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Hathyar
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'Hathyar'

By ApunKaChoice Bureau
Film critic, ApunKaChoice.Com

Mahesh Manjrekar’s latest film Hathyar is the sequel to his earlier hit Vaastav. The film, starring Sanjay Dutt, Shilpa Shetty and Namrata Shirodkar, begins where the first part had ended.

While Vaastav transported viewers to the dark alleys of Mumbai underworld, telling the tale of a dreaded gangster Raghunath Namdeo Shivalkar alias Raghu (played by Sanjay Dutt), Hathyar highlights how Raghu’s son (Sanjay Dutt again) is ostracized by the society because of his father’s past.

Hathyar

begins from the point where late Raghu’s son Rohit Shivalkar is shot by his most trusted henchman Pakya (Sharad Kapoor). A mortally wounded Rohit battles for life in the city hospital as doctors operate upon his bullet-ridden body. Lying face to face with death, Rohit’s entire life begins to flash before his eyes.

The film goes into flashback and shows Rohit as a college going youngster, in love with his childhood neighbor Shilpa (Shilpa Shetty) whom he later marries.

Rohit has to face a lot of flak from the society that repeatedly reminds him of the stigma attached to his family. This changes Rohit into a hardened man, who is compelled by circumstances to enter the underworld.

But Rohit’s wife Shilpa doesn’t approve of his shady ways. She keeps objecting to her husband’s nefarious activities, ultimately leaves his home and finds shelter with Rohit’s childhood friend Munna (Sachin Khedekar). Munna is the only man who stood by Rohit through the thick and thin of his life.

Rohit’s right-hand man Pakya is jealous of Munna’s closeness with Rohit. He eventually hatches a plot to create a misunderstanding between Rohit and Munna.

Pakya succeeds in changing Rohit’s mind and prompts him to kill Munna. Shilpa is a mute witness to Munna’s killing.

Later, when Rohit comes under Pakya’s gun, he realizes the mistake he has done. He takes stock of his life and decides to settle the score with Pakya once and for all before embarking afresh upon a life away from crime and murder.

Like its first part, Hathyar gives a realistic depiction of the underworld and its day-to-day functioning without glamorizing crime.

Sanjay Dutt, who won the Filmfare Best Actor award for Vaastav, breaths life into his character and deftly brings out the expressions of a man who has grown callous towards death.

Pitted opposite him Shilpa Shetty too essays her role with élan and conviction. Particularly noticeable is the outburst when sees her husband kill Munna, the man she took refuge with after she walked out of her hubby’s home.

Sharad Kapoor too cuts a dash with his brief but emphatic appearance, while Namrata Shirodkar goes unnoticed in a marginal role.

The film looks at the life of a gangster from different perspectives. It, however, relies too heavily on blood and gore in the second half.

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