Sarfarosh (translation:
Fervour ) is a 1999 Indian
action drama film. It was directed by
John Matthew Matthan and starred
Aamir Khan ,
Sonali Bendre and
Naseeruddin Shah . 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 dealt with an Indian police officer[replacesinglequotehere]s fight to stop
cross-border terrorism . The film was released at the time of the
Kargil conflict when tensions between India and Pakistan were high. The film was critically successful and did extremely well at the box office where it finished as the fourth biggest hit of the year.The film was remade in Kannada as
Sathyameva Jayathe with
Devaraj and in Telugu as
Astram with
Vishnu Manchu .
Arms trade is taking place in India. An arsenal enters Indian territory via the state of Rajasthan, which makes its way to interior of India with help of many middlemen. Bala Thakur, a gun handler in Chandrapur, provides the arms to Veeran, a forest dwelling brigand. Later, Veeran and his gang attack a bus, mercilessly gunning down every person in it. The government appoints a Special Action Team in Mumbai to trace the roots behind the attack. The team learns about Bala Thakur, but thanks to his informants, Thakur flees before he can be apprehended.
Meanwhile, ACP Ajay Singh Rathod, a resident of Mumbai, is attending a concert by the famed ghazal singer Gulfam Hassan, where he spots a familiar face, Seema. Ajay had a crush over Seema when they were studying in Delhi, but never got the courage to propose her. The duo are happy to meet each other again and gradually fall in love. Gulfam, on the other hand, is Indian by birth, but had to move to Pakistan as a child during partition. Deeply scarred due to the experience, he is still 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. Despite the age difference, the two bond.
Inspector Salim is taken off from the Special Action Team when a notorious gangster Sultan escapes his clutches. Despite being an honest and upright police officer with the best intelligence gathering network in the force, Salim is rueful that he is being given a step motherly treatment because he is a Muslim. His anger at the system doesn[replacesinglequotehere]t lessen when Ajay, who was his junior, is told to head the team. Ajay wants Salim on the team, but Salim refuses. It is revealed that Ajay[replacesinglequotehere]s father and elder brother were going to testify against some criminals, but in an attempt to stop them from doing so, Ajay[replacesinglequotehere]s elder brother was killed. Ajay[replacesinglequotehere]s father was kidnapped and by the time the criminals spared him, the man had lost his voice. This made Ajay to join the police force.
Unknown to Ajay, Gulfam is also working on the payroll of the bad guys. Since Gulfam likes Ajay, he sees to it that nothing untoward happens to latter. Here, Salim finds the location of Bala Thakur along with the information that Sultan, the man who escaped from his clutches, will also be there. Salim gives the information to Ajay. An encounter at the criminals[replacesinglequotehere] rendezvous results in the death of Bala Thakur and Ajay is seriously injured. Though Sultan and his right-hand man Shiva manage to escape, the operation is deemed a success as the team is able to intercept a large consignment of lethal arms and ammunition meant for terrorist acts around the country.
While recuperating, Ajay has an epiphany which leads the team to Bahid in Rajasthan and to "Mirchi Seth" Rambandhu Gupt. The investigative team save for Ajay and Salim camp in Bahid and gather all possible information on Mirchi Seth. Ajay comes over to Bahid to investigate and meets Gulfam who is temporarily staying in his ancestral manor near Bahid. Gulfam attempts to derail the investigation through political means and ordering an assault on Ajay to subvert the investigation, but of no avail. The repeated failures on Gulfam[replacesinglequotehere]s part displease the senior officers in Pakistani Intelligence, who dispatch Major Aslam Baig to take care of the business.
Here, Ajay goes through the information collected so far and realises that he has seen many key suspects near Gulfam, but fails to make the connection. The investigative teams prepares for a final assault on the gun-running operation and in the pursuit of Mirchi Seth land up at Gulfam[replacesinglequotehere]s mansion. Ajay feels betrayed when he learns of Gulfam[replacesinglequotehere]s treachery, but is aware of lack of substantial evidence to indict Gulfam for his crimes. He goads and tricks Gulfam into killing Baig and arrests him for the offence. After realising what happened, Gulfam reveals how the incidents that happened during the partition embittered him and why he did those deeds.
In retaliation, Ajay makes him realise that his actions are not benefiting people of any religion. After Ajay makes him see the error in his ways, Gulfam, unable to stand the humiliation and guilt, commits suicide. Gulfam[replacesinglequotehere]s suicide is hushed up and the team returns triumphant to Mumbai to much accolades for busting the terrorist racket. At Mumbai Airport, Salim is tipped on the whereabouts of Veeran and Ajay embarks on another investigation with his team.
Sarfarosh was declared as above average at the box office and was the fourth biggest film of the year.
First
appeared on screen as a child actor in his uncle Nasir Hussain's film Yaadon
Ki Baaraat (1973). His
first feature film role came with the experimental
film Holi -1984, and he
began a full-time career in film with a leading role in the highly successful
tragic romance Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak (1988). His performance in the film
and in the thriller Raakh (1989) earned him a Special Jury Award at the National Film Award ceremony.
He established himself as a leading actor of Hindi cinema in the 1990s by
appearing in several commercially successful films, including the romantic
drama Dil (1990), the
romance Raja Hindustani (1996),
for which he won his first Filmfare
Award for Best Actor, and the drama Sarfarosh (1999). He was also noted for playing
against type in the critically acclaimed Canadian
Indian film Earth (1998).
