinema. He is also the head of Columbia Records in India. He has also sung some of his songs.
In 2003, he produced an anti substance abuse documentary, titl ...
, respectively, while the lyrics were written by
Gulzar
Sampooran Singh Kalra (born 18 August 1934), known professionally as Gulzar, is an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this ...
. Its early cinematography was done by Gerard Hooper, who was replaced by
Mazhar Kamran. The film was shot in Mumbai on a budget of .
''Satya'' was released on 3 July 1998 to critical acclaim, particularly for its realistic depiction of the Indian underworld. It was a commercial success, grossing , and helped launch a number of careers (especially for Kashyap and Bajpayee). The film won six
Filmfare Awards
The Filmfare Awards are annual awards that honour artistic and technical excellence in the Hindi-language film industry of India.Al The Filmfare ceremony is one of the most famous film events in India. The awards were first introduced by th ...
and a
National Film Award
The National Film Awards is the most prominent film award ceremony in India. Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India and the Indian Panorama, by the Indian government's Directora ...
. Over the years, ''Satya'' has been regarded as a
cult
In modern English, ''cult'' is usually a pejorative term for a social group that is defined by its unusual religious, spiritual, or philosophical beliefs and rituals, or its common interest in a particular personality, object, or goal. This ...
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
, and is considered one of the greatest films ever made by a number of critics and scholars in Indian cinema. Film critic
Rajeev Masand
Rajeev Masand is an Indian film critic and journalist. He has worked for Noida based English language news channel CNN-Indian Broadcasting Network (CNN-IBN). He usually reviews Bollywood films and major Hollywood films released in India in hi ...
called it one of the most influential films of the past ten years. It inspired several sequels like ''
Company
A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...
'' (2002) and ''
D'' (2005), and a direct sequel, ''
Satya 2
''Satya 2'' () is a 2013 Indian crime film directed by Ram Gopal Varma. Shot simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu languages, the film stars Puneet Singh Ratn (Hindi), Sharwanand (Telugu), Anaika Soti and Mahesh Thakur. The film tells the story of ...
'' (2013).
Plot
Satya (
J. D. Chakravarthy
Nagulapati Srinivasa Chakravarthy, known professionally as J. D. Chakravarthy, is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, producer, composer, and singer known for his work primarily with Telugu cinema in addition to Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, an ...
) arrives in Mumbai in search of work and finds a job at a
dance bar
Dance bar is a term used in India to refer to bars in which adult entertainment in the form of dances by relatively well-covered women are performed for male patrons in exchange for cash. Dance bars used to be present only in Maharashtra, but la ...
. Jagga (
Jeeva), a criminal, throws the glass of whiskey that Satya prepared for him in his face because he dislikes the taste. Later another small time goon Pakya, (
Sushant Singh
Sushant Singh (born 9 March 1972) is an Indian character actor, television actor, author and Television presenter, presenter known for his works predominantly in Hindi cinema, and Telugu cinema. He made his screen debut in 1998 with Ram Gopal V ...
), who works for Jagga, demands money from Satya. Satya refuses to pay and slashes Pakya's face with a razor. Pakya tells Jagga about the attack, and Jagga's goons beat Satya. A film producer is murdered by Bapu (Rajesh Joshi) and Vitthal Manjrekar (
Sanjay Mishra) on the orders of Bhiku Mhatre (
Manoj Bajpayee
Manoj Bajpayee (born 23 April 1969), also transliterated as Manoj Bajpai, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Hindi cinema and has also done Telugu and Tamil language films. Regarded as one of the finest actors of Hindi cinema, he i ...
). Manjrekar is captured by police during the getaway and admits Mhatre's involvement to Inspector Khandilkar (
Aditya Srivastava
Aditya Srivastava (born 21 July 1968) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films, television and theatre. He is best known for his role as Senior Inspector Abhijeet in India's longest-running television police procedural '' C.I.D.''. He has ...
) during questioning; Mhatre is arrested.
Jagga makes fun of Satya when he is serving drinks; they fight, and he later frames Satya for
procuring. Mhatre and Satya fight in prison, and Mhatre, impressed by Satya's courage, arranges his release through lawyer Chandrakant Mule (
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'', ...
). Satya is given a
flat
Flat or flats may refer to:
Architecture
* Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries
Arts and entertainment
* Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch
* Flat (soldier), ...
by Kallu Mama (
Saurabh Shukla
Saurabh Shukla (born 5 March 1963) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, and film director who works in Hindi and a few Tamil and Telugu films. He is famous for his roles in '' Satya'' (1998), '' Nayak: The Real Hero'' (2001), ''Yuva'' (2004), ''L ...
) and meets Vidya (
Urmila Matondkar
Urmila Matondkar (born 4 February 1974) is an Indian actress and politician. Known for her work primarily in Hindi films, in addition to Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and Tamil films, she has received numerous accolades, including the Filmfare A ...
), his neighbour and an aspiring singer. Manjrekar denies any link to Mhatre in court, and Mhatre is released. With Mhatre's help, Satya shoots Jagga in the dance bar and joins Mhatre's gang. Malhotra (Mithilesh Chaturvedi), a builder whom Kallu Mama extorted, asks them to meet him for the money and Mhatre, Satya and the gang are ambushed. Under questioning, they admit to working for Guru Narayan (Raju Mavani). Vidya is initially rejected by music director Renusagar (
Neeraj Vora
Neeraj Vora (22 January 1963 14 December 2017) was an Indian film director, writer, actor and composer from Gujarat. He made a mark in Bollywood with his work as a writer for Ram Gopal Verma's film '' Rangeela'' (1995). His directorial debut ...
), who later signs her for a project after Satya threatens him. Vidya and Satya begin a romantic relationship.
Guru Narayan arrives in Mumbai. Mhatre and his gang are ready to kill him but are forced to abandon their plan on orders from politician Bhau Thakurdas Jhawle (
Govind Namdeo
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 ...
). Bhau asks him and Guru Narayan not to endanger his career with a gang war. Guru Narayan says (over the phone, to Bhau) that he wants to kill Satya to avenge Jagga's murder. This conversation is not heard by Mhatre, who (under Bhau's pressure), agrees to call it evens with Guru Narayan.
