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Bol Halla bol

Halla Bol tackles the moral dilemma a superstar faces when he must put his stardom on line to tell the truth about a murder he witnesses.

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Halla Bol
Cast: Ajay Devgan, Vidya Balan, Pankaj Kapur
Direction: Rajkumar Santoshi
Rating: ***

Rajkumar Santoshi’s ‘Halla Bol’ undoubtedly has its heart in the right place. It tackles  the moral dilemma a superstar faces when he must put his stardom on line to tell the truth about a murder he witnesses.

It advocates the theory that there is nothing more powerful than public opinion. All this is cloaked in the trappings of mainstream cinema with a fair amount of digs at superstars, their quirks, their flaws and their descent into farce (read silly commercials) to make money.

Ajay Devgan plays Ashfaque, a small-town boy who dreams of making it big in Bollywood. He takes part in street theatre under the tutelage of Sidhu (Pankaj Kapur) a reformed dacoit.

Ashfaque eventually becomes a superstar (renamed Sameer Khan) in Mumbai but somewhere along the way, he loses his values. This alienates his childhood sweetheart, now wife (Vidya Balan) from him.

When he witnesses the murder of a young woman at a party he is faced with the quandary of telling the truth and putting his career on the line or pretending he saw nothing, like the other guests at the party.

Santoshi tackles this complex problem with a fine understanding of an actor’s insecurities. Ajay, who flounders in the role of the superstar, comes into his own as the man who has to balance what he believes in with what others expect of him. The director brings in the concept of street theatre as the means to mobilise vox populi with a firm yet gentle hand.

And yet, this would all pale into insignificance if the intimidator was not powerful. And Darshan Jariwala, who plays the politician father of one of the murderers, out to save his son at any cost, is an effective adversary.

The scene in which the actor, full of simmering anger confronts the politician, smiling even as he contemplates mayhem, is one of the highlights of the film, perfectly poised for maximum effect.

Well-made reality issue based films are a rarity nowadays and it is to Santoshi’s credit that he has persevered with it over the years after ‘Damini’ and ‘Lajja’.

For once though, his female lead plays a supportive role as the wife caught in the crossfire but not proactive except for one outburst at the media.

Where the film fails to convince is in the casting of Ajay Devgan who just does not look the part of the superstar and ends up caricaturing it.

Pankaj Kapur on the other hand is not only convincing but breathes fire into the multi-hued role. He is as superb as the friendly and encouraging teacher as he is as the aggrieved mentor. Prepare to be bowled over by him.

indumirani@gmail.com

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