User reviews

Okay, very simple - after years of marriage, a man finds out his wife cheated on him and that the boy he raised and considered his son is not his biological child. The film addresses gender inequality with stress on the unbearable double standard with which the sins of men and women are treated by the hypocrite male-dominated society. In this regard, this film's standpoint is quite refreshing, but then, not enough. Firstly, the film makes great efforts to emphasise how wrong it was on the wife's part specifically because she is a woman. And then a big leap is taken to almost legitimize adultery. One must remember, the husband's regressive views notwithstanding, the wife's actions are purely unacceptable. That she has made a mistake in a moment of weakness and decided to hide it is understandable, but that she had a son from this extramarital affair and kept it a secret for decades from her unsuspecting husband - much less so. But then the balance is there and it's well thought out.

I thoroughly enjoyed Mahesh Manjrekar's Astitva. There is conflict here, a great moral one, and the viewers must have conflicting views when confronted by the story and its well-formed foundation. I liked the fact that the film didn't turn the husband into a complete antagonist in order to convey its feminist message. There are some glitches here and there, mostly technical, in terms of dubbing and sound, but the film works. It is simple and realistic and works as both a human story and a psychological, suspenseful drama. Astitva greatly benefits from Tabu's presence and her extraordinarily brave performance for that time. She is highly nuanced and believable, and her monologue by the end of the film is brilliant, in terms of both writing and dialogue and especially in view of her acting and conviction in it. Sachin Khedekar is effective, and so is Mohnish Bahl. It is the appearance of Namrata Shirodkar which is a bit of a stretch, but the film is still concluded well, and kudos to Tabu anyway.

The male dominance in the indo-pak sub-continental society, even today, and it's affects really needs more addressing.

How/where do you draw the line? Where is the balance? Being a modern, educated woman doesn't necessarily have to mean a career woman.

Astitva chose to take the more direct stand of siding with the female movement. What it did not address is the group of female who are in the middle. The females who are capable of being independent, but are more interested in family and home.

The biggest flaw of the movie was putting both Sri and Aniket (Aditi's son) in the same boat. But I guess they wanted to deal with one simple issue and keep the plot simple.

The best part of the movie (as far as the making goes) - it was exactly as long as it had to be.

Even though we feel we have entered a new age, still gender discrimination is seen our family and society. A man can have affairs outside the home, but when the woman commits the same mistake, the things don't hold the same despite the numerous sacrifices she would have made for her family. The film very remarkably raises this issue. I won't say the film heads for a very concrete answer by the end, but still the drama scorches the screen through its issue. Tabbu and Sachin Kedekar are remarkable in their roles. Through the portrayal of the modern society, the film depicts the situations haven't changed in course of time. The film reminded me of Akhir Kyon, released in 1985, in which Smita Patil played the role of a women, who makes her way, after her husband abandons her. The film very effectively portrayed the strength, passion, and patience of womanhood, which comes in "Astitva" too. Only the small disappointments were its slow pace, lack of twists, and the inadequate answers it goes for.

Rating: 2 stars out of 4

Every family should seat together and watch this film.

The soundtrack the lighting affect are allthe awesome. Movie was good on social issue but I can't digest this that if man is doing all hard to earn bread and butter for their family then women should cheat she should also respect him. Sachin was also very much in love with tabbu she can't say he don't love. But hiding truth was not fair at all.

A Unique and tragic love story with emotions and tragic situations.

Direction of Mahesh Manjrekar is brilliant the way he present the storyline with his unique character arc is unique to watch. Specially the emotions that were shown in the film is truly touches your heart and you can easily got connected with the characters till the end of the film.

Screenplay is good movie doesn't feel bored though it has less characters and a short story but still it feels great to watch and feel for it. Music & Bgm is good with powerful dialogues at the end is definitely make the film top with rest of the films.

TABU is one of the best actress in Hindi film industry. Brilliant performance by her the story revolves around her character but still outstanding performance by her.

Rest of the cast also perform well and suited with their characters.

A must watch film with great direction, story, acting performances and emotional aspects.....

Wonderfully directed with great actors acted. Must watch movie..

Bridges of madison county is a better made version of this story. I felt the ending of this movie was not handled sensitively as they did in the original English movie. This movie is very indianised, if you are a very sensitive person who cries in a movie when hero dies in the end you'll love this movie, On the other hand if you are a fighter in life and think crying is for wimps you may not like the ending.But on the whole it's pretty good subject is well handled for indian conditions. Tabu was good as a caring wife and mother. Everybody acted well.