Vaastav: The Reality is a 1999 Indian Hindi-language action film[2] written and directed by Mahesh Manjrekar in his directorial debut, and starring Sanjay Dutt, Namrata Shirodkar, and Sanjay Narvekar in lead roles, with Mohnish Behl, Paresh Rawal, Reema Lagoo and Shivaji Satam in supporting roles.
| Vaastav: The Reality | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | Mahesh Manjrekar |
| Screenplay by | Mahesh Manjrekar |
| Story by | Mahesh Manjrekar |
| Dialogue by | |
| Produced by | Deepak Nikalje |
| Starring | |
| Narrated by | Reema Lagoo |
| Cinematography | Vijay Kumar Arora |
| Edited by | V. N. Mayekar |
| Music by | Jatin–Lalit Rahul Ranade |
Production company | Adishakti Films |
Release date |
|
Running time | 144 minutes |
| Country | India |
| Language | Hindi |
| Budget | ₹7.5 crores |
| Box office | ₹20.7 crores |
Vaastav was promoted with the tag-line "The Reality", referring to the harsh realities of life in the Mumbai underworld. The film is said to be loosely based on the life of Mumbai underworld gangster Chhota Rajan.[3]
Released on 7 October 1999, Vaastav: The Reality received positive reviews from critics, with major praise directed towards Dutt's performance, which is widely considered as his career-best. It emerged as a major commercial success at the domestic and overseas box-office.[4][5]
At the 45th Filmfare Awards, Vaastav: The Reality received 6 nominations, including Best Film, Best Director (Manjrekar), Best Supporting Actor (Narvekar) and Best Supporting Actress (Lagoo), and won 2 awards – Best Actor (Dutt) and Filmfare–Sony Award (Manjrekar).
Dutt's performance received universal critical acclaim and was unanimously regarded by critics amongst one of Indian cinema's most memorable onscreen characters.[6] Over the years, it has become a cult film.[7]
The film was remade into Telugu as Bhavani (2000), in Kannada as Bhagavan Dada (2000) and in Tamil language as Don Chera (2006).[8][9] It was followed by the 2002 sequel Hathyar. In 2013, it was dubbed in Bhojpuri as Tohar Ko Thok Debe.
Plot
editRaghunath Namdev Shivalkar alias "Raghu" and his best friend Chandrakant a.k.a "Dedh Footiya" (literally meaning "One and a half feet tall" in Hindi) struggle to find work in Mumbai. Raghu lives in a chawl with his father Namdev who used to work at a mill, mother Shanta and a graduate but unemployed brother Vijay. Raghu has no interest in studies so he and Dedh Footiya decide to run a pav bhaji stall. Their hard work pays off and things go well until the brother of a local goon Fracture Bandya and his men start visiting their stall in a drunken state and abuse Dedh Footiya and one day, Fracture Bandya's men beat up Dedh Footiya badly. Unable to keep their emotions and anger in the face of abuse continuously for days, Raghu and Dedh Footiya accidentally kill Fracture Bandya's brother. Now on the run, with the help of their friend Assistant Inspector Kishore Kadam, the two of them are given protection by Vitthal Kaanya, a rival gang lord. The two eventually kill Fracture Bandya as well, when the latter tries to find them and kill them both treacherously by arranging a meeting through Suleiman Bhai, a middle man in the Mumbai underworld. Raghu and Dedh Footiya now end up in the Mumbai underworld.
Raghu becomes a respected hitman under Vitthal Kaanya, with Dedh Footiya as his accomplice. With Raghu in his gang, Vitthal Kaanya hits a peak in the Mumbai underworld. Later, Raghu is approached by home minister Babban Rao Kadam who asks Raghu to work for him and uses Raghu for his criminal activities. Raghu agrees, much against the wishes of Kishore, who continues to help him by advising him and providing inside information. Vitthal Kaanya is eventually killed by rival gangsters. During Dedh Footiya's father's funeral, an attempt is made on Raghu by the Fracture gang, but his father is injured in the process. In retaliation, Raghu and Dedh Footiya learn from Inspector Rane who works for Fracture gang that the whole gang will be going to Shirdi the next day. Raghu kills the inspector. They intercept the Fracture gang on the bridge and eliminate the gang, making Raghu the most dreaded gangster in the city.