However, Satya later tells Mhatre that if they do not kill Guru Narayan, he will kill them. Mhatre gang, then kill Guru Narayan. This brings Mhatre and Satya in direct confrontation with Bhau. A new police commissioner, Amodh Shukla (
Paresh Rawal
Paresh Rawal (born 30 May 1955) is an Indian actor, comedian, film producer and politician known for his works notably in Hindi films, and Telugu, and a few Gujarati and a few Tamil films. He has appeared in over 240 films and is the recipient ...
), is appointed because of the increase in crime. In a strategic move, Bhau forgives Mhatre and his gang for their earlier actions. The police encounter a group of criminals, including Mhatre gang member Chander Khote (
Snehal Dabi
Snehal Dabi (born 24 February 1977) is an Indian actor, writer, director, and producer born into a Gujarati family and brought up in Mumbai. He is a theater performer since his school days. He has performed in Hindi language films, Marathi, G ...
). At Satya's suggestion, Shukla is shot by his gang to alarm the police. Bhau wins the election by a
landslide
Landslides, also known as landslips, are several forms of mass wasting that may include a wide range of ground movements, such as rockfalls, deep-seated grade (slope), slope failures, mudflows, and debris flows. Landslides occur in a variety of ...
, thanks to Mhatre's help.
Satya and Vidya go to the cinema. When they step out for a drink during the
intermission
An intermission, also known as an interval in British and Indian English, is a recess between parts of a performance or production, such as for a theatrical play, opera, concert, or film screening. It should not be confused with an entr'acte (F ...
, Pakya sees Satya and informs the police. Inspector Khandilkar arrives and orders all the doors locked except one, expecting to apprehend Satya when he leaves the cinema through the single open door. Satya shoots a
blank cartridge
A blank is a firearm cartridge that, when fired, does not shoot a projectile like a bullet or pellet, but generates a muzzle flash and an explosive sound ( muzzle report) like a normal gunshot would. Firearms may need to be modified to allow a bl ...
at the ground, creating a stampede, and escapes with Vidya. He is afraid of losing her after the incident, and Mhatre offers to move them to
Dubai
Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...
. Mhatre arrives at Bhau's house that night to celebrate his election victory with Kallu Mama and Chandrakant Mule, and the politician kills him for disobeying his order and killing Narayan. Satya tells Vidya he has a job in Dubai when the police arrive, and he is forced to escape. Vidya learns from Inspector Khandilkar that Satya is a criminal.
Satya arrives at Kallu Mama's residence. Mule orders Mama to kill Satya but Mama rebels and kills Mule instead, prompting the two to avenge Mhatre's murder. During
Ganesh Chaturthi
Ganesh Chaturthi (ISO: ), also known as Vinayak Chaturthi (), or Ganeshotsav () is a Hindu festival commemorating the birth of the Hindu god Ganesha. The festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha's clay idols privately in homes and p ...
at a beach, Satya kills Bhau and is wounded. He and Mama leave; Mama plans to help Satya board a ship to Dubai, but Satya insists on going to Vidya's house first. Mama waits in the car while Satya knocks on her door. Vidya refuses to answer and, while they argue, Khandilkar arrives and shoots and kills Mama. Satya manages to break down Vidya's door, however, Khandilkar shoots him, and he collapses a few inches from her and dies.
Cast
*
J. D. Chakravarthy
Nagulapati Srinivasa Chakravarthy, known professionally as J. D. Chakravarthy, is an Indian actor, screenwriter, director, producer, composer, and singer known for his work primarily with Telugu cinema in addition to Hindi, Tamil, Malayalam, an ...
as Satya
*
Urmila Matondkar
Urmila Matondkar (born 4 February 1974) is an Indian actress and politician. Known for her work primarily in Hindi films, in addition to Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and Tamil films, she has received numerous accolades, including the Filmfare A ...
as Vidya
*
Paresh Rawal
Paresh Rawal (born 30 May 1955) is an Indian actor, comedian, film producer and politician known for his works notably in Hindi films, and Telugu, and a few Gujarati and a few Tamil films. He has appeared in over 240 films and is the recipient ...
as Police Commissioner Amod Shukla
*
Manoj Bajpayee
Manoj Bajpayee (born 23 April 1969), also transliterated as Manoj Bajpai, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Hindi cinema and has also done Telugu and Tamil language films. Regarded as one of the finest actors of Hindi cinema, he i ...
as Bhiku Mhatre
*
Saurabh Shukla
Saurabh Shukla (born 5 March 1963) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, and film director who works in Hindi and a few Tamil and Telugu films. He is famous for his roles in '' Satya'' (1998), '' Nayak: The Real Hero'' (2001), ''Yuva'' (2004), ''L ...
as Kallu Mama
*
Govind Namdeo
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 Thakurdas Jhawle aka 'Bhau'
*
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 Advocate Chandrakant Mule
*
Shefali Shah
Shefali Shah (born Shefali Shetty on 22 May 1973) is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Respected for her acting prowess, she works primarily in independent Hindi films and has received local and foreign accolades for her perf ...
as Pyari Mhatre
*
Raju Mavani
Raju Mavani (1957 – 31 October 2019) was an Indian film director, producer, actor and screenplay writer. He had worked on many films and was known for his acting skills while playing a negative character.
Biography
Mavani was born in 1957. H ...
as Guru Narayan
*
Aditya Srivastava
Aditya Srivastava (born 21 July 1968) is an Indian actor who works in Hindi films, television and theatre. He is best known for his role as Senior Inspector Abhijeet in India's longest-running television police procedural '' C.I.D.''. He has ...
as Inspector Khandilkar
*
Neeraj Vora
Neeraj Vora (22 January 1963 14 December 2017) was an Indian film director, writer, actor and composer from Gujarat. He made a mark in Bollywood with his work as a writer for Ram Gopal Verma's film '' Rangeela'' (1995). His directorial debut ...
as Ronusagar (the music director)
*
Rajesh Joshi as Bapu
*Sabir Masani as Yeda, Bhiku's Gang Member
*
Snehal Dabi
Snehal Dabi (born 24 February 1977) is an Indian actor, writer, director, and producer born into a Gujarati family and brought up in Mumbai. He is a theater performer since his school days. He has performed in Hindi language films, Marathi, G ...
as Chander Krishnakant Khote
*
Jeeva as Jagga Hyderabadi
*
Banerjee
Banerjee or Bandyopadhyay is a surname of Brahmins originating from the Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent and from Bangladesh.
