Ardh Satya (1983)

Save your money for something good and enjoyable

How sad is this?

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Am i the only one who thinks........Average?

A social film with a strong theme. based on corruption in the political system, police and society in India-that's what Ardh Satya is all about.Story is about an honest and efficient cop who soon finds that he cannot stay that way in the corrupt system that prevails in India.The concept is very strong. It is somewhat an explicit film, with hardly any background music at all. Acting is good on the part of Om Puri and Naseruddin Shah. Dialogue delivery is good. It is also hardly a 2 hour long film, so you wouldn't get bored easily.The editing however is not smooth and continuous. The film is also not suited for kids.7 stars

A man is given a choice. If he picks the easy option he gets to choose from two more. If he picks the tougher one there is a good chance he won't be given another. It is not just true of Anant Welankar, the young policeman in Govind Nihalani's Ardh Satya. The tougher choice looks brave and laudable, but it could quickly lead downhill. Developed from a poem by the same name, Ardh Satya is about the limbo marking the spot between cowardice and courage. It could either mean a compromise or a sign of intelligence. It is not either half-full or half-empty. It is both half-full and half-empty. On a scale of courage, this marks the middle between "impotence" and "manhood".On one side is Impotence, and on the other is Manhood, and right in the middle, is the half-truth.The sub-inspector played by Om Puri is much respected by his colleagues. They have all accepted their positions in the "potency scale" somewhere sliding to the negative. For every move this upstart of a cop makes towards the upkeep of his "manhood" – by ramming into the local goon's criminal activity or correcting eve-teasers – he is reminded of his eventual powerlessness. The system won't allow for his manhood because it is a secular place full of compromises. For Welankar, there is no half-truth. Rama Shetty (the goon) has to be put in jail. Thanks to everyone else, it cannot be done. It takes his naiveté to overlook the half-truth, the safe-house for everyone afraid of the full truth. For him, it is either one or the other. To fight this inner conflict he takes to the bottle, the universal succor he hopes will find him the middle of the scale. In turn, his drinking makes him more violent. He takes the system's cowardice as his own and stretches the limits of bravery. There is only trouble at the other end, but he pushes on, all the time answering the inner call to be a man. The memory of his father often beating his mother enrages him. Even that anger is more at himself than the father for he didn't stop him. All the while, the policeman opts for courage, but is forced to accept cowardice. Then he is given another choice. Then it goes again, the same way. Perhaps, there is no Ardh Satya and it is all just plain lies. But then, what's the point of the complete truth if it won't allow you another choice.

An absolute classic !! The direction is flawless , the acting is just superb. Words fall short for this great work. The most definitive movie on Mumbai Police. This movie has stood the test of times.Om Puri gives a stellar performance, Smita Patil no less. All the actors have done their best and the movie races on thrilling you at every moment. This movie shakes your whole being badly and forces you to rethink about many issues that confront our society.This is the story of a cop (Om Puri ) who starts out in his career as a honest man but ultimately degenerates into a killer. The first attempt in Bollywood to get behind the scenes and expose the depressing truth about Mumbai cops. Kudos to Nihalani !! After this movie a slew of Bollywood movies got released that exposed the criminal-politician-police nexus. Thus this movie was truly a trend setter. This trend dominated the Hindi movie scene for more than a decade. This movie was a moderate box office hit. A must-see for discerning movie fans.

Any story comprises a premise, characters and conflict. Characters plotting their own play promises triumph, and a militant character readily lends oneself to this. Ardh Satya's premise is summarized by the poem of the same name scripted by Dilip Chitre. The line goes - "ek palde mein napunsaktha, doosre palde mein paurush, aur teek tarazu ke kaante par, ardh satya ?". A rough translation - "The delicate balance of right & wrong ( commonly seen on the busts of blind justice in the courts ) has powerlessness on one plate and prowess on another. Is the needle on the center a half-truth ? "The poem is recited midway in the film by Smita Patil to Om Puri at a resturant. It makes a deep impact on the protagonist & lays the foundation for much of the later events that follow. At the end of the film, Om Puri ends up in exactly the same situation described so aptly in the poem.The film tries mighty hard to do a one-up on the poem. However, Chitre's words are too powerful, and at best, the film matches up to the poem in every aspect.