While Babban Rao relies on Raghu and Dedh Footiya, there are some others who despise Raghu and are waiting on the sidelines waiting for him to make a mistake. Kishore tells Raghu and Dedh Footiya not to continue working for Babban Rao as he is just using them to fulfill his own goals and would dispose them off when they're not needed but the duo don't pay any heed. Under minister's order, Dedh Footiya kills an innocent Muslim man which sparks riots and causes loss of many lives. The duo then threatens a Parsi businessman in order to take his land. However, when the Parsi businessman starts yapping about reporting the crime, Raghu, in a fit of rage, kills him. Babban Rao is soon under serious pressure from the public and government as he's alleged to have ties to Raghu. He issues a shoot-to-kill warrant for Raghu and Dedh Footiya. The latter is killed in an encounter in order to lure Raghu out from hiding. Kishore informs Raghu that the police have been ordered to kill him in an encounter. Raghu is now on the run, both from the police and Babban Rao's men. Raghu knows now that he must protect his wife Sonia, parents, and family, as they too are in danger. He realises that there is no escape from this harsh reality. He arranges to meet Babban Rao with the help of Suleiman Bhai and kills Babban Rao as he would ruin others' like him in the future. Suleiman Bhai is also killed in an attempt to save Raghu.
Unable to save himself from the police, Raghu returns to his home and tells his mother to save him. He apparently has lost his mental balance, become crazy and starts hallucinating. His mother takes him away to safety. He tells her to take his gun and kill him; she remembers how Raghu had once taught her how to use a gun, pulls the trigger and kills him.
The family later fulfills Raghu's annual rites on the Mumbai beach. His mother tells her young grandson about Raghu and prays that his sins might be pardoned.
Cast
edit- Sanjay Dutt as Raghunath "Raghu" Namdev Shivalkar
- Namrata Shirodkar as Sonia "Sonu" Shivalkhar, Raghu's wife
- Deepak Tijori as Sub-Inspector Kishore Kadam (Kisha)
- Sanjay Narvekar as Chandrakant "Dedh Footiya" Kumar
- Mohnish Bahl as Vijaykanth Namdev Shivalkhar, Raghu's brother
- Ekta Sohini as Pooja Shivalkar, Vijay's wife
- Shivaji Satam as Namdev Shivalkar, Raghu and Vijay's father
- Reema Lagoo as Shanta Shivalkar, Raghu and Vijay's mother
- Usha Nadkarni as Gayatri Devi, Dedh Footiya's mother
- Paresh Rawal as Suleiman bhai (Mandavali Baadshah)
- Mohan Joshi as Home Minister Babban Rao Kadam
- Ashish Vidyarthi as Vitthal Kaanya
- Himani Shivpuri as Laxmi Akka, Bordello Madam
- Mahesh Manjrekar as himself in 'Apni Toh Nikal Padi'
- Jack Gaud as Fracture Bandya
- Ganesh Yadav as Chhota Fracture
- Kishore Nandlaskar as Kamalkant Kumar, Dedh Footiya's father (drunkard)
- Achyut Potdar as Chacha, an old Muslim man who is murdered by Dedh Footiya
- Anand Abhyankar as a Parsi Man
- Bharat Jadhav as Raghu's friend
- Makarand Anaspure as Raghu's friend
- Satish Rajwade as Satya
- Atul Kale as Bhopu
- Nilesh Divekar as Raghu's friend
- Dhananjay Mandrekar as Commissioner of Police
- Jayant Savarkar as Pandit
- Kashmera Shah as an item number 'Jawani Se'[10][11][12][13]
- Prabhakar as "Fracture" Bandya's henchman (uncredited)
Soundtrack
editAll lyrics are written by Sameer
| No. | Title | Singer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Meri Duniya Hai" | Kavita Krishnamurthy, Sonu Nigam | 04:40 |
| 2. | "Meri Duniya Hai (Male)" | Sonu Nigam | 04:38 |
| 3. | "Tere Pyar Ne (Male)" | Kumar Sanu | 04:36 |
| 4. | "Tere Pyar Ne (Female)" | Kavita Krishnamurthy | 04:37 |
| 5. | "Jawani Se Ab Jung" | Preetha Mazhumdar | 04:44 |
| 6. | "Apni To Nikal Padi" | Kumar Sanu, Atul Kale | 04:22 |
| 7. | "Har Taraf Hai Yeh Shor" | Vinod Rathod, Atul Kale | 05:41 |
| 8. | "Aarti" | Rahul Ranade Ravindra Sathe | 03:14 |
| 9. | "Vaastav Theme" | Rahul Ranade, Ravindra Sathe | 01:14 |
| 10. | "Apanee Maa Hai Duniya" | Rahul Ranade Shankar Mahadevan | 05:33 |
Accolades
edit
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| Totals | 8 | 24 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| References | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Reception
editReviewing the film for Rediff.com, Suparn Verma compared its theme to Hollywood films Scarface (1983), The Godfather (1972), and Indian films such as Satya (1998), Nayakan (1987) and Agneepath (1990). He felt the film offered "no new insight into the underworld" and added that it was "fast-paced and taut at times". However, he felt the film was "well shot and edited" and criticized the "lengthy dialogues". He concluded commending the acting performance of Sanjay Dutt and called it "one of the best performances of his career". He added, "From an easy-going guy to a broken man -- the role is essayed with great care by him, maintaining a consistency throughout."[28] Mukhtar Anjoom of Deccan Herald felt Dutt, who looked "terrific", couldn't "hold the excitement for long" due to the "shaky screenplay".[29]
Notes
edit- ^ Awards in certain categories do not have prior nominations and only winners are announced by the jury. For simplification and to avoid errors, each award in this list has been presumed to have had a prior nomination.
