200 Halla Ho Review: A Shocking Response To Pent-Up Anger Against Injustice

Star Cast: Amol Palekar, Rinku Rajguru, Barun Sobti, Indraneil Sengupta, Upendra Limaye, Saloni Batra and ensemble.

Director: Sarthak Dasgupta

Available on: Zee5 Premium

Ratings: 4/5 (four stars) [yasr_overall_rating size=”large”]

Many things happen in the society, which are often not noticed. Even if it does happen, it has become a habit to ignore it as normal and this habit gives rise to a chain of injustice. ‘200 Halla Ho’, released on ZEE5, is a shocking film that leaves one feeling sad and astonished as the new century was taking shape, in the heart of a well-known city of the country, there was a lot of oppression and injustice. Such a game was going on which was no less than soot on the face of the society which claimed equality and harmony. When oppression crosses its limits and the system fails to deliver justice, it turns out to be a sensational event like angry hustle ho, suppressed over the years.

200 Halla Ho Review: What is Story About?

‘200 Halla Ho’ is based on a similar incident that took place in Nagpur in 2004, with the backdrop of a long story of physical abuse of Dalit women and anger against it. More information on this event is available on the Internet. Dalit women living in a township of Nagpur had brutally put to death a brutal and serial rapist who had gone to court to appear before the court. The marks of wounds found on his body were the hallmark of the anticipation of hatred against the deceased. But the question is, how did the situation reach such a point that despite the arrest, 200 domestic women were determined to take the law into their own hands? At the same time, how can this incident of mob lynching be justified?

The story of this film begins with some ordinary looking houses. Then some women are seen running out of a court with their faces covered. ACP Abhay (Indranil Sengupta) enters the court at that time. In the courtroom, Abhay meets a man covered in blood, who has been brutally murdered. There are so many blows on his body that it was as if someone was sitting in a quest for revenge for many years and he did his job as soon as he got the chance.

Who were these women? This is revealed when Inspector Patil reaches Rahi Basti of Nagpur. After calling all the women out here, the police takes only five women with them. Now comes Asha (Rinku Rajguru). However, everyone instructs her not to go before the police, so that she can find ways to get the women out of jail. Hope plays a big part in whatever happens. Now the women have gone to jail, but who was murdered? So let’s say. The murder happened of Balli Chaudhary (Sahil Khattar). That Bally Chaudhary who belongs to the upper caste and politicians also have a hand on it. Balli Choudhary is a goon of Basti.

A committee is formed by Poornima (Plora Saini), who is the chairperson of the Women’s Commission, to solve the murder mystery. There are four members in this committee. Retired judge Vitthal (Amol Palekar) is called to head the committee, who himself also comes from a Dalit community. However, during the investigation of this murder, he does not allow his caste to come in the way. When the trial begins, the five women arrested by the lower court are sentenced to life imprisonment. But one thing keeps popping up in Justice Vitthal’s mind that after all, why did these women kill Balli Chaudhary?

Sudha Tai, one of those women who is serving a sentence, gives answers to these questions. Knowing the truth from them, it is as if the ground slips from under the feet of Justice Vitthal. After this, he decides to fight the case of these women in the upper court. Whether Justice Vitthal is able to win this case or not and why did these women kill Balli Chaudhary, you will know this only after watching the film. You must watch this movie once.Review and Analysis

The Review and Analysis

The script of ‘200 Halla Ho’ encapsulates the whole episode very effectively, starting with the very first scene, when the credit rolls include a kitchen knife, a shaving razor, a dab of laundry, A montage of items such as chili is shown. These are all the same murder weapons that women use to kill Balli Chaudhary. However, some scenes are blood-tinged.

Asha Surve expressing anguish and anger at being a Dalit in front of Judge Dangde and High Court Judge Dangde’s argument in the climax, the scenes are particularly striking. Balli Choudhary’s scenes of exploitation of women instill a hatred towards him and help to form a perspective towards the events depicted in the film.

200 Halla Ho Review: Star Performances

On the acting side, it is a pleasure to see Amol Palekar in this character after almost a decade. The expression he has given to the personal conflict between the professional responsibilities of the character of retired Dalit judge Vitthal Dangde can only be called amazing. Rinku Rajguru has given life to the character of Asha Surve, a strong-willed girl fighting for justice for the women of Basti, leaving her best job in Urban.

Rinku’s outrageous performance in front of a veteran actor like Amol Palekar is commendable. Barun Sobti did not get much screen time in the character of activist lawyer Umesh Joshi, but he has settled in as much as he got. An attempt has been made to balance the varna system with Umesh’s love angle with Asha. However, the most effective actor in this story is Sahil Khattar, who has portrayed the brutality and cruelty of Balli Choudhary’s character with such success that the character becomes hated and this is Sahil’s victory as an actor. This is the film debut of Sahil.

The character of Senior Inspector and Investigating Officer Suresh Patil has been brilliantly portrayed by Upendra Limaye. At the same time, Indranil Sengupta as ACP Sameer Deshpande, Saloni Batra as Journalist, Pradyuman Singh as Lawyer and Ishtiaq Khan as Professor. Sushma Deshpande portrays the character of an elderly woman accused of Bally Chaudhary’s murder with success. The film’s dialogues are its strong side, written by Gaurav Sharma.

The dialogues are practical and have been written keeping in mind the social and professional background of the character. For example, Asha Surve tells Umesh Joshi on her decision to quit her job to fight for women – that city is good, but I have to make my truth better. In the cross-examination of the climax, Judge Dangde, for his background, says in English that he does not commit rape, our emotional emptiness towards such incidents also makes rape. Deep Metkar’s cinematography adds depth to this true story. If you like realistic and issue-oriented cinema, then ‘200 Halla’ is a must watch. In view of the film’s content, visuals and ideological background, this film is for adults only.

200 Halla Ho Review: The Last Words

Talking about the overall film, this film has managed to do justice to its story. The film is inspired by true events, due to which it does not bore anywhere. The film is long, but it keeps you hooked. There is only one song in the film and that too is very short. The issue of caste has been raised very well in the film. Why Dalit women endure years of oppression, that too has been explained very well. At the same time, the face of the law has been shown, which is only corrupt. To say the law is one for all, but at the grassroots level it favors only the upper castes.