Govind Nihalini started his career with AAKROSH, he made pathbreaking films which didn't follow commercial formula. Ardh Satya is a cop film, but with a difference, being it's simplicity. The film became a benchmark and still remembered as one of the best cop films. It is seen through the eyes of Om Puri an inspector who faces problems while living an honest life. It is brilliantly handled by Nihalini. It also has several sub plots which are well handled like Naseeruddin Shah's track who plays an alcoholic suspended cop and also Om Puri's interaction with his father Amrish Puri with whom he shares a love hate relationshipDirection is superbOm Puri is brilliant as always, he gives his best to the role and is simply brilliant, Smita Patil does well Naseeruddin Shah too is amazing, Sadashiv Amrapurkar is amazing as Rama Shetty, Amrish Puri is as always brilliant, rest are all good

A man is given a choice. If he picks the easy option he gets to choose from two more. If he picks the tougher one there is a good chance he won't be given another. It is not just true of Anant Welankar, the young policeman in Govind Nihalani's Ardh Satya. The tougher choice looks brave and laudable, but it could quickly lead downhill. Developed from a poem by the same name, Ardh Satya is about the limbo marking the spot between cowardice and courage. It could either mean a compromise or a sign of intelligence. It is not either half-full or half-empty. It is both half-full and half-empty. On a scale of courage, this marks the middle between "impotence" and "manhood".On one side is Impotence, and on the other is Manhood, and right in the middle, is the half-truth.The sub-inspector played by Om Puri is much respected by his colleagues. They have all accepted their positions in the "potency scale" somewhere sliding to the negative. For every move this upstart of a cop makes towards the upkeep of his "manhood" – by ramming into the local goon's criminal activity or correcting eve-teasers – he is reminded of his eventual powerlessness. The system won't allow for his manhood because it is a secular place full of compromises. For Welankar, there is no half-truth. Rama Shetty (the goon) has to be put in jail. Thanks to everyone else, it cannot be done. It takes his naiveté to overlook the half-truth, the safe-house for everyone afraid of the full truth. For him, it is either one or the other. To fight this inner conflict he takes to the bottle, the universal succor he hopes will find him the middle of the scale. In turn, his drinking makes him more violent. He takes the system's cowardice as his own and stretches the limits of bravery. There is only trouble at the other end, but he pushes on, all the time answering the inner call to be a man. The memory of his father often beating his mother enrages him. Even that anger is more at himself than the father for he didn't stop him. All the while, the policeman opts for courage, but is forced to accept cowardice. Then he is given another choice. Then it goes again, the same way. Perhaps, there is no Ardh Satya and it is all just plain lies. But then, what's the point of the complete truth if it won't allow you another choice.

Directed by Govind Nihalani, this is definite cop film of Indian cinema. May be the first one which portrayed the stark reality of corruption in the police force & politics with no holds barred & how it effects on a young cop. A man forced to join a career of a cop by his cop father. Agreed that we grew up watching lot of good cop/bad cop Hindi films but this is different. Today's generation, which grown up watching dark & realistic films like- 'Satya', 'Company' may be consider it inferior product in comparison but look at the time of its making. The film was made absolutely off beat tone in the time when people didn't pay much attention to such kind of cinema & yet it becomes a most sought after cop film in class & mass audience when it released. For Om Puri its first breakthrough in mainstream Hindi cinema & he delivered a class performance as Inspector Velankar. Its more than cop character, he internalized a lot which is something original in acting. Watch his scenes with his father whom he hates & Smita whom he loves. Smita Patil maintained the dignity of her character to the expected level. My God what a natural expressions she carried!!! Shafi Inamdar was truly a discovery for me & he's a brilliant character actor if given a chance & here in some of the scenes he outsmarted even Om. The movie is also a debut of a promising villain on Indian screen- Sadashiv Amrapurkar as 'Rama Shetty'. It's another story that he didn't get such a meaty role & almost forgotten today as one of the loud villain of Dharmendra's B grade action films. Watch the scene where Om 1st time becomes a rebel for his father (played by Amrish Puri) & next both are sharing wine together. How inner truth started revealing for both the character with confronting feelings of love & hate for each other. Two faces of Indian Police Force- Masculinity & Impotency and in between lies- half truth (ardh satya)…Kudos to Nihalani's touch. The film won 2 National Awards as Best Hindi Feature Film & Best Actor- Om Puri & 3 Filmfare Awards in Best Film, Best Director & Best Supporting Actor Categories. Recommended to all who are interested in nostalgia of serious Hindi films.Ratings- 8/10

Any story comprises a premise, characters and conflict. Characters plotting their own play promises triumph, and a militant character readily lends oneself to this. Ardh Satya's premise is summarized by the poem of the same name scripted by Dilip Chitre. The line goes - "ek palde mein napunsaktha, doosre palde mein paurush, aur teek tarazu ke kaante par, ardh satya ?". A rough translation - "The delicate balance of right & wrong ( commonly seen on the busts of blind justice in the courts ) has powerlessness on one plate and prowess on another. Is the needle on the center a half-truth ? "The poem is recited midway in the film by Smita Patil to Om Puri at a resturant. It makes a deep impact on the protagonist & lays the foundation for much of the later events that follow. At the end of the film, Om Puri ends up in exactly the same situation described so aptly in the poem.The film tries mighty hard to do a one-up on the poem. However, Chitre's words are too powerful, and at best, the film matches up to the poem in every aspect.