200 Halla Ho
Zee5
*ing: Amol Palekar, Rinku Rajguru, Barun Sobti, Sahil Khattar, Saloni Batra, Upendra Limaye, Indraneil Sengupta and Flora Saini
Rated: 6/10
Any real-life story is really inspiring. And the latest film that released on Zee5, directed by Sarthak Dasgupta that sees the comeback of Amol Palekar on the 70 mm screen, 200 Hallo Ho, is a truly great story — about how women from the lower caste who had been subjugated for over a decade decided to take justice in their hands when the system failed to do for them.
The film is truly gut-wrenching because the story is not something that happened decades back; the incident took place merely 16 years back in Nagpur. Headlines screamed about the rapist being lynched and parts cut off in broad daylight by 200 women who had had enough of the goon’s brutality from a higher caste.
When The Pioneer had gone to cover the story, the anger and frustration of the women could be seen on the walls — blood splashed on the walls — told a story that one hopes that women don’t have to resort to ever again.
Those who have been following Ek Mahanayak-Dr BR Ambedkar on Zee5 will know the cruelty Dalits faced at the hands of the upper caste. This movie just reiterates that while decades many have passed the mindset is still deeply entrenched in the caste system. We need many such stories to be told. Dasgupta’s attempt is in the right place.
The problem here is not how the story unfolds and how much it has deviated from real-life incidents. The disclaimer clearly states that it is inspired from a true incident and everything else — names and places are fictitious. The issue is that there are too many monologues that become tedious after some time.
While it is great to see Amol Palekar make a comeback on the 70 mm screen after such a long time, his tirade and long dialogues, however well-placed and well-intended, get to you; they are boring and too preachy. It is unfortunate that the film fails to really talk about the real issue here – oppression of the Dalit women. We all know how the system fails the poor. This movie is yet another case in point.
However, Palekar and Rinku Rsjguru give a good performance and win hearts. Barun Sobti, as a lawyer, appears to be uncomfortable in the shoes of the character and remains understated, a bit difficult to swallow given that he is a lawyer.
Overall, a movie not to be missed on re-told story of Dalit rebellion!