A clichéd, brainless vigilante throwback that wastes Bajpayee and tests patience.
Verdict tier Unfavorable, most critics didn't like it, on a scale of Unfavorable, Mixed, Recommended, Exceptional.
Not streaming in India
Critic consensus
Critical reception for Satyameva Jayate is overwhelmingly negative, with most reviewers finding the film derivative, illogical, and overly reliant on clichés from 1980s vigilante cinema. Several critics noted John Abraham's physical screen presence but found his performance expressionless and one-dimensional, while Manoj Bajpayee was seen as largely wasted in the film. A handful of critics acknowledged the masala entertainment value and crowd-pleasing dialogue, but even these measured defenses were undercut by complaints about the film's lack of originality and emotional depth. The gruesome, excessive action and a story offering nothing new were the most consistently cited weaknesses.
2 not-rated reviews aren't plotted
Positive = 6.5/10 and up · negative = below 5/10
AI-generated summary of 13 critic reviews · may contain errors
Report inaccuracyFrom the papers
Top critics first, then by score · not-rated last · updated
Top critic
Film review ·
We can get why John Abraham is in this film: he's done this kind of movie before, and this looks like an extension, but what possessed the excellent Manoj Bajpayee, who can lift a film just by his presence, to do this?
Top critic
Film review ·
In the 'morality' tussle between a putative saviour and an unflappable defender of justice, it is cinema that takes a major beating. Satyameva Jayate, truth be told, is a film that has no apparent reason to exist. Not a shred of it is original. At best, it makes a silly spectacle of beating a dead, decomposed horse. At worst, it is a product of a tendentious mind. Satyameva Jayate is nonsensical, with nary a nod to logic.
Film review ·
SMJ may evoke a sense of patriotism in India's lynching community, where might is often right. The makers describe it as a single-screen delight!
Film review ·
Satyameva Jayate is a fairly illogical commercial thriller fronted by two actors who deliver forceful performances. It may not be the most intelligent thriller, but its lack of pretence is its greatest asset. It's entertaining for some of the right reasons, and plenty of unintended ones.
Film review ·
Zaveri writes dialogues that are certain to inspire applause. But, given that it is sculpted to be a masala entertainer, the film is heavy only on action, not emotion.
Film review ·
'SMJ' desperately tries very hard to sell the age-old idea of revenge and righteousness. But the big booming treatment is a little too hard to accept and digest. With John in the film, one can expect good action, but it's gruesome and a little too bloody at times. Truth be told, the story is relevant in today's times, but too many cliches in the story and the style of storytelling will make you want to cop out of this one.
Film review ·
Satyameva Jayate's plot is twisted to hide some nice surprises, and its killing scenes, though daffy, are bloody and have enough filmy drama to keep us engaged.
Film review ·
With the clock ticking past the two hour mark, all the spiel on farz, izzat, imaandari is too familiar. You are left with a realisation: truth hurts but Satyamev Jayate hurts more.
Film review ·
John Abraham has Popeye's muscles and Bluto's scowl, but how many times can you watch a deadpan Hulk pull out a van door or burst forth from a truck tyre?
Film review ·
John Abraham and Manoj Bajpayee's film is a torturous, deeply irresponsible, phony and tone-deaf waste of time.
Film review ·
There's a twist at the interval of Satyameva Jayate that left me truly gobsmacked. Mostly because I couldn't really believe that legitimate human beings are given millions of rupees to execute these ideas. With full consent. Without a gun to their heads. Or kerosene on their bodies. In 2018. The Gods must be crazy.
Film review ·
John Abraham shows off his muscles, flares his nostrils, rips open a tyre quite like Sunny Deol had uprooted the handpump in Gadar. All the while, remaining steadfastly poker-faced when it comes to sporting an expression. Bajpayee looks lost in the film, rather the film is lost on him. Director Milap Zaveri dishes out the same old vigilante justice cinema that we grew up watching in the 80s with a special doff of the hat to the classic Deewar (1975). But his added tadkas can't hide the essential staleness of the concoction. Satyameva Jayate is death by over pungent masalas.
