Halla Bol

For the play by Safdar Hashmi, see Safdar Hashmi.

Halla Bol
Theatrical release poster
Directed byRajkumar Santoshi
Screenplay byRajkumar Santoshi
Story byRajkumar Santoshi
Produced byAbdol Samee Siddiqui
StarringPankaj Kapur

Ajay Devgn

Vidya Balan
CinematographyNatty Subramaniam
Edited bySteven H. Bernard
Music bySukhwinder Singh
Distributed byIndian Films
Sunrise Pictures Pvt. Ltd.
Release date
  • 11 January 2008 (2008-01-11)
Running time
142 minutes
CountryIndia
LanguageHindi
Budget₹ 270 million[1]
Box office₹ 193.9 million[1]

Halla Bol (Raise Your Voice) is a 2008 Indian Hindi-language drama film written and directed by Rajkumar Santoshi. Halla Bol stars Pankaj Kapur, Ajay Devgn and Vidya Balan in pivotal roles and a number of celebrities from the Hindi and other film industries appear as themselves.[2] Produced by Samee Siddiqui, the film's score and soundtrack was composed by Sukhwinder Singh, while Natty Subramaniam and Steven Bernard were the cinematographer and editor respectively. It was released on 11 January 2008. The film was remade with an adapted story in Bengali in 2010 named Pratidwandi.

The film touches upon the Jessica Lall murder case, Aamir Khan's involvement with the Narmada Bachao Andolan, the Right to Information Act, and public participation in fighting corruption. It also references the theatre group Jan Natya Manch, whose leader, theatre activist Safdar Hashmi, was killed by political rivals while performing a street play by the same name, Halla Bol!, in 1989.[3][4][5][6][7]

Plot

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Ashfaque (Ajay Devgn) is a small town boy aspiring to be a film star in the Hindi film industry. He joins a street theatre group run by a reformed dacoit Sidhu (Pankaj Kapur), who uses street theatre as a medium to bring about an awakening in the masses. Ashfaque struggles to give a creative vent to the actor in him in order to realise his dreams. Ashfaque's determined struggle pays off and he gets a break in films. He gets a new screen name – Sameer Khan. He moves up the success ladder in a very short time.

Soon, he becomes Sameer Khan the superstar. Amidst all the adulation and applause, he slowly loses his own identity. He forgets his real self and imbibes all characteristics of the various roles played by him on screen. Corruption overtakes his entire system, alienating him from all loved ones, including his wife Sneha (Vidya Balan).

Cast

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Special appearances

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Special appearances at the award ceremony (in order of appearance):

Casting

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Priyanka Chopra was the original choice for the lead actress role. However, she opted out of the film to work on another film that too was to be directed by Raj Kumar Santoshi, London Dreams (2009) although she was replaced by Asin Thottumkal in that film.[8] Raj Kumar Santhoshi left that film and Priyanka Chopra was removed from London Dreams.[8]

Soundtrack

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The film's music was composed by Singer and Composer Sukhwinder Singh.

References

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  1. ^ a b "Halla Bol – Movie". Box Office India.
  2. ^ "Sridevi returns with Raj Kumar Santoshi's HALLA BOL". 11 celebrities are making guest appearances in Halla Bol. Archived from the original on 19 December 2014. Retrieved 7 July 2007.
  3. ^ "Santoshi's back with Halla Bol".
  4. ^ "Halla Bol Movie Review {3/5}: Critic Review of Halla Bol by Times of India". The Times of India.
  5. ^ "Review: Halla Bol". 11 January 2008.
  6. ^ "Halla Bol Review 3/5 | Halla Bol Movie Review | Halla Bol 2008 Public Review | Film Review". Bollywood Hungama. 11 January 2008.
  7. ^ "Halla Bol – movie review by Aakash Gandhi – Planet Bollywood".
  8. ^ a b "Salman Khan wants girlfriend Katrina to replace Priyanka in London Dreams".
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