The Indian movie, `Sarfarosh`, is an intense drama of terrorism and insurgency in our country. It revolves around an assistant commissioner of police, Aamir Khan, who takes on terrorists who are out to ruin the peace of the country. The film names the neighboring country as the troublemaker. An innocent-looking Ghazal singer, Naseeruddin Shah is shown as being the one who creates, perpetuates and encourages the spread of terrorism in India. The film is produced and directed by John Matthew Mathan.

This was his debut venture where Aamir Khan plays the tough cop out to nab the terrorists. The movie tries to go to the depth of some of the real reasons behind terrorism and insurgency in India. `Sarfarosh` shows how guns and drugs are smuggled in, across the border at Rajasthan, and how they reach the interiors of India, spreading terror and destruction. The director has tried to capture terrorism in different parts of India. The film is shot in Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Delhi and Mumbai. This Bollywood movie `Sarfarosh` is a critically and commercially successful movie that released in the year 1999. The film was released at the time of the Kargil conflict when tensions between India and Pakistan were high.

Synopsis of the Indian movie `Sarfarosh`
The story of the Indian movie `Sarfarosh` revolves around Ajay played by Aamir Khan, who is an honest young man. His life changes completely after an encounter with terrorists. Terrorists threaten him and he also loses his brother. His father becomes physically disabled. But Ajay is a determined young man. He does not lose heart and finds a reason to live

The film opens with a view of the vast expanse of the Thar desert in Rajasthan. The credit sequence outlines the infiltration of arms and ammunition from Pakistan across the international border into Rajasthan. The arsenal makes its way through numerous couriers and gun runners before a part of the consignment ends up in a tribal hamlet in a forest in peninsular India near the town of Chandrapur. A local criminal and gun runner Bala Thakur, delivers the weapons to a forest dwelling tribal leader, Veeran played by Govind Namdeo who intends to unleash terror and establish his hegemony in the region. Soon after a bus carrying a wedding party is intercepted by Veeran and his henchmen and the occupants are looted and then massacred. The incident sends shockwaves across the country and a stunned political leadership reacts swiftly by assigning the investigation to a special operative team of Mumbai Police Crime Branch. The team lands in Chandrapur and during routine investigations unearths a possible link between the massacre and Bala Thakur, who fled earlier after being warned of the teams impending arrival.

The story parallely shows the story of Ajay. Ajay Singh Rathore`s residence is in Colaba, Mumbai. He attends a concert by the famed Pakistani vocalist Gulfam Hassan played by Naseeruddin Shah where he spots a familiar face, Seema played by Sonali Bendre. Ajay and Seema attended the same college in University of Delhi and harboured mutually unspoken crushes on each other. During the concert there are intermittent flashbacks to Ajay and Seema`s past in Delhi and the tragic turn of events when Ajay loses his elder brother to a terrorist attack in revenge for Ajay`s father played by Akash Khurana agreeing to show some terrorists in the court. His father was abducted and dumped outside his house badly beaten up that leaves him partly paralysed. The grief-stricken family moves to Mumbai where Ajay`s uncle runs an establishment and Ajay

metamorphoses into a determined young man, who devotes himself to becoming an IPS i.e. Indian Police Service officer and rises in the ranks to become an ACP i.e. Assistant Commissioner of Police. He has reputation as a honest, tough and dilligent cop. Ajay and Seema meet at the end of the concert and cautiously rekindle their relationship. Seema, whose elder brother was the organizer of the concert, introduces him to Gulfam Hassan and after Ajay hands over a recorded collection of Gulfam`s earliest recitals, the two become friends as well.

Meanwhile, the operative team headed by ACP Rathore is working overtime to establish the links between hostile organizations who aim to destabilize India through acts of terrorism, the gun-runners in the local criminal gangs and the Chandrapur massacre. He puts together a team of specialists, though his attempts to ensure the participation of Inspector Salim played by Mukesh Rishi suffer a setback. Salim is an honest and upright police officer who is credited with the best intelligence gathering network in the force. However, a spoilt attempt at bringing in a notorious gangster Sultan played by Pradeep Rawat results in Sultan escaping and the death of three constables as well.

His superiors are furious at what they perceive as his recklessness and he is reassigned to a desk job. A distraught Salim believes that he is being victimised since he is Muslim and refuses to cooperate with Ajay, leading to some friction between the two. Ajay made him understand by telling him that everyone is working in their own interest. He tells him that he got job in IPS and also collector`s job. He could have taken the second option and sit at the chair and earn money for the rest of his life but he did not do this. He something had in his mind to serve the country and that is why he is in police service. Salim however, comes up with a lead on Bala Thakur, when Ajay and his team seemed to have reached a dead end, and the two start working together. An encounter with the criminals` results in the death of Bala Thakur and Ajay is seriously injured. Though Sultan and his right-hand man Shiva played by Makrand Deshpande 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.

The investigations seemed to have reached a dead end, when a chance clue leads the investigators to Bahid in Rajasthan and to `Mirchi Seth` Rambandhu Gupt played by Akhilendra Mishra. 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. The events unfold to reveal Gulfam to be the mastermind behind the intrusion of arms into India at the behest of Pakistan`s Inter-Services Intelligence popularly known as ISI. 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`s part displease the senior officers in Pakistani Intelligence, who dispatch Major Aslam Beg played by Sri Vallabh Vyas to subtly convey the message to Gulfam. He tells Gulfam that he has to perform or he has to Perish.

The investigative teams prepares for a final assault on the gun-running operation and in the pursuit of Mirchi Seth land up at Gulfam`s mansion. Ajay feels betrayed when he learns of Gulfam`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 offense. Gulfam unable to stand the humiliation commits suicide and the team returns triumphant to Mumbai to much accolades for busting the terrorist racket. At Mumbai Airport, the team specifically Salim is tipped off on the whereabouts of Veeran and they embark on another investigation as well.

Cast and Crew of `Sarfarosh`
The star of the film includes Aamir Khan, Sonali Bendre, Naseeruddin Shah, Mukesh Rishi, Pradeep Rawat, Govind Namdeo, Sukanya Kulkarni, Rajesh Joshi, Manoj Joshi, Ramdas Yadav, Akash Khurana, Akhilendra Mishra and Makrand Deshpande. The film is produced and directed by John Matthew Mathan. Music in the film is given by Jatin-Lalit and Sanjoy Chowdhury. Cinematography is done by Vikas Sivaraman.

Awards for `Sarfarosh`
The Bollywood movie `Sarfarosh` is an award-winning movie, which has won many awards including filmfare, Zee cine awards, etc. The movie`s villain Nasueeruddin Shah has got International Indian Film Academy awards for artistic excellence in a negative role. The Art director Keshto Mandal got IIFA award for technical excellence. The film got filmfare award as best dialogue, best editing, best film, best screenplay. The film was also nominated in the category of best actor and best director. The film got Zee Cine Award in the category of popular award as best actor and award was for Aamir Khan.