Amol Palekar, Rinku Rajguru on their ZEE5 film 200 Halla Ho, and how ‘conspicuous silence’ on social issues affects art-Entertainment News , Firstpost

ZEE5’s latest offering 200 Halla Ho is an intense watch, leaving one with many afterthoughts, and even leading to disbelief over whether the events showcased in the film ever happened. However, based on a real story, the film opens with a group of women running out of the courtroom in Nagpur after slaughtering the man who has molested them for over a decade and remained immune thanks to the corrupt police.

Directed and co-written by Sarthak Dasgupta (The Great Indian Butterfly, Music Teacher), 200 Halla Ho addresses the subject of caste oppression, legal loopholes, and systemic violence. It is held together by terrific performances from Amol Palekar, Sushma Deshpande, Rinku Rajguru, Barun Sobti, Saloni Batra and others, punctuated with the right amount of silence and monologues.

Palekar, known for 1970s Hindi films like Rajnigandha, Chitchor, Chhoti Si Baat, and Gol Maal, returns to cinema after a gap of 12 years. The actor, who leads a fact-checking committee in the film, says the film is a tribute to women’s refusal to succumb to the atrocities of caste and patriarchy. In an interview with Firstpost, Palekar and Rinku Rajguru open up on 200 Halla Ho, how it ‘passes the Bechdel test,’ and why cinema is the saving grace in the depiction of social evils.

Excerpts from the interview below 

The trailer says the film is inspired from a real life event. We see you as a fact-checking committee member and an investigating officer on the case respectively, fighting for the oppressed. Will you please elaborate on why you chose to take on the role?

Palekar: The attractive part of this script was that it is not a fictional, wishful narration of women’s protest but based on true events. I’m very happy that I am a part of this film which will score the highest on the Bechdel test, which measures the representation of women in films. Unfortunately in Indian cinema, issues of caste have remained invisible, barring a few exceptions like Achhut Kanya, Sujata, Ankur, Bandit Queen, Sairat or Fandry. Even when the subject deals with caste issues, the focus remains on oppression. This script offered a theme beyond the stereotyped social victimhood of Dalits and women. This film is a tribute to women’s refusal to succumb to the atrocities of caste and patriarchy.

I play Arjun Dangle, a retired Dalit judge. He heads the fact-finding committee appointed by the national women’s group as he is known for his integrity and swears by our constitution. Moreover, he prides himself that he never let his judgment get clouded by caste-creed-religion related issues. What struck a cord with me was that he does not remain a mere bystander. Going beyond the technical reading of laws, he remains faithful to the spirit of those laws.

Rajguru: I have a dialogue in the film that says, “Why shouldn’t I speak on caste?” And we regularly see the distinctions between the upper caste and lower caste in our country. The film talks about how one should fight against oppression. I play the role of Asha, an independent, strong young woman, who stands up to the atrocities for her people. She motivates everyone to speak out, teams up all, and goes against the oppression.

Amol, you return to films after almost a decade. How was the experience of being away from the screen, for all this while? Was it effortless to slide in the role?

Palekar: I was seen last in Khamosh (1996), and then in Samaantar (2009). Not wanting to do a mono-dimensional character has always been the driving force in choosing films. As an old-timer, I follow certain disciplines. All the nuances about the character and dialogue were fine-tuned before the shooting through discussions with the director and producers. After we got clarity on various shades of the character, I was ready to surrender to the director on the sets. I also insisted on keeping my ‘point of view as a director’ at home, and merge with the team of artists and technicians. All this made the actual acting very effortless.

Rinku, what was your prep to take on the role of social activist? 

I was very clear from the beginning on what and how I want to portray myself. But I was also dependent on my director. I would ask him for notes on how he wants Asha to be. Also because Asha, as a character, is mature, older in comparison to my age. She is very sensible, knows how to talk, what to say, so yes, there were a few preparations for the role.

How was your experience while working with Barun Sobti and other actors?

Palekar: Unfortunately, I don’t have any scene with Barun, and only one with Rinku. However, the actors of today’s generation seem to be very eager to give their best.

Rajguru: I had a wonderful experience working with everyone. Amol sir is a legendary actor, and I learnt a lot from him. There was so much to pick by merely observing him perform, talk, walk and everything. He would also guide us while working, give notes, and I could see the difference after following his advice.

The film deals with a very intense subject with regard to caste-based politics and molestation. As a filmmaker yourself, what measure do you think should taken for a sensitive treatment of such subjects?

Palekar: Atrocities on lower caste men-women have been routinely treated as headlines on fourth page of newspapers. However, those were not depicted on celluloid as films are expected to be ‘entertaining’ as opposed to ‘disturbing’ in recent times. If we look back, even the mainstream Hindi cinema of the 1960s and ’70s dealt with socially relevant issues. Filmmakers like Bimal Roy made Sujata, Satyajit Ray made Sadgati, Yash Chopra’s Gehra Daag, Shyam Benegal’s Ankur.

Now that the OTT platforms have opened gates to non-mainstream content, more films on issues of caste can get financial backing provided the filmmakers wish to narrate those stories. Since I have not seen the film yet, I sincerely hope that the treatment of the film will be commensurate with the script. If the genuine angst of the victims does not transform on the screen, the film will unfortunately fail its purpose.

Rinku made her debut with the Marathi film Sairat — a love story set against the backdrop of the caste-based divide. She has claimed that regional cinema has always been at the forefront while portraying the social evils in comparison to Hindi cinema. Do you agree?

Palekar: “Regional cinema has always made significant contributions while bringing out sociopolitical evils. Such films in Bengali, Marathi, Malayalam, Odiya, Assamese are considerably more than a few efforts in Hindi.

Consistent pressure on Bollywood to be ‘entertainers’ while avoiding subjects that would induce ‘thinking’, has caused churning out mindless content. Wish to be a member of a ‘hundred crore & more’ club seems to be mutually exclusive with creating good cinema.”

Caste is the underlying truth of our socio-cultural-political reality. The divide on account of caste is so wide that the extent of damage is conveniently ignored. Art, cinema ought to ooze out our fractured sensibilities, but it doesn’t. Unlike poetry, art has played a less significant role in the Dalit movement. Why classical art forms such as music are bereft of lower caste participation – isn’t it because of their systematic exclusion? Why no one challenges the Brahminical aesthetics which has ruled us over centuries – is it because the upper caste is in majority? No one wishes to invest in the depiction of a disturbing reality. There is always a conspicuous silence on the issues of social rejects. 200 Halla Ho not merely projects the violence against Dalit women, but celebrates their revolt – hence I chose to be a part of that celebration.

200 Halla Ho is streaming on ZEE5.