Lineage and ancestry
Banerjees are from the ancient Shandilya Gotra, which means all Banerjees are descended fr ...
as Bhau Bodyguard
*Jyotsna Karyekar as Vidya's Mother
*Utkarsh Mazumdar as Vidya's father
*
Sanjay Mishra as Vitthal Manjrekar
*
Rajeev Mehta
Rajeev Mehta is an Indian actor working in Hindi TV shows and Bollywood movies. He is well known for his comic role as Praful Parekh in the TV drama ''Khichdi'' and as Arvind Thakkar in ''Baa Bahoo Aur Baby''. His cameo in the cult movie Range ...
as Lawyer
*
Sushant Singh
Sushant Singh (born 9 March 1972) is an Indian character actor, television actor, author and Television presenter, presenter known for his works predominantly in Hindi cinema, and Telugu cinema. He made his screen debut in 1998 with Ram Gopal V ...
as Pakya
*
Manoj Pahwa
Manoj Pahwa (born 8 December 1963), is an Indian film and television actor who is noted for his role as Bhatia in the comedy series ''Office Office'' (2001). He has acted in over 70 films as a character actor, including '' 7½ Phere'' (2005), ' ...
as
tabela owner
*
Anupam Shyam
Anupam Shyam Ojha (20 September 1957 – 8 August 2021) was an Indian film and television actor, who usually played villainous roles. He appeared as ''Thakur Sajjan Singh'' in the STAR Plus TV series ''Mann Kee Awaaz Pratigya'' (2009 and 2021). ...
in a special appearance
*
Mithilesh Chaturvedi
Mithilesh Chaturvedi (15 October 1954 – 3 August 2022) was an Indian film and theatre actor.
Biography
Chaturvedi worked in '' Koi... Mil Gaya'', '' Gadar: Ek Prem Katha'', ''Krrish'', '' Satya'', '' Mohalla Assi'', and web series like '' ...
as Builder Malhotra
*
Shishir Sharma
Shishir Sharma (born 10 January 1955) is an Indian film and television actor. He appeared in Zee TV's ''Ghar Ki Lakshmi Betiyann'', and is known for playing the role of Jagmohan Prasad in ''Yahaaan Main Ghar Ghar Kheli''. Currently, he can be s ...
as Head of Inquiry Committee
*
Arun Bali
Arun Bali (23 December 1942 – 7 October 2022) was an Indian actor who has worked in numerous films and television series. He played the part of King Porus in the 1991 period drama ''Chanakya (TV series), Chanakya'', Kunwar Singh in the Door ...
as Home Secretary Mr. Sharma
Production
Development
Director
Ram Gopal Varma
Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema in addition to Bollywood, Hindi, Kannada cinema, Kannada language ...
, fascinated with Mumbai, wanted to return to making action films after a long break. While he was planning the film, Varma encountered some people from the underworld and became interested in their human side. Music producer and singer
Gulshan Kumar
Gulshan Kumar Dua (5 May 1951 12 August 1997), was an Indian businessman, film and music producer who was the founder of the Super Cassettes Industries Limited (T-Series) music label in the Bollywood industry. He founded T-Series in the 1980s ...
was shot dead outside the Jeeteshwar Mahadev temple in Mumbai on 12 August 1997. Varma learned about the murder from
Jhamu Sughand
Jhamu Sughand (1951 – 26 May 2008) was an Indian film financier, producer and distributor, in mainstream Bollywood, as well parallel cinema. He is most known as producer of Academy Award-nominated ''Lagaan'' (2001), '' Satya'' (1998), ''Hum Dil ...
, who had produced ''
Rangeela''.
Sughand told Varma that Gulshan had awakened at about 7 am and told the producer he would meet a singer at 8 am and a friend at 8:30; he would then go to the temple and meet him afterwards.
[ Varma then thought, "If Gulshan had woken up at 7 am, then at what time would the killer have woken up?"][ He then decided to make a film about gangsters and, as an ]Ayn Rand
Alice O'Connor (born Alisa Zinovyevna Rosenbaum;, . Most sources transliterate her given name as either ''Alisa'' or ''Alissa''. , 1905 – March 6, 1982), better known by her pen name Ayn Rand (), was a Russian-born American writer and p ...
fan, wanted to "put Howard Roark
''The Fountainhead'' is a 1943 novel by Russian-American author Ayn Rand, her first major literary success. The novel's protagonist, Howard Roark, is an intransigent young architect, who battles against conventional standards and refuses to comp ...
in the underworld".
Varma had intended to leave songs out of the film, but " ... at that time it was very difficult to make a film without a song since the music companies were almost 'ruling the industry' and it was impossible to promote a song-less film".[ With a basic story in his mind, the director wanted ]Vijay Tendulkar
Vijay Dhondopant Tendulkar (6 January 1928 – 19 May 2008) was a leading Indian playwright, movie and television writer, literary essayist, political journalist, and social commentator primarily in Marāthi. His Marathi plays established him as ...
to write the film's dialogue; he admired Tendulkar's work, particularly ''Ardh Satya
''Ardh Satya'' () is a 1983 film directed by Govind Nihalani, his second offering after another angst-ridden movie '' Aakrosh'' (1980). The screenplay of both movies was by Vijay Tendulkar, the noted Marathi playwright; this one was based on the ...
'' (1983).[ However, Tendulkar was unable to work on ''Satya''.][ The film was edited by a newcomer ]Apurva Asrani
Apurva Asrani (born 21 March 1978) is a National Award, Filmfare Award & Screen Award winning filmmaker based in Goa, India. He has written the human rights drama ''Aligarh'' (2016), the courtroom drama Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors (20 ...
