Monday, January 21, 2008

Review of Halla Bol

I like Halla Bol. Most importantly, because it finally activates the little grey cells and forces one to think beyond Ishaan.

The newspapers say it is about the awakening of the conscience of a film star. They are wrong. It is about the awakening of the conscience. Period. It is incidental that the subject in question is a film star. Anyone in his place would go through all this and more.

How do i know? Because I know someone who has gone through all this. Halla Bol is real, no exaggeration. Except, perhaps, one thing, no politician has sensitivity enough to pull down a house for sheer sentiment. They have too much greed to allow room for sentiment.

Do i recommend it over Taare Zameen Par? YES, because we are not likely to meet a dyslexic child as often as we are likely to meet eve teasers and other bullies on the road. What do we do when we witness a case of eve teasing, molestation even, or road rage, is important.

Which is also the reason why it is difficult to watch this film, and the reason why collections are going down. Because when you watch that film, and the scathingly impotent crowd that does nothing against what it knows is injustice, does nothing as it is swayed by politiicians, in that crowd, you see a reflection of your own impotent self. It is difficult to face the fact that as a part of the crowd, you will do nothing that will make you worhty of being alive. When people were burnt to death for their faith, we did nothing. We just voted the murderers back to power. When a woman is raped or outraged every single day, or burnt for dowry, or beaten up by an educated husband, we look the other way. Halla Bol is the unkind mirror that shows u how unworthy of life one really is, and how much oxygen one wastes just by being alive and spineless. Go see that mirror, it feels nice.

After the film, i asked myself whether i will stop and interfere if someone was physically assaulting another person in my presence. To my utter shame, the honest answer is that i will stop if the victim is a woman, but not if the victim is male, because i do not know the entire circumstance of the case.

What would you do, if faced with an episode like that on the road? The answer is not important for me. Its important for you.

19 comments:

dharmabum said...

i would run. i need to survive. and blog :D

kidding, that movie was a mirror, and it didn't feel all that good.

Varun said...

A personal request - Can you review Gangajal also?

Having a concurrent theme and *ing Ajay Devgan, it would be an interesting juxtaposition with Halla Bol.

Any reasons you haven't touched upon AD, VB and PK performances in the review?

Cyberkitty said...

I'd probably stop and help only if it was a child or if that person yelled for help or looked at me - saying bachao or something like that....

The Phosgene Kid said...

I am not wasting oxygen, I am creating Carbon Dioxide

Wriju said...

I managed to watch a bit of the movie but got disinterested (movie watching is kind of boring on the computer). But now I want to find out.
I would want to do something if it happened in front of me. That would be my first instinct. But I can imagine a situation where even this can become risky. Suppose the assailant had a knife or gun. Wouldn't you look at tradeoffs? May be one is worth his/her oxygen more by staying alive and supporting one's family than mindlessly getting stabbed for a noble cause.

Piercing The Veil said...

nice... the awakening of one's conscience ... is really good to look deeper into one's self ... sometimes we think our faces are smooth but when we look closely in the mirror ... there are blemishes...

nice read
good night

The Phosgene Kid said...

Is the soundtrack out yet?

Swati said...

tagged

delhidreams said...

agreed totally with dharma :)

Anonymous said...

http://mellowdrama.blogspot.com/2006/08/where-are-soviet-books.html

How do we know said...

Hi Dharma: :) the truest words are spoken in jest. To me, that movie was also a wake up call.

Hi Varun: Gangajal? i liked that movie too, and personally, i think mob justice is good for a while, till hooligans also latch on to the trick and use the ruse. Am not sure i can live up to the task you've outlined, but will positively try.

Hi cyberkitty: yep, thats realistic.

Hi PG: ha ha!! trust you to come up with that, and while we are at it, you are also doing the noble taks of creating food for the trees... :-) How's things?

Hi Wriju: Yep, that is the justification all of us have for not interfering. All I am saying is, that justification does not ring so true to me, personally, after watching that film.

Hi piercing the veil: That is very, very nicely put indeed!

Hi PG: Yep, the soundtrack is out, but its in HIndi, and i wasnt too impressed with the music. In fact, i don't even remember the music, even after trying hard...

Hi Swati: Thanks! Coming up in the next post!

Hi Adi: Then read what i said to Dharma ;-)

Hi Anonymous: Nice post, that! And the objective of this comment is?

Wriju said...

Hey check my blog ;)

The Phosgene Kid said...

I like Bollywood and Punjabi music, even though I don't understand the words. I went to an Indian market and they had a bunch of CDs - probably all really old stuff, but I enjoyed it a lot.

delhidreams said...

hmmmm
for that, u'll have to come over to our place
and with junior too

How do we know said...

Hi Wriju: Imagine ur remembering the book after all this while!! :-) Am so glad u could see the originals!

Hi Phosgene: Oh, if u like punjabi music, do try www.apnaorg.com - i go there for the best in online Punjabi music. its free to hear! All of it! Will try and find out about some place where you can also hear HIndi tracks. Would you like me to do that?

Hi adi: Junior ne to mera bhi ghar se nikalna band kara rakha hai!

Unknown said...

Another awesome review ;) U shud seriously consider this as a career..that is if u r not doin it already;))

Dawn said...

I guess our review matches da same ;)nice reading

Cheers

WritingsForLife said...

looks like i would have to watch it now :)
Cheers!

How do we know said...

Hi purplehomes: :-) Thanks! No i m not doing it professionally, yet, but will add it to the list of things one might do in life! Thanks again!

Hi Dawn: Gud hai! Thanks! :-)

HI Raaji: Yep, do see it for sure and let me know what u think!