hullaballoo

i decided to see a hindi movie last week. "halla bol".i like ajay devgan's acting.he is a serious actor.and brings talent and life into the roles he enacts.his acting was brilliant in 'omkar'.pankaj kapur who is shaheed's father and vidya balan are the other important actors in this film.both are famous for their acting abilities.direction is by rajkumar santoshi.all in all everyone has good credentials.but the movie turned out to be a disappointment.hullaballoo or halla bhool.compared to rang de basanti, this was not a patch.

sameer khan(ajay devgan) is a superstar.when it comes to his career he is a past master in manipulating.he is selfcentred and narcissist.he is a perpetual womaniser.he is witness to a gruesome muder of a young girl.his life goes topsyturvy.he doesn't want to get involved. so he cooly tells the police that he didn't see the murder happening. guiltyconscious, he finally decides to stand up and inform the police of what he saw.the two young killers have high connections.one's father is a politician and the other's is a liquor baron.they pull no stops to have sameer khan eliminated.

sameer was neglecting his wife(vidya balan) and was ungrateful to his guru(pankaj kapur) who taught him the rudiments of acting by giving him roles in his streetplays.from thereon he started getting roles in films. and then he became famous.but fame went into sameer's head.his superstar status and the money and women made him go completely astray.his wife decided to leave him.his parents thrilled with their son's fame and fortune moved in to live with him.but after seeing the metamorphosis in his personality,they decided to go back to their humble abode.his bandit turned social activist guru comes back to his life and pulls him up.sameer realises that he has to speak the truth.he is ready to fight it out in the streets.justice must be brought to the victim.he takes this cause to the people.vox populi.he takes on the minister and liquor baron.he has contempt for the belgian chandeliers,beijing mugs and italian paintings and persian rugs in the minister's house,where he accosts the minister.and scotch whisky.he unzips and urinates on the persian rug and says "this is the dhaar of hindustan".

i had expected a lot from rajkumar santoshi.though he depicts well sameer's helplessness when caught in a political storm and handles the complexities in sameer's character excellently,he fails because the plot is a bit period.santoshi's adaptation to the recent trends in cinema leaves a lot to be desired.guruji(pankaj kapur) is made into a superman. his superb acting steals the show.

cinematography and music are ordinary.the scene where guruji recalls the days when they protested against social injustice through street plays,is memorable.well written and directed.though a socially relevant subject,it fails to put the message across effectively.halla bol turns into a hullballoo.