Some people (particularly sports journalists) say success is the difference measured between where you were and where you are. So Saurav Ganguly is a better success than Sachin Tendulkar, whereas Sachin might just be a better player overall. Some people might like to point this definition of success to 'achievement'.
Similarly, if we take boxoffice success as the difference between what the movie (or the producer-director) intended to do and what it actually did - then Vaastav is a FLOP. Mujhe Kuch Whatever Hai is a HIT.
Vaastav was indeed a good effort gone somewhat astray from Mahesh Manjrekar. Since then he has stopped thinking and just went on making movies. Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rehta Hai and what not.
BUT Vaastav has a good storyline. It revolves around Sanjay Dutt - the chawl guy- becoming Raghubhai the dreaded and much-utilized Don. Storyline is predictable and more is the ending. The positive side of making a movie out of a predictable storyline is you have got to be real good in presentation. Guys in the theater already know what's happening and they know who will kill whom at the end. They just want to see HOW!
That is a place Vaastav tilted to be more of an usual movie. Even the presentation was predictable.
There is one good experiment Mahesh did though. This is one of the very few movies where there is NO good guy. No moral hang-ups. If you discount 5 time a day namaazi Paresh Rawal that is. Raghu is the real don. Raghu kills anyone in front of his 5 year old kid. Smokes grass. Visits brothel. Declines to marry the pros at first. Even after marrying he treats her real bad and even calls her 'raand shali' at least once. In fact, it appears more than a few times that as if the film doesn't at all want anyone to sympathize with the main character anyway.
Raghu's father Shivaji Satam is just a father. He never is shown to have said a single word against his son just because he is a mafia don.
That is where the movie puts a big fallacy in front. We see Raghu's mother (played by Reema Laagu who actually looks of the same age as Sanjay) never really voicing anything against her son. At the end though she plays Mother India as if that was the thing she wanted from the day Raghu was born. Bad characterization Mahesh!
This is the only movie where I am personally satisfied by the 'reason' the couple dashes off to Switzerland and sing a very thematic song. Home minister (who else but Mohan Joshi) gifts Raghu two tickets as his wedding present.
Namrata Shirodgar was believable. But not extra-ordinary. It should be banned to brand any leading actress having great acting potential whenever she plays a prostitute. Too much of social engineering! Perhaps this was the first time a Miss India playing prostitute )after Zeenat Aman) made her acting so hyped.
This movie was released during 1999. Somewhere around that time SAB (Shri Adhikari Brothers) was running a comedy show (Shriman Shrimati) with Reema Laagu as one of the main characters. Even apart from that Reema Lagu was so much involved with typical family dramas that no one took her seriously in this movie from beginning. Then perhaps just to prove everyone wrong or out of frustration she pulls off the trigger on her beta at the end.
Did anyone notice Jatin Lalit songs picturised on higher elevation are always hit?
For flesh lovers, there is a bar dance by Kashmira and troupe. Now she is really a good actress in spite of everything. Watch her face in close up when Raghu kills a guy in front of everyone and says 'Nacho item log nacho'.
Long time after Jungle Ki Beta I've seen Jack Gaud saying more than 2 sentences in a movie. And in 'Jungle ki Beta' he played Tarzan!
Overall, Vaastav was and will remain the landmark of Mahesh Manjrekar. Mahesh has off late become just as prolific as his namesake (Bhatt). He was working on 14 movies at same point of time. Somehow, you will feel Mahesh is a good director, his films are good - but perhaps his films will never be the ones you will pick up on a discussion with your friend over beer.
Similarly, if we take boxoffice success as the difference between what the movie (or the producer-director) intended to do and what it actually did - then Vaastav is a FLOP. Mujhe Kuch Whatever Hai is a HIT.
Vaastav was indeed a good effort gone somewhat astray from Mahesh Manjrekar. Since then he has stopped thinking and just went on making movies. Jis Desh Mein Ganga Rehta Hai and what not.
BUT Vaastav has a good storyline. It revolves around Sanjay Dutt - the chawl guy- becoming Raghubhai the dreaded and much-utilized Don. Storyline is predictable and more is the ending. The positive side of making a movie out of a predictable storyline is you have got to be real good in presentation. Guys in the theater already know what's happening and they know who will kill whom at the end. They just want to see HOW!
That is a place Vaastav tilted to be more of an usual movie. Even the presentation was predictable.
There is one good experiment Mahesh did though. This is one of the very few movies where there is NO good guy. No moral hang-ups. If you discount 5 time a day namaazi Paresh Rawal that is. Raghu is the real don. Raghu kills anyone in front of his 5 year old kid. Smokes grass. Visits brothel. Declines to marry the pros at first. Even after marrying he treats her real bad and even calls her 'raand shali' at least once. In fact, it appears more than a few times that as if the film doesn't at all want anyone to sympathize with the main character anyway.
Raghu's father Shivaji Satam is just a father. He never is shown to have said a single word against his son just because he is a mafia don.
That is where the movie puts a big fallacy in front. We see Raghu's mother (played by Reema Laagu who actually looks of the same age as Sanjay) never really voicing anything against her son. At the end though she plays Mother India as if that was the thing she wanted from the day Raghu was born. Bad characterization Mahesh!
This is the only movie where I am personally satisfied by the 'reason' the couple dashes off to Switzerland and sing a very thematic song. Home minister (who else but Mohan Joshi) gifts Raghu two tickets as his wedding present.
Namrata Shirodgar was believable. But not extra-ordinary. It should be banned to brand any leading actress having great acting potential whenever she plays a prostitute. Too much of social engineering! Perhaps this was the first time a Miss India playing prostitute )after Zeenat Aman) made her acting so hyped.
This movie was released during 1999. Somewhere around that time SAB (Shri Adhikari Brothers) was running a comedy show (Shriman Shrimati) with Reema Laagu as one of the main characters. Even apart from that Reema Lagu was so much involved with typical family dramas that no one took her seriously in this movie from beginning. Then perhaps just to prove everyone wrong or out of frustration she pulls off the trigger on her beta at the end.
Did anyone notice Jatin Lalit songs picturised on higher elevation are always hit?
For flesh lovers, there is a bar dance by Kashmira and troupe. Now she is really a good actress in spite of everything. Watch her face in close up when Raghu kills a guy in front of everyone and says 'Nacho item log nacho'.
Long time after Jungle Ki Beta I've seen Jack Gaud saying more than 2 sentences in a movie. And in 'Jungle ki Beta' he played Tarzan!
Overall, Vaastav was and will remain the landmark of Mahesh Manjrekar. Mahesh has off late become just as prolific as his namesake (Bhatt). He was working on 14 movies at same point of time. Somehow, you will feel Mahesh is a good director, his films are good - but perhaps his films will never be the ones you will pick up on a discussion with your friend over beer.