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Other Critic Reviews
Halla Bol discusses important social issues and also entertains. It's a movie packed with a powerful message and performances.
3 Stars
By Ashok Nayak
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(2 / 5) : Average 2 / 5
Despite all the brickbats- it might be unfair to call Halla Bol mere sound and fury signifying nothing; it does have its moments, however far and few in between. But we surely deserve far better from you, Mr. Santoshi.
- Jahan Bakshi    Fri, 11 Jan 2008
Rajkumar Santoshi returns to the big screen this Friday with Halla Bol- and it's a pity that in a film from such an esteemed filmmaker, it's the surprisingly tacky execution that hits you harder than the material itself.

Cliché after cliché follows in what inevitably and ultimately feels like a dated version of Rang De Basanti, and succeeds only in leaving us mildly amused at the end of all the immense halla. Loosely inspired by the Jessica Lal murder case, Halla Bol is about Ashfaque Khan played by Ajay Devgan- a small town street theatre actor- turned arrogant star who witnesses a murder at a party and is haunted by the event even as his past continues to prick his conscience. He finally decides to get involved in the case and become a key witness despite the perils involved.

Santoshi tries to pack in everything- from the superficiality of the film industry, to the insensitivity of the media glare to the (yawn) corruption of the political system- but to little effect as the sheer triteness of it all gets mind-numbing and you are desperately waiting for Pankaj Kapur to return again (after a brief appearance in an overlong flashback) and rescue you and the film.

And that he does, surely- making even the most embarrassingly corny scenes and lines credible and proving again what pure class really means. Pankaj Kapur is Halla Bol's real hero- the only person who injects some life into the film and audience- and even makes us chuckle, whistle and clap as he chews up the scenery whenever he's on screen.

Ajay Devgan meanwhile puts the kind of good performance that you obviously expect and are tired of seeing from him, and it is perhaps time for Ram Gopal Varma and Devgan to find each other's company again and rescue each other from the mess they are in. Devgan is earnest, quite like the film but that clearly isn't enough as his character's internal and external conflicts and struggle barely manage to affect us.

Vidya Balan, meanwhile is predictably sidelined, and is reliable as usual- though it is sad to see her waste her talent in this role, where her biggest moment only comes when she gets to mouth what is unarguably the films most shocking and consequently laugh-out-loud moment when she says to a swarm of media persons- 'I am proud of my husband. He's got balls!' (A while later, as if to prove it, Devgan urinates on the Persian carpet at the chief minister's residence, right in front of him.)

Halla Bol is filled to the brim with such ludicrous moments and dialogues and it doesn't help that the rest of the cast goes absolutely hysterical, lead by a super-hammy Darshan Zariwala. The film also has a painfully loud score by Sukhwinder Singh, who's clearly more at ease at singing than at composing music.

Finally, while despite all the brickbats- it might be unfair to call Halla Bol mere sound and fury signifying nothing; it does have its moments, however far and few in between. But we surely deserve far better from you, Mr. Santoshi.
2 stars
2 / 5

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