Good idea gone haywire. Review on Tathastu

Despite its far-fetched premise and often clumsy execution, Tathastu is creditable for its attempt to illustrate the inequities and failings of the Indian healthcare system. It makes its points in dramatic if overwrought fashion. After 11 years as a factory worker, Sanjay Dutt's life comes to a standhill when his nine-year-old son suddenly needs a heart transplant. The hospital‘s chief heart surgeon and administrator[Jaya Prada], firmly tell Sanjay and his wife Amisha the cruel reality they are facing—there’s a waiting list for the 15 lacks for operation. Sanju’s insurance won’t cover the operation. The suggestion? Go home and enjoy the few weeks you have left with your son. Sanju’s good, hard-working friends help out and the couple sells everything they have—even motorcycle.When his wife screams at him to 'Do Something!, he does. He takes over the hospital’s emergency room and holds the heart surgeon and a bland group of patients hostage. Police negotiator, Gulshan Grover arrives. Now,regardless of the personal crisis at hand, Sanju has placed the lives of all the hostages at risk.The harsh economics of Indian healthcare afford little room for sentiment. That a so-called civilised society could condemn someone to death simply because they can't afford adequate insurance is unfathomable, but a reality. That is why when Sanju takes the hospital's top cardiologist along with some patients and nurses, hostage, the film begins its downward spiral into unreality. There is not a lot new to the original screenplay by Anubhav Sinha, which is the weakest aspect of the film. It is often trite, manipulative andderivative of other films, but the craftwork behind the camera and the solid acting on many levels in front of the lens make Tathastu a sometimes gripping and entertaining diatribe against the health care industry, but at a very personal level. Tathastu belongs to Sanjay Dutt . There is an emotional quality to his performance that makes you believe the actions the man is forced to take to save his son, even if the script is merely a button pusher.Infact it's Sanjay Dutt's talent that you are able to forgive a film its shortcomings .In less skillful hands Tathastu's plot of a desperate father holding up a hospital in order to get them to perform heart surgery on his child would be ludicrous, but Sanju's unwavering believability at least encourages, if not eliminates, the suspension of disbelief.Amisha excels. Her sequences in the initial portions and later in the hospital, proves that she's competent enough.All up Tathastu has its heart in the right place but it missteps with an abundance of manipulative movie moments.