Film review ·
Manoj Bajpayee adds gravitas to his role and makes an intriguing opponent for John's character in the film. Debutante Aisha Sharma has a good screen presence, but ends up with a poorly-sketched role. Even Amruta Khanvilkar doesn't get much scope to perform.
From our readers
4 ratings · user score 2.3
As mentioned in my previous review on "Gold", the second Bollywood movie that I had watched over the same period was "Satyameva Jayate". Well to be frank, I didn't have much of a good feeling prior to watching it as the trailer didn't seem to offer anything new. But I still decided to check it out, hoping that it would be one of those rare John Abraham movies that was worth a try. Alas, I was grossly mistaken. Mumbai, the financial capital of our nation was home to over 2 lakh police officers; though a significant number among them had corruption charges slapped against them. With the judicial system proving to be ineffective against such individuals, Vir (John Abraham) a vigilante takes it upon himself to eliminate the tainted officers. As expected, this sends a chill down the spine of the force & they become the laughing stock of the media & the public, since the protectors themselves were incapable of protecting their own flock. Left with no choice, the Commissioner entrusts the case to his trusted lieutenant & the most efficient officer in the force; DCP Shivansh (Manoj Bajpayee). But irrespective of whatever moves Shivansh made, Vir was always a step ahead of him & the murders continued unabated. So how did Vir manage to do that despite the well laid plans of the former??? Milan Milap Zaveri is a name that not many would be aware of & it's not surprising after all he had directed just two forgetful movies prior to this (not worth mentioning). However, he has scripted numerous movies & quite a few of them are well known such as "Housefull","Heyy Babyy", "Kaante" etc. With regard to his latest flick, it's downright pathetic as it felt like a movie which should have released a couple of decades back. There was nothing that could be attributed as fresh in the plot & seemed like he made it combining quite a few yesteryear movies that he would have watched on DVD or Doordarshan. None of the technical aspects deserves mention, except for maybe the action sequences. How often have we seen John beat men into pulp & rip out whatever he can get his hands on. Well it's the same thing all over again while Manoj Bajpayee was wasted in a role which didnt require a person of his caliber. As for the rest of the cast, they were average at best while the female lead essayed by Aisha Sharma was rather mediocre. Verdict: Surprisingly, as per box office reports it has collected close to 90 C which has got me stunned to be frank. It might have been the holidays or the lack of other credible releases, but whatever might be the case; the producers wont complain. As far as my opinion goes, it's hardly worth wasting your time & can make you either sleep off or have a migrane!!! Rating: 1/5 Regards...Ben
Satyameva Jayate (Truth Alone Triumphs) is a rehash of that old story about police loyalty and self-righteous fight against corruption that we have seen countless times in Bollywood itself, this time with a bit of extra family melodrama. TN.
bakwaas hai full film john ko acting aati nahi
Credits
John AbrahamVirendra Kumar Singh
Manoj BajpayeeDCP Shivansh
Aisha SharmaShikha[6]
Amruta KhanvilkarSarita
Tota Roy ChowdhuryMrinal Sharma
Milap Milan Zaveri
Bhushan Kumar
Krishan Kumar
Nikkhil Advani
Sajid-Wajid
Tanishk Bagchi
Rochak Kohli
Arko Pravo Mukherjee
Devdatta Nageinspector Shankar GaikwadHindi films like Satyameva Jayate
Pathaan
2023
Batla House
2019
Attack: Part 1
2022
Force 2
2016
Ek Villain Returns
2022
Naam Shabana
2017
Race 2
2013
Baaghi 2
2018
Romeo Akbar Walter
2019
Rocky Handsome
2016
This product uses the TMDB API but is not endorsed or certified by TMDB.
