Vaastav: The Reality

This is in my Top 10 Bollywood Best Movies of all time. It is no doubt the Best Sanjay Dutt movie ever. Sanjay Dutt received BEST Actor award from Filfare, Zee and International Indian Awards. I remember when this movie first came out. I was told its a new Gangster movie and is a Big Hit in India. I did not expect much since Bollywood hasn't really made any realistic Gangster Movies (apart from Parinda) in the likes of Hollywood Classics (Scarface, Goodfellas, Godfather). Vaastav is easily among the best Hindi Gangster Movie, others include (Company, Hathyar). There have been Hindi Gangster Movies before, but all copy of Hollywood movies such as Aatish (A better tomorrow), Aatank hi aatank + Sarkar (Godfather), footpath (State of Grace) etc. Vaastav has its own storyline that suits with India life, Serious and Entertainment. Sanjay dutt gives a powerhouse performance of his career. Namrata Shirodkar looks quite sexy as the prostitute and wife of Raghu. I managed to get a few people into Bollywood because of this film. If you ain't seen it, then See it.

Im not your average bollywood fan, in fact quite the opposite, i despise most productions that come out of the Indian film industry. However, this movie is compelling from the first scene to the last, and although it has elements of the stereotypical bollywood film, the film itself illustrates a story that is gripping and intriguing. Sanjay Dutt takes the lead role of Raghunat Namdev Shivalkar, and fulfills it to a frighteningly captivating effect. Dutt who has had a life of controversy and turbulence himself, was perhaps best equipped to play this role like nobody else could. The film traces the life of a young, exuberant man, who is struggling to find direction in his life. The transformation from this depiction, to the character of 'Raghu Bhai' is achieved with pure brilliance, by both the script and performers. Essentially Vaastav is an intelligent movie, revealing the infamously corrupt nature of the Indian political system, as well as the functioning of society itself. These factors are shown to work simultaneously to create a character that is forever embedded in the history of Indian cinema. This is bollywood at its rare finest, and it will not fail in living up to the trademark of the movie itself 'The Reality'. Sanjay Dutt at his pure deadliest.

I am not exactly one of the millions of ardent Bollywood movie watchers, in fact i could quite possibly be categorized as an ardent hater of most Bolywood produced movies. Yet i found myself intrigued by this film in which Sanjay Dutt plays a most intriguing role. Sanjay Dutt is the anti-hero of this movie which rollicks through his early years and shows him to grow up a confused and very bitter human being. True to Bollywood style, it has it's fair share of "romance scenes" and the never ending songs, but the fairly original and interesting script, and some fairly decent acting by Dutt makes up for the rest of the movie's failings. I suggest you watch it at least once and judge it for yourself.

Vaastav review :

A film which brought the down and out Sanjay Dutt back in the reckoning; Vaastav was director Mahesh Manjrekar's first Hindi release and his most memorable movie till date. The film not only re-established Sanju Baba as a top actor but also joined the ranks of the finest underworld dramas made in Bollywood alongside Parinda (1989), Satya (1998) and Company (2002).

Sanju played a street smart Marathi lad Raghu who is engulfed in to vortex of crime after committing an unintentional murder. He grows up the ranks to become a hitman for the local politician (Mohan Joshi) but oversteps his limits which leads to his sordid end.

Vaastav belonged to Sanju Baba and the role of a vulnerable yet tough gangster suited him to the T. Manjrekar cast many Marathi theatre actors like Sanjay Narvekar, Bharat Jadhav and Makarand Anaspure who later became big names in Marathi cinema. Namrata Shirodkar was mighty impressive as the prostitute turned Sanju Baba's wife. Reema Lagoo as the mother, who ends up being 'Mother India' in the climax, was effective as ever.

At the box office, Vaastav became an instant hit in Maharashtra particularly Mumbai where its plot was based but took time to pick up in rest of India. It was declared a super hit in terms of return on investment and Sanju Baba got such a massive hit only after Subhash Ghai's Khalnayak (1993). Manjrekar opened his innings in Bollywood with a hit.

A sequel titled Hathyar (2002) was directed by Manjrekar which featured Sanjay Dutt again as Raghu as well as his son Rohit. Deepak Tijori and Reema reprised their roles from the original while the sexy Shilpa Shetty was the new addition to the cast as Rohit's wife. Sadly, Hathyar appeared to be a leftover edit of Vaastav with practically the same plot and bombed badly at the box office.

Regards, Sumeet Nadkarni.

The talented Mahesh Manjrekar directs his second feature which centres around the character of a simple guy whose attempts to lead a normal life fail and as a result he becomes a merciless underworld don. Manjrekar's direction is excellent and he successfully depicts the dark tone of the crime world. He offers a grim look at the underworld and not even once does he try to glorify it or show it in a positive light. On the contrary, through the main character he shows how restless those who get involved in it are. The film, though a bit unevenly executed at places, generally remains steadily focused, and the proceedings are raw and serious, without useless attempts at comedy and unnecessary subplots one gets to see so much in Hindi films. Many of the film's scenes are extremely moving.

For the demanding role of Raghunath, Manjrekar casts Sanjay Dutt, one of the industry's most respected and loved stars, yet one of its most underrated actors. Dutt is simply exceptional, portraying every shade of his character with sheer conviction. He actually becomes Raghunath and manages to create a real new screen persona with his line delivery, body language and his often frighteningly serene attitude. This is one of his absolute best. Other cast members do a very good job, with Reema Lagoo delivering the most memorable performance of the lot as Raghu's tormented yet loving mother. Sanjay Narvekar is quite effective as his best friend, while Namrata Shirodkar does a fine job as Sonu, a young prostitute with whom he falls in love.

Vaastav is not without its flaws. I, for one, found Raghunath's transformation far too quick to be completely believable. The film, though generally gritty, intense and matter-of-fact, gets at times a bit too emotional and consequently the level of its authenticity is thus reduced by a iota. Nonetheless, the film's final scenes are powerful and riveting and the very last scene is fantastic. Do watch Vaastav, mainly to see Sanjay Dutt's performance.