Halla Bol

It is encouraging to know that in the current scenario of rip offs, remakes and comedies, a filmmaker is there who has the courage to make films on social issues which need to be addressed. Halla Bol is Rajkumar Santoshi's hard hitting movie inspired from a well known real life incident. It has a slow and unimpressive start but gains after the intermission. In the second half you see the good old Rajkumar Santoshi back in form in some well directed scenes. In short some straight conclusions about the movie are : 1. It is inspired from the famous "Jessica Laal" Murder case which questioned our judicial & political system. 2. It can also be seen as a redefined version of Rajkumar Santoshi's own masterpiece "Damini". As here Ajay Devgan witnesses a murder and then fights for the justice. 3. There are few firsts in the movie. A hero using the main hall of a minister's home as his bathroom and Vidya Balan giving some bold statements as the wife of Ajay Devgan to the press reporters. 4. This time Santoshi's 'Sunny Deol' is the powerful "Pankaj Kapoor" who is equally power packed and punchy as Sunny was in "Damini". He is such a great actor that even when he has not got that physical appearance, still he makes you believe when he fights many men single handedly. He gets a author backed meaty role and does full justice with it. The film belongs to him completely.

Ajay Devgan plays the role of Bollywood Star who was there in a party where a girl was shot dead. As he comes from a good social background he stands alone against all oppositions and becomes a witness. He is quite impressive but also seems similar to his act of "Aprahan" and "Gangajal" . Pankaj Kapoor is there for his support who was once a dacoit and had surrendered after a moral transformation. The movie is enjoyable in parts, specially the confrontation scenes between Ajay Devgan and the politician father of the murderer, with some powerful dialogues inviting cheers from the viewers. But its all the way "Pankaj Kapoor" which you remember coming out of the theater for his gem of a performance. Vidya Balan has nothing to do as Ajay's wife except one good scene with the press. Whereas music is satisfactory & could have been better, the background music on the other hand enhances the impact of the scenes. The movie is tense and lacks lighter moments of good humour. Rajkumar Santoshi only manages to impress in the second half. If only the first half had been more entertaining and engrossing, it could have resulted into a better movie. "Halla Bol" lacks the complete ingredients of a blockbuster, still it's a welcome change to have a movie on social issues after "Rang De Basanti" and the movie should be watched only for one person, that's Pankaj Kapoor.

A complete waste of time

Halla Bol is a complete waste of time. The script and dialogues are poorly written, the direction is lacklustre and the acting borders on hammy.This movie was clearly aiming for the Rang De Basanti crowd but it falls far short of the mark because it does not have even one of the elements that made RDB connect with its audience_great script, terrific acting, good direction and a powerful social message that was never preached but shown.

Compared to that near-masterpiece, Halla Bol takes a step backwards by resorting to scenes such as the hero taking a leak on the villain's Persian rug and the hero's mentor staring down bullets in a truck no less! All of this might have been acceptable in the 80s when there was a downturn in movie quality and bad movies like DivyaShakti and Phool Aur Kaante became big hits, but movie-making has become_should have become_more subtle and thoughtful of late.

Rajkumar Santoshi is a capable director and I appreciate that he wants to give a social message in every movie he makes but maybe he simply does not know how to do it! He resorts to sermonizing without a care as to the audience's intelligence in understanding what he is trying to say. Maybe he should just concentrate on entertainment and leave the social messages to the Rakeysh Mehras and Aamir Khans.

Even if you don't agree with everything I say, you will agree that throughout the screening you will be thinking that Rang De Basanti was much much better and Mr.Santoshi should have left the industry-bashing to Om Shanti Om. Industry-bashing? That's right!!Santoshi has depicted the industry as a place of back-biting, bitching and the casting couch which the hero happily indulges in with a starlet curiously named Sania. There are some people who will think that these portions show the real face of the industry. Don't believe everything you see!

All in all, raise your voice against movies like this and don't spend your hard-earned money on this bomb.

* out of ****.

The story has been treated very well, the issue has been brought up very nicely and the way a person standing against norm has to suffer has been very well portrayed. At the same time options for a person to fight against such evils are also presented. The story also presents that we Indians are so engrossed in our daily lives and also doesn't want to be a part of any controversy even when it concerns other people life. The characters are realistic ans presented extremely. A lot of study has been done in understanding the whole case and then the characters have been developed bringing the miserable plight of all the people who were involved in the case. The director and all the actors has done a gr8 job and played their parts really well. Congrats to the whole team!!!

What to say about Halla Bol...it is a commendable movie to watch. After a long time I have seen a movie which has so much power in it and it inspires all of us to fight against injustice. A must see film that lifts our spirits to raise our voice against crime.

I applaud the effort of the actors who did justice to their role and added strength to the movie. It is one of those rare films that motivate people of India to fight back. Ajay Devgan has given an outstanding performance. I believe that if more movies like this are made that bring social issues to limelight then the nation will be motivated to fight crime. And even if the public is not motivated, the film still conveys the message of standing up for what you believe in life and that is what I am taking from this movie. I thank the director for making an effort to reach the masses from this film.

In two words "Good Work".

This film is a brilliant and yet not so great a film. This film had its flaws, the story line got a bit too filmy in a few places, was not so practical... a few goofs here and there but in the end what I feel what matters is the overall feel and effect, where this film did very well.

Analyzing this film, Rajkumar Santoshi does have a habit of touching an extreme, portraying a world with people who live either in the black or the white, he tends to leave out those who reside in the greys... That is where this film lacks in the story, that it is not practical.

But the same point comes to his rescue when it comes to involving the audience in his film, it becomes much easier for a viewer to associate himself with an extreme.

The music was a part that got left out of the rain, had someone like AR Rahman done the music and the background score, the film would have got a lot more value added to it. The acting was good, with all those in the lead doing an exceptional job...

If one overlooks a few flaws this film surely makes for a great viewing, and surely does touch your heart!!!