Vaastav: The Reality (1999)

Though almost everyone is just bragging about Sanjay Dutt's acting performance, the storyline itself made him important one. all actresses & actors did their role perfectly. beyond that, why it is mirror of the Reality ? That is important part of this movie. let it, Raghu's forced start in crime world to the ending words of wisdom through his Mother about 'having a choice' are grim reality unveiled by script. the direction was influencing in such a way that, it pushes us to really look for other side common people don't want to see. though it affects all. Also the way it approached issues of sex workers, sold out police at the same time vulnerable police in front of politicians. All in all a milestone in Indian cinemas. the ending was quite disturbing but sensible & insightful where mother herself shoots the son from all distress of being tired. Truly, Hats off.

Fmovies: 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.

Plot:Story Off A Normal Man Get's Dragged Into Crime Life And Pay With Life

Cast:Sanjay Dutt As Raghunath "Raghu" Namdev Shivalkhar Namrata Shirodkar As Sonia Sanjay Narvekar As Dedh Foootya Mohnish Bahl As Vijaykanth Namdev Shivalkhar, Raghu's brother Shivaji Satam As Namdev, Raghu's father Reema Lagoo As Shanta, Raghu's mother Deepak Tijori As sub-inspector Kishore Kadam Paresh Rawal As Sulemaan Bhai (Mandavali Badshah) Mohan Joshi As Home Minister Babban Rao Ashish Vidyarthi As Vitthal Kaanya

Performances:Cast Performances Is Great But Sanjay Dutt Steal Movie With Easily One Of Most Powerful Performance Ever Seen In Bollywood And Taking Home Is First Filmfare Best Actor Award Plus Award for Artistic Excellence And 2000 Screen Weekly Awards

Vaastav: The Reality fmovies. 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.

Vaastav has the Mumbai underworld as its backdrop. This subject has been dealt with before many times in Hindi films. But rarely is it handled properly. Satya is probably the best underworld film to come out Bollywood in recent years. Vaastav is not flawless like Satya, but it has a gripping storyline, good direction and characterizations, and most importantly - Sanjay Dutt.

This is probably the best role Sanjay Dutt has got his hands on since Khal-Nayak, and he takes full adavantage of it. Sanjay Dutt does an excellent job as the guy gone astray. He is as superb as the good-for-nothing lad in the initial reels as the dreaded man of the underworld in the latter ones. Namrata Shirodkar gets very limited scope and gives a fair performance. Shivaji Satam shines as Sanjay Dutt's father. Reema, as Sanjay's mother, also delivers a praiseworthy performance. Mohnish Bahl is wonderfully natural. Sanjay Narvekar , as Dedh-Phutiya, is mind-blowing. Here's a guy who is talent personified! Mohan Joshi is able. Paresh Rawal is likeably restrained. Ashish Vidyarthi gets less scope but does well. Depak Tijori leaves a mark. Usha Nadkarni is excellent. Ektaa, Himani Shivpuri, Jack Gaud, Achyut Potdar, Sunil Shencle, Ganesh Yadav, and Kashmira Shah (in a special appearance) lend average support.

The film is very well directed by the debutant Mahesh Manjrekar. Being his first film, he is excellent. Production values are not very high; anyway the film does not require pomp & showbiz, as it's so close to the ultimate truth. The film belongs to Sanjay Dutt all the way. Sanjay justifies the faith of his director and carries the film on his shoulders, ably supported by others. The only drawback of the film can be the songs, which are not so catchy. To sum it up Mahesh Manjrekar has a winner on his hand and Sanjay Dutt will get lots of accolades for this film.

A Silver Jubilee (25 weeks run) HIT. One of the Top Ten Hits of 1999.

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.