Cast: Amol Palekar, Barun Sobti, Rinku Rajguru, Sahil Khattar, Saloni Batra, Indraneil Sengupta, and Upendra Limaye

Director: Sarthak Dasgupta & Alok Batra

Rating: ***

The 2,000 years old social hierarchy of the caste system has been imposed on people by birth and it still exists in India. Denying it thoroughly isn't the truth that we seek. Even in Bollywood, films like Article 15, Aarakshan, Masaan, Manjhi, and others were based on the caste subject and gives a basic understanding of social discrimination happening in the country. Adding to the list, ZEE5 has also released the film, 200 Halla Ho based on the same theme but this time the platform is set to shatter the souls of the people with its plotline. Well, the film is based on a real-life incident of 2004 where 200 women attacked an arrested suspect Bharat Kalicharan aka Akku Yadav in the open court.

Produced by Yoodle Films, the film is set on the drop back of Nagpur where a criminal accused, Balli Choudhary (Sahil Khattar) gets killed by a crowd of 200 women in the court premises. Unable to tackle the mob, police failed to identify the culprits as all women covered their faces and disappeared after the hideous crime. In the wake of the incident, police arrest five suspicious women, while claiming that arrested ladies have killed the accused. To shed more light on the case, the Women cell conducts a Fact-Finding Committee led by a retired judge Vitthal Dangle (Amol Palekar). On the other side, a young girl named Asha Surve (Rinku Rajguru) with the help of advocate Umesh Joshi (Barun Sobti) plays the defendant's role in the case. But the entire story stuck at the point that why a crowd of 200 women killed an unarmed man and what is the actual story behind their action. Well, you'll get all the answers after watching the 200 Hallo Ho on ZEE5.

Sarthak Dasgupta and Alok Batra's direction in the film seems similar to Prakash Jha's signature style. Here they have focused more on the real locations of the Nagpur area. Their execution of the mass killing becomes the highlighting scene of the film. Abhijeet Das, Sarthak Dasgupta and Somyajit Roy take the correct visuals of the real-life incident and penned it commensurably. Although, its first half takes time to convey the actual crux, but with the second half, it rolls at a fast pace.

Moving on to the performances, Sairat star Rinku Rajguru, Asur actor Barun Sobti, Upendra Limaye, Indraneil Sengupta, Saloni Batra played their part perfectly. Whereas Amol Palekar did a comeback after such a long period and looked promising in the role of a retired judge who doesn't believe much in the caste system. Talking about the antagonist Sahil Khattar then he is known for his rib-tickling jokes and perfect comic timings but in 200 Halla Ho, he sheds his personality of a jolly guy and gives an unbelievable performance. Hard to hate him but after watching it you will surely hate his character as he fits best in the role of Balli Choudhary.

Overall, the film will leave you with a series of unanswered questions. The film merges the caste system, the corrupted police system, and heart-wrenching mannerisms and a plot which is uncomfortable that one cannot ignore and presents a cinema that is difficult to watch in the heap of movies releasing nowadays. Embracing all, 200 Halla Ho is based on a serious social issue and it can be strenuous for moviegoers. The closing argument dialogue by Amol, "It's not just these accused who rapes a woman; it's our mindsets that rapes them, it's our numbness towards these heinous crimes that's most disturbing," will create chaos in our hearts and minds and one will surely think about our country's social system. For the performances and the commendable writing of writers and performances, we are heading with three stars as presenting such a film on the digital platform is a hell of a time.