, who edited the trailer for ''Daud'' and Bhanodaya. Impressed by his work, Varma offered Apurva the editing position on ''Satya'' when he was nineteen years old. Varma incorporated several scenes from real life in the film including the scene were Mhatre abuses one of his dead friend on how he could die. One of his friends told him that his neighbor was a criminal whom he used to greet every day but could not guess that he was involved in crime. Varma liked this angle and used it in the film as well.[ Varma said that the characters in the film "are at a very low level of the gangster hierarchy".][ On the film's title, Varma said that he named it ''Satya'' for two reasons: one being a homage to ''Ardh Satya'' and the other one was a namesake girl whom he used to love in college who did not love him back.][
]
Casting
A struggling Manoj Bajpayee
Manoj Bajpayee (born 23 April 1969), also transliterated as Manoj Bajpai, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Hindi cinema and has also done Telugu and Tamil language films. Regarded as one of the finest actors of Hindi cinema, he i ...
auditioned for the role of Paresh Rawal
Paresh Rawal (born 30 May 1955) is an Indian actor, comedian, film producer and politician known for his works notably in Hindi films, and Telugu, and a few Gujarati and a few Tamil films. He has appeared in over 240 films and is the recipient ...
's henchman in '' Daud'', and Varma asked him if he had done any other film work; Bajpayee mentioned his supporting role in '' Bandit Queen''. Varma, impressed by his performance in ''Bandit Queen'', said that he wanted to give him a bigger role and advised him not to do ''Daud''.[ However, Bajpayee wanted to appear in the film and Varma agreed.][ After filming was completed, Varma told Bajpayee that he regretted giving him a minor role and promised him a prominent role in his next film. Bajpayee suggested newcomer ]Anurag Kashyap
Anurag Kashyap (born 10 September 1972) is an Indian filmmaker and actor known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is the recipient of several accolades, including four Filmfare Awards. For his contributions to film, the Government of France a ...
's name to Varma for the screenplay. Varma liked Kashyap's ''Auto Narayan'', and signed him to write the script. Although Kashyap was already writing the film, Varma felt that he needed a more experienced writer and asked Saurabh Shukla
Saurabh Shukla (born 5 March 1963) is an Indian actor, screenwriter, and film director who works in Hindi and a few Tamil and Telugu films. He is famous for his roles in '' Satya'' (1998), '' Nayak: The Real Hero'' (2001), ''Yuva'' (2004), ''L ...
. Shukla was initially hesitant, since he wrote films he could direct. He went to Varma's office to decline, but the director told him that he wanted to cast him in the film and outlined the plot.[ Shukla then agreed to do the film, since he was "stuck" with the narration.][ They went to Varma's farmhouse in ]Hyderabad
Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River (India), Musi River, in the northern part ...
and wrote the first draft in a week without doing research, since Kashyap felt that a gangster's psychology is "very similar to anybody else". Bajpayee had never met any gangster in his life and was not good in speaking Marathi language
Marathi (; ''Marāṭhī'', ) is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the official language of Maharashtra, and additional official language in the state o ...
, although he was playing a Maharashtrian character. He then decided to first work on his external look and grew a beard, a heavy face and curly hair. He took suggestions from his maid on how to get the nuances of the Marathi accent and worked on the character for three to four months before filming began.
Varma wanted to cast new actors in the film. He cast J.D. Chakravarthy, who had worked with Varma on ''Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
'' (1990), in the title role. Chakravarthy said that he tried to imitate Varma to prepare for the role.[ The title role was initially planned for Bajpayee, but after the characters clarified for Varma he felt that he needed someone more fluent in Hindi for Bhiku Mhatre;][ Chakravarthy, a native Telugu speaker, was not sufficiently fluent in Hindi.][ Bajpayee was unhappy with the decision since he wanted to play the title role, but agreed to remain on the film because no other role was available.][ He based the character of Bhiku Mhatre on a person from his hometown who was a ]Jeetendra
Ravi Kapoor ( ; born 7 April 1942), known mononymously by his screen name Jeetendra, is an Indian actor who is known for his work in Hindi cinema. He also serves as the chairman of the Balaji Telefilms and Balaji Motion Pictures.
Early life ...
fan, wore coloured T-shirts and was short-tempered; he took the accent from his cook who was from Kolhapur
Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'.
Kolhapur is kn ...
. He also gathered his own costume from 25,000 given to him by the production.[ When Shukla and Kashyap were discussing authentic-sounding character names, an office boy named Bhiku came in, and they decided to use his name for a character.][ Although the female lead was initially offered to ]Mahima Chaudhary
Mahima Chaudhry is an Indian actress and model who worked in Hindi films. During the 1990s, Chaudhry did a few modelling assignments and appeared in several television commercials before venturing into films. She made her acting debut in the 1997 ...
, but later replaced by Urmila Matondkar
Urmila Matondkar (born 4 February 1974) is an Indian actress and politician. Known for her work primarily in Hindi films, in addition to Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and Tamil films, she has received numerous accolades, including the Filmfare A ...
, with whom he had worked in ''Rangeela'' and ''Daud''. Newcomer Sushant Singh
Sushant Singh (born 9 March 1972) is an Indian character actor, television actor, author and Television presenter, presenter known for his works predominantly in Hindi cinema, and Telugu cinema. He made his screen debut in 1998 with Ram Gopal V ...
was cast as Mhatre's henchman. Matondkar's costume was designed by Manish Malhotra
Manish Malhotra (born December 5 1966) is an Indian fashion designer, couturier, costume stylist, entrepreneur, filmmaker, revivalist based in Mumbai, India.
The founder of the eponymous label, Manish Malhotra, he has been deeply entrenched in ...
.[
]
Filming
''Satya'' was filmed in Mumbai during the monsoon season. The scene where Sushant Singh's face is slashed by Chakravarthy was supposed to end there, but Varma forgot to say "cut" and the rest of the scene was improvised by the actors. The film's opening montage, when Chakravarthy arrives in the city, was given to Kashyap to shoot. He planned the scene and filmed it with the cinematographer. The scene was very different from what Kashyap had imagined because of his inexperience in filming. Varma instructed him to re-shoot it and taught him how to communicate with the cameraman.[ Several scenes in the film were improvised, including the entire death scene of Bhiku Mhatre.]
Bajpayee, who has acrophobia
Acrophobia is an extreme or irrational fear or phobia of heights, especially when one is not particularly high up. It belongs to a category of specific phobias, called space and motion discomfort, that share both similar causes and options for ...
