Imaginit Productions’ Vegali Vaat (Marathi; meaning ‘A different path’) is the story of a poor family.
Ram (Sharad Jadhav) is a poor farmer in debt. He lives with his wife, Shobha (Neeta Donde), and school-going daughter, Sonu (Anaya Phatak). Ram struggles to make ends meet. Deshmukh Sir (Yogesh Soman), who teaches Sonu, is fond of her. He feels, she has a bright future ahead of her. Deshmukh Sir is aware that since Ram is so poor, Sonu may not be able to realise her potential despite being a bright student.
Deshmukh Sir and his wife (Geetanjali Kulkarni) are keen on adopting Sonu so that they can give her the best education. The Deshmukhs are a childless couple.
Deshmukh Sir offers Ram a proposal to free his land which is mortgaged with a moneylender. Since Ram has only two days to arrange for Rs. 70,000 to free his land, Deshmukh Sir offers him Rs. 1 lakh and, in return, asks for the right to adopt Sonu. Not just Sonu but Ram and Shobha are also devastated at the prospect of being separated. What happens thereafter?
Achyut Narayan’s story is emotional but the sentiments hardly touch the heart except towards the end. The ending itself is abrupt. The screenplay, penned by Achyut Narayan and Ashish Rakhunde, is good in parts only. It moves on a single track, because of which boredom creeps in at several places. The duo’s dialogues are so-so.
Sharad Jadhav does a fair job as Ram. Anaya Phatak is good in the role of Sonu. Neeta Donde lends average support as Ram’s wife, Shobha. Yogesh Soman performs ably as Deshmukh Sir. Geetanjali Kulkarni lends decent support as Deshmukh’s wife.
Achyut Narayan’s direction is alright but should’ve been more sensitive. Music (Vijaya Shankar and Dr. Dinesh Arjuna) and lyrics (Vitthal Wagh, Niren Aapte and Deepak Angewar) are below the mark. Sunil Singh’s background music is routine. Shakeel Khan’s cinematography is nice. Vijay Hulawale’s sets are alright. Mansoor Azmi’s editing ought to have been sharper.
On the whole, Vegali Vaat is a flop show.
Released on 7-2-’20 at Bharatmata (daily 1 show) and other cinemas of Bombay thru Raksha Entertainment. Publicity & opening: poor.