Movie Review: Halla Bol

They say "well begun is half done". True, sometimes its only "half done"!!! As in the case of Halla Bol which will hold you on to your seat absolutely spellbound in the first half but fails to receive the same kind of applause in the second half. Neverthless, the movie deserves 3 stars for some powerful scenes, wonderful performances and a good sincere effort.

The movie starring Ajay Devgan, Pankaj Kapur, Vidya Balan and Darshan Jariwala is based on the Jessica Lal murder case and the star witness Shayan Munshi. The first half of the movie presents a good preview of the artificial, superficial world of the glamorous film industry. Along with it is the well woven stroy of the rise of an honest nukkad natakwala to stardom. The trasformation of Ashfaq to Sameer Khan has been well played by Ajay Devgan. Notice Ajay Devagan's gait and posture as a nervous first time star replaced by the style and attitude of a succesful star. Remarkable is Ajay Devgan's performance in the scene at the police station as his consience pricks and he is not able to maintain eye contacts with the sister of the victim whose murder he denies to have witnessed. 

Also noticeable is the director's effort to be politically correct, a Muslim guy (Ajay Devgan) married to a Hindu girl (Vidya Balan) and has a Sikh guru (Pankaj Kapur). While there are hints at secularism and principles of honesty in the movie, there are also examples of forgoing the principles of life for survival and success.

It is in the second half of the movie that it starts becoming weak in its narration. All the power packed performances by Ajay Devgan and Pankaj Kapur end without an explosion. As one sees shades of Bombay, Lage Raho Munnabhai, Rang De Basanti and Santoshi's own Damini, the narration becomes more preachy. It won't be wrong to say that the movie has quite an unrealistic end. The movie not only falls short of shaking the conscience of the common people but it even fails to give a convincing end.

Music is another weak link in this movie. Barring title song sung enthusiastically by Sukhwinder Singh and "Is pal ki soch...", other songs are disappointing and in fact not needed. They break the flow especially in the second half.

Nevertheless, kudos to Rajkumar Santoshi for giving many scenes in the movie which I bet would have witnessed a lot of whistling and applause in all the cinema theaters in India. Some of the noteworthy scenes are the murder just after the club song, Devgan's outburst with his "Indian dhaar" at the minister's palatial house full of imported stuff, Pankaj Kapur's flashback narration, Vidya Balan's giving a befitting reply to media persons and the first nukkad natak among others. Performance wise, besides Ajay Devgan and Pankaj Kapur, Darshan Jariwala is also superb. As a corrupt minister, his expressions and voice modulation are just perfect.

Remember, Halla Bol is no Ghayal, Damini or Ghatak, but it is still good to see Santoshi back in form.