This is an accepted version of this page 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.

[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.

[7] The film was remade into Telugu as Bhavani (2000), in Kannada as Bhagavan Dada (2000) and in Tamil language as Don Chera (2006).

Raghunath 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.

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.

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.

"[28] Mukhtar Anjoom of Deccan Herald felt Dutt, who looked "terrific", couldn't "hold the excitement for long" due to the "shaky screenplay".