Hollywood's Godfather, Bollywood's Sarkar

In its time, Godfather and its sequels caused quite a furore. The fine adaptation of the novel by Mario Puzo fascinated us as we went about leading our humdrum lives , but we were also secretly relieved not to be a part of that world. While a meeting with a Sylvester Stallone clone as shown in the hilarious Hollywood movie "Oscar" (about a reformed mafia boss) may be quite an interesting experience, its best to give the adventurous spirit a miss sometimes.

Most of us don't have a brush with the Mafia. The nearest I've come to it is when I heard that a couple of truck drivers in a distant relative' s company were sent off to pose as thugs and scare some recalcitrant tenants. While they waited for their cue in the drama, things got sorted out somehow and the would-be actors were sent back without essaying their roles. Perhaps someone developed cold feet.

The Bollywood equivalent to Godfather could be "Sarkar" and its sequel "Sarkar Raj". The director, Ram Gopal Verma, readily admits to his admiration of the movie and book by Mario Puzo. Verma's movies have a gripping and edgy feel, which contributes to the realism. Judging by all newspaper accounts on such subjects, these movies are derived from real life.