- ^ Awards, festivals and organizations are in alphabetical order.
- ^ Date is linked to the article about the awards held that year, wherever possible.
- ^ as Zee Gold Bollywood Awards.
References
edit- ^ IMDb
- ^ "Vaastav". British Board of Film Classification.
- ^ "Chhota Rajan's brother Deepak Nikalje held". Daily News and Analysis. 5 December 2006. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
- ^ "Box Office 1999". Boxofficeindia.com. Archived from the original on 15 January 2013. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
- ^ "Vaastav - Movie - Box Office India". boxofficeindia.com. Retrieved 7 January 2024.
- ^ "The very best of Sanjay Dutt". Rediff. Retrieved 13 February 2017.
- ^ "1999-2000: Sanjay Dutt for 'Vaastav'". MSN. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 27 February 2011.
- ^ "Don Sera review. Don Sera Tamil movie review, story, rating - IndiaGlitz.com". IndiaGlitz.com. 7 June 2006. Retrieved 20 July 2020.
- ^ "Hindi film songs - Vaastav The Reality (1999)". MySwar. Retrieved 24 August 2023.
- ^ "Do you miss these item girls?".
- ^ "Kashmera Shah: I don't mind Krushna cracking jokes on me". The Times of India. 30 January 2016.
- ^ "The Journey of Bollywood's Favourite Item Girls then and Now". 25 June 2015.
- ^ "Latest Photos, Mumbai News Photo, Entertainment Gallery, and Sports News Images Gallery".
- ^ "US edition: Mixed bag at Zee Gold Bollywood Awards show". Rediff.com. 8 June 2000. Archived from the original on 31 August 2000. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ IndiaFM News Bureau. "The 45th Filmfare Awards 2000 Nominations". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 19 November 2000. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ IndiaFM News Bureau. "The 45th Filmfare Awards 2000 Winners". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 17 October 2000. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ "The 45th Filmfare Awards 2000 Winners". Indian Times. The Times Group. Archived from the original on 25 March 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ "The 1st IIFA Awards 2000 Nominations Polling". CatchUsLive.com. International Indian Film Academy Awards. Archived from the original on 20 June 2000. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ "The 1st IIFA Awards 2000 Winners". International Indian Film Academy Awards. Archived from the original on 12 December 2005. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ "The 1st IIFA Awards ceremony". International Indian Film Academy Awards. Archived from the original on 14 July 2017. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ Express News Service (8 January 2000). "Sixth Annual Screen-Videocon Awards nominations". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 28 October 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ "6th Annual Screen Awards – Nominees & Winners for the year 1999". Bollywood Hungama. Archived from the original on 18 January 2004. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ "The 3rd Zee Cine Awards 2000 Viewers Choice Awards Nominees & Winners". Zee Cine Awards. Zee Entertainment Enterprises. Archived from the original on 17 May 2020. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ "The 3rd Zee Cine Awards 2000 Popular Awards Nominees". Zee Next. Zee Entertainment Enterprises. Archived from the original on 14 January 2001. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ "The 3rd Zee Cine Awards 2000 Popular Awards Winners". Zee Next. Zee Entertainment Enterprises. Archived from the original on 19 June 2000. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ "The 3rd Zee Cine Awards 2000 Technical Awards Nominees". Zee Next. Zee Entertainment Enterprises. Archived from the original on 14 January 2001. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ "The 3rd Zee Cine Awards 2000 Technical Awards Winners". Zee Next. Zee Entertainment Enterprises. Archived from the original on 14 January 2001. Retrieved 28 July 2022.
- ^ Verma, Suparn (14 October 1999). "On the run". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 5 October 2003. Retrieved 3 May 2017.
- ^ "At the theatres: Vaastav (Hindi)". Deccan Herald. 17 October 1999. Archived from the original on 28 November 1999. Retrieved 7 November 2018.