Hathyar: Face to Face with Reality

The biggest misfortune for Hathyar is it is the sequel of Vaastav.

The Indian audience isn't mature enough to see the two films separately. So Hathyar was compared to Vaastav - which is a cult fil of course.

As it is comparisons are anything but objective.

99 per cent of the people who have seen Hathyar found that Vaastav is better.

And that is the problem. Had Hathyar been construed as a standalone film it would have got more appreciation.

For starters, Hathyar has a better story than Vaastav.

Yes, the latter is a well-made film, with some remarkable scenes and dialogues but the basic storyline of a simple man taking to crime after an incident has been done to death in Indian cinema.

Hathyar's story is original. It's about how a father's legacy has a lasting impact on his son's prospects. It is about how the society cannot objectively view a talented individual and judges him by his father's name and profession. Just like the audience judged Hathyar in comparison to Vaastav.

Dutt has so many powerful scenes. The one in which he kills Sachin Khedekar in a fit of rage only to realize his mistake immediately after, the one where he confesses to Shilpa Shetty that he has stopped thinking about marriage and the pre-climax scene where he explains Shilpa that he is actually not the person that he has become over the years are examples of cinematic brilliance.

It's one of Dutt's best performance. Unfortunately for him his effort in Hathyar went completely unnoticed. Just like JP Dutta's Hathyar (1989), another brilliant film that the Indian audience failed to appreciate, and Dutt's performance was ignored. The Khans have been nominated for awards even for pathetic films. However, a handful of promising performances by Dutt have been conveniently and ruthlessly neglected by critics and the award jury alike.

This is without doubt Shilpa's best. Gulshan Grover is very good as is Sharad Kapoor and Khedekar. Vineet Kumar Singh (Mukkabaaz) makes an appearance as Dutt's sidekick.

Yes, there are many loopholes but even the best of films have glaring loopholes that is conveniently ignored.

All said, Hathyar suffered because it was Vaastav's sequel. Had it been a standalone film it would probably have got the attention it deserved.

Besides, before the film released a satellite channel advertise that it will be showing it soon. The Indian audience preferred saving their money so that they could spent it on some commercial potboiler Bollywood regularly churns out.

Watch it without preconceived notions, and you will enjoy Hathyar.

This is a really good movie butt it could be better if this was not the 2. part for Vastav. Vastav IS a great gangster film like Scarface with Al Pacino. Hathyar is not good as Vastav. Mahesh could make it better!!!

Jimmy Khan

This film is pretty good for a sequel...but I feel Vaastav was a better film.

Following "Vaastav", Hathyar traces the story of slain Raghu's family. Ostracized by society because of Raghu's deeds, his family has a tough time making both ends meet but they manage to live on. Soon Raghu's son Rohit follows his father's footsteps, kicking the 'fracture haddi' gang guys and thrashing and killing all his enemies and those who disobey him, but alas, these "days of glory" may not last long.

Direction is good, all actors have acted well, music is unremarkable, unlike Vaastav that had excellent soundtrack.

Worth a watch. I personally feel the end of the film could've been better, instead of following the same moral of "Crime never pays".

Nothing new to watch here. The reasons why this movie flopped at the box office. Plot more or less the same. There was no development or progression of the characters. Just an abrupt drop in which doesn't sit well with the audience. The younger Boxerbhai was an absolute garbage actor who shouldn't have been casted in such an important role. This ruined the build up of the protagonist and the movie. Pankaj Berry and Anup Soni as Fracture Pandya clan was another mismatch of casting. Vaastav had a realistic feel while Hathyar looked fake as producers just wanted to cash in the success of its predecessor. If you have another option to watch, do it.

This movie is focused on the story line and the development of characters. It of course it has the obligatory songs but they are no too out of place and the production quality of each different as the plot changes. The story is about a boy whose father is a criminal and who is forced into this lifestyle because of pressure from outside forces. It takes to the life with a real favor and becomes a ruthless outlaw. The life he is leading is full of reflections bank on a troubled childhood and a family that was torn apart by his fathers lifestyle. He is going through the same things yet he seems to have some issues with respect for people he is close to. He has a good girl friend, loses the girl and gets her back but with dire consequences. His lifestyle begins to get him down and he becomes self-destructive. As I don't speak Hindi the movie's sub-titles were poor but the story was easy enough to follow. A lot of violence and double-crossing but this was the life he chose. If you like the Hindi movies that are up beat with humor and great dance numbers this is not the movie for you. If you want to be entertained by as decent story then sit back for three hours and watch this.