Hey Ram (2000)

A semi-fictional tale of Saket Ram (Kamal Hassan) who in flashback remembers India of 1940s where he and his pal Amjad Ali Khan (Shahrukh khan) work as archaeologists trying to uncover Harappa civilization. Ignoring the political happenings around they try to stay happy among their lives as they soon realize their life is much different as Saket Ram goes to Calcutta to be with his wife and soon discovers himself becoming part of the riots as he comes to terms with Abhyankar (Atul Kulkarni), a Hindu militant after his wife (Rani Mukherjee) is raped and brutally murdered by Muslims in the midst of chaos. Saket Ram is unable to come to terms that life moves on even after remarrying and holds MK Gandhi responsible for his wife's murder and division of India. He develops a strong hatred against Gandhi Ji and decides to assassinate him and is unable to cope with his work and his new married life. Many events like offering grant to Pak by India after division and invasion of Kashmir by Pak happens side by side that leads to more and more hatred among Hindu militants and Saket Ram against MK Gandhi. Then happens re-union of the archaeological friends when their life and perspective have utterly been changed regarding political and social scenario surrounding them. And the end that is the real soul of he movie that you can't afford to miss as it grips you to the edge of the seat and gives fair idea regarding different views among different people. I would like to say that this CONTROVERSIAL Indian movie is slow but of International standard made from heart by one of the most versatile artists Kamal Hassan challenging the belief regarding the last words "Hey Ram" said by Gandhi Ji as depicted in Ben Kingsley's Gandhi movie and moreover screenplay and portrayal of characters of that time seems so actual that you can't get away from your seat.MY RATING: 8/10

This movie runs with allegories and metaphors it takes time to understand and interpret. Each and every character have been used perfectly. The basic thinking of people have been portrayed beautifully. Piano also plays a role describing the state and relationship. Movie shows the culture, religion and politics of the country. Little Ramayana has also been used to deliver the characters. Music is in top class, one of the best soundtracks of Indian film. The art works have been done so good. It is an epic movie. It also showed that Gandhi's last words were not 'hey ram'. Even the names of each characters have a profound meaning and screenplay is the one of a kind. A top rated movie which is totally underrated.

Kamal Haasan's body of works can be broadly divided into two categories- Hey Ram and non Hey Ram. They say a picture is worth a 1000 words, and a film is worth a 1000 pictures. I say a movie like Hey Ram is worth a 1000 films. This film depicts the culture of India like no other, which ranges from traditional Iyengar, Bengali and Marathi to conventional British and Gandhian.Not a single scene, line or character is wasted in this film. Being a period film, art direction becomes critical for description of the story. Right from the old Pears calendar in Birla House to the British cement advertisement in Calcutta, from the Tanjore paintings in Srirangam to the vehicles and instruments in the cities, not one object or concept is out of place! Many films fail here, including Lagaan which had 6 balls bowled per over instead of 9.With an cast of India's finest actors Like Kamal Haasan, Naseeruddin Shah, Girish Karnad, Om Puri, Hema Malini, Rani Mukherjee, Atul Kulkarni and Shah Rukh Khan, one cannot complain about the performances. Perhaps the biggest asset to the film is its refusal to employ black and white characterization. Not one character in this epic is projected as an all good person and everyone has their own selfish reasons in life!

the movie as a whole was realism at its best which is rarely seen in Indian movies. the screenplay was professionalism at its level best and though it did not do well at the box office it is arguably the best movie of any genre. the story is a flashback and the scenes just rollback to the pre -independence era where the situation is quite the same as it is now. the characterisation were well worked out and the music just steals the show. kamal has done a wonderful job and has done away with idiotic songs and comic tracks that is a common thing in all Indian movies. on the whole a movie cannot get any better than this. must see