, was apprehensive while filming a scene for two hours where he is standing at the edge of a cliff. ''Satya'' climactic scene was filmed during Ganesh Chaturthi
Ganesh Chaturthi (ISO: ), also known as Vinayak Chaturthi (), or Ganeshotsav () is a Hindu festival commemorating the birth of the Hindu god Ganesha. The festival is marked with the installation of Ganesha's clay idols privately in homes and p ...
, when the team recreated the Juhu
Juhu (Pronunciation: Help:IPA/Marathi, ͡ʒuɦuː is a posh and upmarket neighbourhood of Mumbai. It is known for the sprawling Juhu Beach. It is surrounded by the Arabian Sea to the west, Versova (Mumbai), Versova to the north, Vile Parle to ...
beach with about 500 junior artists. The song "Kallu Mama" was filmed by Varma himself because the cinematographer was absent on the day of the shoot.[ The film's final scene to be shot, the song was largely improvised because the actors had been drinking.][ ''Satya'' was filmed in 50 days.][ The scene in the beginning of the film where Manjrekar and Bappu murder a film producer on a busy street was shot on a set; the street was created inside the studio, with parked cars belonging to the film crew. The first cinematographer was American Gerard Hooper, recommended to Varma by ]Kannan Iyer
Kannan Iyer is an Indian filmmaker and actor. He has written films like '' Daud'' (1997) and ''Victory'' (2009); and has also directed a supernatural thriller, ''Ek Thi Daayan'', starring Emraan Hashmi, Konkona Sen Sharma and Huma Qureshi. ...
(who had written ''Daud''). Hooper roamed Mumbai, filming the city even when no shooting was scheduled.[ However, he could not devote enough time to the project and left when it was thirty percent complete. Mazhar Kamran was the cinematographer for the rest of the film. According to Shukla, the film was shot on celluloid with "very low-light" and "low aperture."][
]
Soundtrack
The film's soundtrack was composed by Vishal Bhardwaj
Vishal Bhardwaj (born 4 August 1965) is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, music composer and playback singer. He is known for his work in Hindi cinema, and is the recipient of seven National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award.
Bha ...
, with lyrics by Gulzar
Sampooran Singh Kalra (born 18 August 1934), known professionally as Gulzar, is an Indian Urdu poet, lyricist, author, screenwriter, and film director known for his works in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of greatest Urdu poets of this ...
. Sandeep Chowta
Sandeep Chowta is an Indian music director who primarily works in Bollywood and Telugu cinema. He is also the head of Columbia Records in India. He has also sung some of his songs.
In 2003, he produced an anti substance abuse documentary, titl ...
composed the background score, which was released on the Venus Worldwide Entertainment label on 3 July 1998. The album has six tracks, including one instrumental. The film's 23-track background score was released as a separate album, ''Satya: The Sound'', in November 1998. The singers were Lata Mangeshkar
Lata Mangeshkar () (born as Hema Mangeshkar; 28 September 1929 – 06 February 2022) was an Indian playback singer and occasional music composer. She is widely considered to have been the greatest and most influential singers in India. Her cont ...
, Asha Bhosle
Asha Bhosle (; Mangeshkar; born 8 September 1933) is an Indian playback singer, entrepreneur
and occasional actress and television personality who predominantly works in Indian Cinema. Known for her versatility, she has been described in the ...
, Suresh Wadkar
Suresh Ishwar Wadkar (born 7 August 1955) is an Indian playback singer. He performs in both Hindi and Marathi films. He has sung songs in some Bhojpuri films, Odia albums and bhajans and in Konkani films.
He was awarded the Sangeet Natak Aka ...
, Mano
Mano may refer to:
People
* Mano people, an ethnic group in Liberia
* Mano (name), a list of people with either the given name or surname
* Mano (Mozambican footballer) (born 1984), real name Celso Halilo de Abdul
* Mano (Portuguese footballer) ...
, Hariharan and Bhupinder Singh.
It was the second soundtrack produced by the Gulzar-Bhardwaj collaboration; the first was ''Maachis
''Maachis'' (transl. ''Matchsticks'') is a 1996 Indian period political thriller film directed by Gulzar and produced by R. V. Pandit. It stars Chandrachur Singh, Om Puri, Tabu, and Jimmy Sheirgill. The film portrays the circumstances surrou ...
'' (1996). An article in ''The Hindu'' on the art of film scoring mentioned ''Satya'': "Interestingly (and hopefully) Indian films are just making a start with original soundtracks: Sandeep Chowta's background score for Ram Gopal Varma's 'Satya. According to Rediff.com, ''Satya'' "set the standards for background score" and the film's throbbing score "took the audience inside the mind of its characters. Every time a bullet was shot or there were close-ups of actors, one could hear the haunting score, which had a hallucinatory effect on the audience."
Release
A test screening of ''Satya'' rough cut was shown to 60 people at the Dimple theatre in Bandra
Bandra (Indian English, æːɳɖɾa also known as Vandre (Help:IPA/Marathi, aːn̪d̪ɾe is an upscale coastal suburb located in Mumbai (Bombay) area of the Konkan division, Maharashtra, India. The suburb is located to the immediate nor ...
. The response was negative; the audience thought the film advocated amorality
Amorality is an absence of, indifference towards, disregard for, or incapacity for morality. Some simply refer to it as a case of not being moral or immoral. Amoral should not be confused with ''immoral'', which refers to an agent doing or thin ...
,[ and portions of its second half were re-shot.][ ''Satya'' was released in India on 3 July 1998 on a commission basis, so distributors would not lose money.] The film targeted an urban audience,[ and dubbed ]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 ...
and Tamil-language
Tamil (; ' , ) is a Dravidian language natively spoken by the Tamil people of South Asia. Tamil is an official language of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the sovereign nations of Sri Lanka and Singapore, and the Indian territory of Pud ...
versions were released in their regional markets. It was dubbed in English for screenings at international film festivals, with Vivek Oberoi
Vivek Anand Oberoi (born 3 September 1976) is an Indian actor who mainly works in Hindi cinema, in addition to working in few Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Tamil films.
