And the mixture of rawness and a huge commercial star in the main role creates a certain unexpected credibility. Like Satya, it makes an impact. Satya won plaudits for direction, acting, for its realism. People left the theatres stunned by the raw violence. Yet, despite the film's resounding success, it did not spark off a dEbate on the crucial and terrifying message, the central theme of Vastav as well, which is the despair of Mumbai's lower middle class.
Films tend to select and exaggerate.
In Satya, for instance, the hero is an ordinary man trying to make a decent living in Mumbai. At every step, however, the odds stack up frighteningly leaving him with no option but to turn to crime. In Vastav too, the hero is first the victim of the local bully, then the police, who don't spare even his parents, and the politician. It is suggested that jobs can only be procured through bribes. Crime seems the only succour.