Divya
Based on true events, ‘200 Halla Ho’ talks about the story of 200 women belonging to the ‘Dalit’ caste who lynched and murdered a rapist.
This film also marks the return of veteran actor Amol Palekar into the cinema after 12 long years.
Directed by: Sarthak Dasgupta
Run Time: 1h 55mins
Ratings: 4.5/5
Cast: Amol Palekar, Rinku Rajguru, Barun Sobti, Saloni Batra, Sahil Khattar, Sushama Deshpande
Storyline
Opening the film with the cries and screams of 200 women, we are all left gasping at the situation. The film setting takes place in a small town at Nagpur where discrimination is off the roof and no heed is paid to the lives of women. In comes a man named Balli who takes full advantage of descending from a caste higher than that of most residents. It all starts when Balli publicly rapes and murders a woman who was on her way to file a complaint against him at the police station. Post this, the gangster has his way with other women in town and shows no remorse.
As for the police, they remain as inefficient as possible when it comes to Balli’s arrest. Fed up of the torture and molestation, the women get together and plan the attack. On the day of Balli’s court hearing, the 200 of them rush into the Nagpur district courtroom, throw around chilli powder and stab him to death. The gut-wrenching slaughter is however not in comparison to the decade long struggle of all these women in the hands of the rapist.
What we think?
200 Halla Ho is an eye-opener of all the closed cases long forgotten by citizens and the law. The real story goes: in August 2004, 200 women from a Dalit-inhabited slum in Nagpur barged into the court hall within the town and lynched murderer and rapist Akku Yadav. The victim had reportedly been raping and assaulting the women of the slum for over a decade. Most remained silent, but those that did approach the police were either unheeded or sexually abused too. There are differing accounts of Yadav’s finish, together with one from the police claiming he was killed by men, whom the ladies protect. The other one saying he was indeed murdered by the 200 women.
The movie depicts the gutting sorrow suffered by the ladies and the discrimination that takes place to date, the 21st century. Rinku Rajguru’s acting is more than just commendable. Gaining fame from her role in Sairat, this movie sees a very different side of the versatile actress. Welcoming Amol Palekar back into cinema after an extremely long break, we were super excited to see what the veteran had up his sleeve. Safe to say, we weren’t disappointed. Amol plays the role of a Dalit lawyer who ultimately comes in defence of the ladies convicted without evidence in this case.
Hit or Miss?
We think this film is a major HIT! If you want to understand just how deeply disturbing certain cases are, this is the movie to watch. In the end, you’ll be filled with emotions hard to express but it’ll be worth it.