Early life
Vivek Oberoi was born in Hyderabad, Telangana, to a Punjab ...
dubbing one of the characters. ''Satya'' was part of the Indian Panorama section at the 1998 International Film Festival of India
The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is one of the most significant film festivals in Asia. Held annually, currently in the state of Goa, on the western coast of the country, the festival aims at providing a common pla ...
.
The Central Board of Film Certification
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) is a statutory film-certification body in the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting of the Government of India. It is tasked with "regulating the public exhibition of films under the provision ...
retained its strong language and violence, since its members found them an integral part of the film. ''Satya'' received an A (adults-only) certificate, with no objections from the board. Star Plus
StarPlus is an Indian Hindi language general entertainment pay television channel owned by Disney Star (formerly ''Star India''), a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company India. The network's programming consists of family dramas, comedies, ...
acquired the film's satellite-telecast rights, and it was telecast on 26 December 1998 concurrently with theatres. Several cast and crew members attended the film's premiere at the Eros Cinema
The Eros Cinema is an Art Deco style, now defunct, cinema theatre located in Cambata Building at Churchgate, Mumbai, India. It has a seating capacity of 1,204 people per show.
Architects ''Shorabji Bhedwar'' designed the Streamline Moderne buil ...
, where it received a good audience response.[ Its DVD was released on 22 September 2006.
]
Critical reception
''Satya'' opened to praise from film critics. Shobhaa De
Shobha De (''née'' Rajadhyaksha, formerly Kilachand; born 7 January 1948) is an Indian novelist and columnist. She is best known for her depiction of socialites and sex in her works of fiction, for which she has been referred to as the "Jackie ...
wrote in her review, "''Satya'' spoke the language of the streets-rough, crude, brutal. And yet, did not offend sensibilities. It perfectly captured the savagery of what has become our daily reality while also uncovering the final futility and pathos of mind-less gang wars." In his review, Khalid Mohammed
Khalid Mohamed is an Indian journalist, editor, film critic, screenwriter and film director. He formerly worked for the ''Hindustan Times'' and was the lead editor for '' Filmfare'' magazine. He is the son of Hindi film actress Zubeida B ...
wrote: "Satya is a gritty, hellishly exciting film which stings and screams. No one will go away from it unprovoked or unmoved." According to Anupama Chopra
Anupama Chopra () is an Indian author, journalist, film critic and director of the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival. She is also the founder and editor of the digital platform Film Companion, which offers a curated look at cinema. She has written sev ...
, "The maverick director ... has broken all Bollywood rules this time... ''Satya'' is an exercise in integrated aesthetics. It has a decidedly realistic feel and taut pacing." Suparn Verma of Rediff.com wrote, "''Satya'' is a culmination of Ram Gopal Varma's work to date. His characters have the intensity and anger of ''Shiva
Shiva (; sa, शिव, lit=The Auspicious One, Śiva ), also known as Mahadeva (; ɐɦaːd̪eːʋɐ, or Hara, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the Supreme Being in Shaivism, one of the major traditions within Hindu ...
'', and the Urmila-Chakravathy relationship is better tuned version of what he did in '' Drohi''". Another reviewer called to the film a "no punches pulled movie mirroring, authentically, the visage of a sick society."
Its retrospective reviews have also been positive. Jai Arjun Singh wrote, "Ram Gopal Varma shattered movie tastes with it, inventing a new language", and he called it his "favourite Indian gangster film". Raja Sen
Raja Sen (born 10 November 1955) is an Indian film and television director and the winner of three National Film Awards from Kolkata, West Bengal, India. He is the father of actress Rimi Sen.
Career
Raja Sen first received recognition with ''S ...
, giving the film a five-out-of-five rating, called ''Satya'' "... a visceral ride up the ranks of Mumbai's underworld, a film that influenced every gangster film after it, and one where all the elements-performances, characters, music, cinematography, action-came together very memorably indeed." At the 20 years of the film's release, Sukanya Verma
wrote: "Shot in a blue-brown palette, the clever compositions - a mix of cool camera angles, hand-held view, long shots and noir lighting - capture the stifling complexity and conflicting emotions of its characters."
Box office
The film, made on a budget of , earned an estimated . It did "record-breaking" business in Mumbai, with first-week occupancy rate of 85 percent and earnings of . ''Satya'' earned on fifteen screens in one week 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 w ...
and Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
, and the film benefited from the government of Maharashtra
The Government of Maharashtra is the state governing authority for the state of Maharashtra, India. It is a democratically elected government with 288 MLAs elected to the Vidhan Sabha for a five-year term.
Maharashtra has a Maharashtra Legisla ...
's entertainment tax
Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and delight. It can be an idea or a task, but is more likely to be one of the activities or events that have developed over thousand ...
exemption. It earned in its second week, with a 97 percent occupancy rate in its third week.[ ''Satya'' ran for eleven weeks, when it earned .] The film did 65 percent of its business on the Mumbai circuit, netting over in the city. Declared a box-office hit, it was one of 1998's highest-grossing Indian films.
Accolades
; 46th National Film Awards
The 46th National Film Awards, presented by Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India to felicitate the best of Indian Cinema released in the year 1998. Ceremony took place on 15 ...
:
* Best Supporting Actor – Manoj Bajpayee
Manoj Bajpayee (born 23 April 1969), also transliterated as Manoj Bajpai, is an Indian actor who predominantly works in Hindi cinema and has also done Telugu and Tamil language films. Regarded as one of the finest actors of Hindi cinema, he i ...
; 44th Filmfare Awards::
Won
* Best Film (Critics) – Ram Gopal Varma
Penmetsa Ram Gopal Varma (born 7 April 1962), often referred to by his initials RGV, is an Indian film director, screenwriter and producer, known for his works in Telugu cinema in addition to Bollywood, Hindi, Kannada cinema, Kannada language ...
* Best Actor (Critics) – Manoj Bajpayee
* Best Actress (Critics) – Shefali Shah
Shefali Shah (born Shefali Shetty on 22 May 1973) is an Indian actress of film, television and theatre. Respected for her acting prowess, she works primarily in independent Hindi films and has received local and foreign accolades for her perf ...
* Best Background Score – Sandeep Chowta
Sandeep Chowta is an Indian music director who primarily works in Bollywood and Telugu cinema. He is also the head of Columbia Records in India. He has also sung some of his songs.
