25 Years Of Sarfarosh: The Most Realistic and Close To Noir Zone Cop Drama of Bollywood

25 Years of Sarfarosh: John Matthew Matthan's directorial debut and most acclaimed film, Sarfarosh, turns 25. Looking back at all the cop dramas we have had in Bollywood, Sarfarosh has no competition when we talk about hard-hitting and realistic moviemaking.

Big B gave us the angry young man with Zanjeer, and that remains the biggest commercial success and massiest cop movie in Bollywood. Commercial cop films didn't evolve much from Zanjeer to Dabangg to Singham because their only motive was to entertain people. Sarfarosh stands out differently because it not only entertains but also forces you to look at cop drama through realistic cinema's lens. Be it the terrorism angle, the anti-national mindset of the villain, or the patriotic gesture of the hero, Sarfarosh is damn too good with theories that derive content from real events.Aamir Khan's career is divided into two parts: before Lagaan and after Lagaan. After Lagaan, he has given us many classics like Rang De Basanti, Taare Zameen Par, 3 Idiots, PK, and Dangal, while some Gen-Z people also hail Dil Chahta Hai as a modern classic. But when you look at his filmography before Lagaan, you'll see Sarfarosh standing tall and on top, from a distance. That's the impact of this film. Not just the film, but the raw presentation of his character was also never-seen-before.The entire cast—Naseeruddin Shah, Aamir Khan, Sonali Bendre, Mukesh Rishi, Shri Vallabh Vyas, Govind Namdeo Pradeep Rawat, and others—fit so well in their roles. The music has its own magic as it compiles different compositions such as modern romantic songs like Is Deewane Ladke Ko and Jo Haal Dil Ka, a classical melody like Hoshwalon Ko Khabar Kya, and an aggressively patriotic song like Zindagi Maut Na Ban Jaye. You hardly have any other music album from that time mixing different magical numbers like this.

Sarfarosh was a box office hit, and deservingly so. Made on a budget of 8 crore, the film made 18 crore in India and 33 crore gross at the worldwide box office. At IMDb, it has a users rating of 8.1/10 and it also won 1 national award and 4 filmfare awards.Over the years, Sarfarosh has cemented its position as a cult classic among viewers. John Matthew Matthan achieved something in his debut that many filmmakers fail to achieve throughout their careers. Matthew had a sensible understanding of the story and how it should be presented in times when Bollywood cinema was looking for a shift. He knew exactly what to do. The success of Sarfarosh and its popularity only encouraged others to go against the tide and go ahead with new-wave cinema. Thank you, Mr. John Matthew Matthan, for changing our perspectives on looking at cop dramas that were only limited to being masala entertainers for years. Back in time, Hollywood had done the same when the pre-code era ended in the 1930s, but even they didn't dare use the "terrorists amongst national citizens" theme.