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.

Mr. Rajkumar Santoshi needs no introduction. In a true action hero style he made an entry with a "BANG!" (read that "Ghayal"). Then he went ahead and seized up movies like "Damini", "Ghatak" and highly under-rated "Andaz Apna Apna" (PS: the rest are not worthy mentioning anyway). If you look at "Halla Bol" it clearly gives away the fact that Mr. Santoshi has run out of steam. If "Family" was yet another "Ghayal" then "Halla Bol" is definitely "Damini". This time it is Ajay Devgan who witnesses a crime and decides to stand up against it. Coming to his rescue is not a drunkard lawyer with "Dhaai-kilo ka haath" but a reformed dacoit Pankaj Kapoor. The spouse in both versions lend a moral support to the proceedings. The plot has been tweaked to incorporate bits from A.) "Bollywood Calling"/ "Om Shanti Om", B.) Power of public and C.) Jessica Lal murder case.

Ajay Devgan:: Passable considering the plagiarised plot he decided to be a party to.

Vidya Balan:: Weak character which got compensated with a few fiery sentences like "My husband has got ****". Sorry but that cheesy line made me fall out of my chair.

Pankaj Kapur:: Saving grace. Anybody else instead, there would be nothing more than a zilch in the movie.

At least the Nadeem-Sharavan's music in "Damini" was melodious here there is hardly a number that stays with you when you walk out of cinema halls.

Finally Mr. Santoshi, nobody can fill in the shoes when it comes to your pairing with Sunny Deol. Your newfound partnership with Ajay Devgan is fine but the whole thing is akin to catching a tiger in the jungle. Only that you have caught a bear and trained him to mouth "I am tiger, I am tiger!".

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!!!

Raj Kumar Santoshi as director is at his element while handling a script that demands its pound of action and strong dialogues. With Halla Bol he gets those occasional moments and on their basis the movie is worth a watch.

Movie star Ajay Devgan (Sameer Khan) knows the ropes of how the industry works and does his bit as a member of the film fraternity who bitches behind the back of colleagues, acts in umpteen commercials or turns sycophant, dramatic, romantic as the situation in reel or real life may demand. But when he becomes an eye witness to murder at a party (Jessica Lal episode revisited) his conscience is at a crossword.

With the aid of his theatre guru Pankaj Kapur (Sidhu) he declares Halla Bol on the nexus of politicians and important businessman who believe they can protect their guilty sons since they control the reins of 'Power' 'Paisa' and 'Public' in the country.

The plot dips and loses audience interest at times since its a script that has been done in different variants before but then you can trust the director to deliver a few moments that draw a clap from the audience.

The dialogues between Ajay Devgan and the Politician along with those few minutes when Pankaj Kapur reacts to a bribe are strong points and raise the movie above the ordinary.

Ajay Devgan puts in a spirited performance but the movie belongs to Pankaj Kapur who lights up the screen every time (reminiscent of Sunny Deol doing his bit with Damini).

For his portrayal as Sidhu - a reformed dacoit - and a bit of Ajay Devgan each time he hits out at the political big wig makes Halla Bol a movie to watch and get, shall we say… a bit inspired.

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".