In 2003, he produced an anti substance abuse documentary, titl ...
* Best Editing – Apurva Asrani
Apurva Asrani (born 21 March 1978) is a National Award, Filmfare Award & Screen Award winning filmmaker based in Goa, India. He has written the human rights drama ''Aligarh'' (2016), the courtroom drama Criminal Justice: Behind Closed Doors (20 ...
and Bhanodaya
* Best Sound Design – H. Sridhar
Nominated
* Best Film
This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards.
Best Actor/Best Actress
*See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
– Ram Gopal Varma
* Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to:
Film awards
* AACTA Award for Best Direction
* Academy Award for Best Director
* BA ...
– Ram Gopal Varma
* Best Actress
Best Actress is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organisations, festivals, and people's awards to leading actresses in a film, television series, television film or play. The first Best Actress awar ...
– Urmila Matondkar
Urmila Matondkar (born 4 February 1974) is an Indian actress and politician. Known for her work primarily in Hindi films, in addition to Telugu, Malayalam, Marathi and Tamil films, she has received numerous accolades, including the Filmfare A ...
* Best Supporting Actor – Manoj Bajpayee
* Best Supporting Actress – Shefali Shah
* Best Villain
Best or The Best may refer to:
People
* Best (surname), people with the surname Best
* Best (footballer, born 1968), retired Portuguese footballer
Companies and organizations
* Best & Co., an 1879–1971 clothing chain
* Best Lock Corporation ...
– 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 film), Shola Aur Shabnam'' (1992). He has acted in numerous movies, often as ...
Analysis
Although ''Satya'' is known for its realistic depiction of the Mumbai underworld, Varma has often said that his films do not glorify crime. In his book, ''Studying Indian Cinema'', Omar Ahmed wrote that unlike American crime films (where success is measured by the accumulation of wealth), ''Satya'' is about individual survival; Ahmed called it a "post-modern gangster film." The title character's background remains a mystery throughout the film, and his and other characters' location in the city is unspecified. In her book ''Bombay Cinema: An Archive of the City'', Ranjani Mazumdar wrote that ''Satya'' Mumbai resembles a "documentary montage of claustrophobic spaces" with "documentary-styled visuals".
The film's characters speak in a local, tapori dialect of Hindi. In his book, ''Lunch with a Bigot'', Amitava Kumar wrote that ''Satya'' language of abuse "erupts more than the guns exploding". The authors of ''Locating Cultural Change: Theory, Method, Process'' compared the characters of Amod Shukla and Khandilkar to former Mumbai police commissioner Rakesh Maria
Rakesh Maria (born 19 January 1957) is a former Indian Police Officer. He last served as the Director General of Home Guard. Before that he served as the Police Commissioner of Mumbai.
Early life and education
Maria was born in Punjabi family ...
. Varma used Sudhir Mishra
Sudhir Mishra (born 22 January 1959) is an Indian film director and screenwriter known for directing the films ''Hazaaron Khwaishein Aisi'', ''Dharavi (film), Dharavi'' and ''Chameli (film), Chameli''.
Mishra has had a 30-year career, with his ...
's 1996 film, ''Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin
''Is Raat Ki Subah Nahin'' () is a 1996 Indian Hindi-language thriller film directed by Sudhir Mishra. The film stars Tara Deshpande and Nirmal Pandey, with the entire plot taking place over a single night. The film is based on a story written ...
'', as a reference point for ''Satya''.
Legacy
''Satya'' is considered a modern masterpiece by several critics, and one of the best films of the 1990s. It has achieved cult status, and is cited as one of the best Indian gangster films for its realistic portrayal of violence; "paving the way" for future gangster films. Reviewing Varma's 2008 film, ''Contract
A contract is a legally enforceable agreement between two or more parties that creates, defines, and governs mutual rights and obligations between them. A contract typically involves the transfer of goods, services, money, or a promise to tran ...
'', critic Rajeev Masand
Rajeev Masand is an Indian film critic and journalist. He has worked for Noida based English language news channel CNN-Indian Broadcasting Network (CNN-IBN). He usually reviews Bollywood films and major Hollywood films released in India in hi ...
called ''Satya'' one of the most influential films of the past ten years. The film introduced a new genre, a variation of ''film noir'' which has been called "Mumbai noir". ''Satya'' was a breakthrough film for Manoj Bajpayee. Kay Kay Menon
Krishna Kumar Menon (born 2 October 1966), better known by the stage name Kay Kay Menon, is an Indian actor who works predominantly in Hindi cinema, and also in Gujarati, Tamil, Marathi and Telugu cinema.
Early life
Menon was born in a Nair fa ...
credited his role as a turning point for other method actors: "If it were not for Manoj's brilliant performance in ''Satya'', actors like Irrfan and me might still be waiting to be accepted. Manoj opened the doors for us." His performance as Bhiku Mhatre (with his line, ''"Mumbai ka king kaun? Bhiku Mhatre"''; "Who is king of Mumbai? Bhiku Mhatre") is considered one of the most memorable in Hindi cinema. Filmmaker Karan Johar
Karan Johar (born Rahul Kumar Johar; 25 May 1972), often informally referred to as KJo in the Hindi Film Industry, is an Indian filmmaker and television personality, who primarily works in Hindi cinema. He has launched the careers of several s ...
placed ''Satya'' in his list of the 11 films that changed Bollywood forever, calling it "quite simply the mother of all underworld films."
Music director and composer Vishal Bhardwaj named his studio Satya Studio, after the film.[ ''Satya'' also gave 24-year-old writer Anurag Kashyap his Bollywood break: "I learnt everything to do with films while working with armaon '']atya
''Atya'' is a genus of freshwater shrimp of the family Atyidae, ranging through the Antilles and along the Atlantic and Pacific slopes of Central and South America and in western Africa. It contains the following species:
*'' Atya abelei'' Felg ...
' and I still reflect in my movies what I learnt during the making of he film
He or HE may refer to:
Language
* He (pronoun), an English pronoun
* He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ
* He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets
* He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...
" Meghna Gulzar
Meghna Gulzar is an Indian writer, director and producer. She is best known for directing of Bollywood film Raazi in 2018.
After debuting as a screenwriter with her father's 1999 directorial ''Hu Tu Tu'', Meghna directed her first film, th ...
said that in the song "Kallu Mama", she could smell the beer on the character's breath.[ The film also propelled the career of editor Apurva Asrani, since it was his first.][ Reviewing ''Satya 2'', critic Paloma Sharma wrote: "''Satya 2'' is as bad as ''Satya'' was good". ''Satya'' is also credited for a trend toward Hindi films with no stars, high concepts and low budgets. After seeing the film, ]Shah Rukh Khan
Shah Rukh Khan (; born 2 November 1965), also known by the initialism SRK, is an Indian actor, film producer, and television personality who works in Hindi films. Referred to in the media as the " Baadshah of Bollywood", "King of Bollywood" ...
told Chakravathy that if "you want to ruin this film, you should replace yourself with me in it".[ ]Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan (; born as Amitabh Shrivastav; 11 October 1942) is an Indian actor, film producer, television host, occasional playback singer and former politician known for his work in Hindi cinema. He is regarded as one of the most succe ...
called Kashyap with praise. British director Danny Boyle
Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including ''Shallow Grave'', '' Trainspotting'' and its sequel ''T2 Trainspotting'', '' The Beach'', '' 28 Days Later'', '' Su ...
cited ''Satya'' as an inspiration for his 2008 Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
-winning ''Slumdog Millionaire
''Slumdog Millionaire'' is a 2008 British drama film that is a loose adaptation of the novel '' Q & A'' (2005) by Indian author Vikas Swarup. It narrates the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai. Starring Dev Patel ...
''. ''Satya'' "slick, often mesmerizing" portrayal of the Mumbai underworld
Organised crime in India refers to organised crime elements originating in India and active in many parts of the world. The purpose of organised crime in India, as elsewhere in the world, is monetary gain. Its virulent form in modern times is d ...
, which included gritty, realistic "brutality and urban violence," influenced Boyle's depiction of the Mumbai underworld.
''Satya'' was on IBN Live
Network18 Media & Investments Limited, (formerly SGA Finance and Management Service and Network18 Fincap Limited) commonly referred to as the Network18 Group and sometimes as the Network18–Eenadu Group, is an Indian media conglomerate owned b ...
's 2013 list of the 100 greatest Indian films of all time, in the ''100 Filmfare Days'' series and on the "70 iconic movies of independent India" list. It was mentioned in Rachel Dwyer's ''100 Bollywood Films'' (where she called it a "masterpiece"), and in critic and author Shubhra Gupta's ''50 Films That Changed Bollywood, 1995-2015''.
In 2021, critic Uday Bhatia wrote a book titled ''Bullets Over Bombay: Satya and the Hindi Film Gangster'' about the making of the film.
Sequels
''Satya'' was the first film of Varma's ''Gangster'' series. It was followed by two other films – ''Company
A company, abbreviated as co., is a Legal personality, legal entity representing an association of people, whether Natural person, natural, Legal person, legal or a mixture of both, with a specific objective. Company members share a common p ...
'' (2002) and '' D'' (2005) – and a sequel, ''Satya 2
''Satya 2'' () is a 2013 Indian crime film directed by Ram Gopal Varma. Shot simultaneously in Hindi and Telugu languages, the film stars Puneet Singh Ratn (Hindi), Sharwanand (Telugu), Anaika Soti and Mahesh Thakur. The film tells the story of ...
'' (2013). ''Company'', starring Mohanlal
Mohanlal Viswanathan (born 21 May 1960), known mononymously as Mohanlal, is an Indian actor, film producer, playback singer, film distributor, and director who predominantly works in Malayalam cinema besides also having sporadically appeare ...
, Manisha Koirala
Manisha Koirala (; born 16 August 1970) is a Nepalese actress who works in Cinema of India, Indian films, predominantly in Hindi and Tamil language, Tamil films and has also worked in few Telugu language, Telugu, Bengali language, Bengali, Mala ...
, Vivek Oberoi
Vivek Anand Oberoi (born 3 September 1976) is an Indian actor who mainly works in Hindi cinema, in addition to working in few Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada and Tamil films.
Early life
Vivek Oberoi was born in Hyderabad, Telangana, to a Punjab ...
and Ajay Devgn
Vishal Veeru Devgan (born 2 April 1969), known professionally as Ajay Devgn, is an Indian actor, film director and producer who works in Hindi cinema. Devgn has appeared in over a hundred films and has won numerous accolades, including four ...
, was loosely based on Dawood Ibrahim
Dawood Ibrahim (; born 26 December 1955) is an Indian mafia gangster, drug kingpin, and wanted terrorist from Dongri, Mumbai. He reportedly heads the Indian organised crime syndicate D-Company, which he founded in Mumbai in the 1970s. Ibrahim i ...
's D-Company
D-Company is a name coined by the Indian media for the Bombay underworld organized criminal syndicate founded and controlled by Dawood Ibrahim, an Indian mafia boss, drug dealer and wanted terrorist. In 2011, Ibrahim, along with his D-Company, ...
and received positive reviews. It was followed by ''D'', starring Randeep Hooda
Randeep Hooda (; born 20 August 1976) is an Indian actor and Equestrianism, equestrian known for his work predominantly in Hindi cinema. Hooda made his Hindi film debut with ''Monsoon Wedding''. He had a turning point in his career with the ga ...
and also produced by Varma, which was less successful than its predecessors. ''Satya 2'' was a critical and commercial failure. According to Saibal Chatterjee, "''Satya'', the ultimate guns-and-gangs saga, was clearly in no need of re-interpretation."
References
Bibliography
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Satya (Film)
1998 films
1990s crime action films
Indian crime drama films
Films about organised crime in India
Films about corruption in India
Indian avant-garde and experimental films
Indian crime action films
1998 crime drama films
Indian crime thriller films
Indian gangster films
1990s Hindi-language films
Films set in Mumbai
Films directed by Ram Gopal Varma
Films featuring a Best Supporting Actor National Film Award-winning performance
Films scored by Vishal Bhardwaj
Fictional portrayals of the Maharashtra Police
Films with screenplays by Anurag Kashyap
1990s avant-garde and experimental films
1998 crime thriller films