National Film Award-Winning Hellaro Is About Women Empowerment And It Deserves Your Attention Even If You Don’t Understand Gujarati
We are bunch that voraciously consumes content. From the written word to photos to videos, we believe in consuming everything that comes our way, and in a fast-paced time like this, movies are perhaps the best way to get a message across. From Bollywood to Hollywood to everything in between, cinema holds the power to influence thousands at a go, and sometimes the content in itself is enough to sell it to the masses. Just like the Gujarati period drama Hellaro, that released in November and said so much in so little.
The literal translation of the name means outburst is the directorial debut of Abhishek Shah and the fact that it won the National Film Award for the best Feature Film is proof that this is just the kind of cinema we and the world need to see.
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This movie, based on a small-town village girl Manjhri, is a folk song and dance story that doesn’t just address the stereotypes that are built against women in the society, but also offers heartening breakthroughs through the progression of the storyline. Based out of a remote village of Samarpur, the story follows the life of Manjhri and other women, who confined to their homes in the villages, spend their lives working as homemakers while the men work and dance garba every night to appease the goddess for rain. The only time that women do step out of the confines of their house is to fetch water from a nearby water body.
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During one such trip to fetch water, the women find an unconscious man in the sand and hesitant to help him or talk to him out of the fear of disobeying the rules of interacting with any stranger. Manjhri, in a fit of pity for the guy, helps him with water and they discover he is a dholak player. From that day onwards, the women ask him to play for them, as they come together to dance, which they are otherwise not allowed to do by their men. There is a wonderful sense of freedom and individuality that comes through when these women dance and it’s lovely to watch.
The irony that the men pray to a goddess that it rains is not lost on the audience. And in fact, this is an excellent commentary not only of the situation of women in 1975 but also of today. Where we pray to goddesses and put them on a pedestal but our ordinary women can’t even be safe.
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The film, is based in another time period but a lot of the details depicted serve as symbols of modern day oppression as well. And the part where the women do away with them, surrendering to their own will and happiness, will leave you cheering on for them and yourself towards the end of the movie. This isn’t a movie about dance. This is about life, hope, protest and reclaiming your voice.
It may not have starred the A-listers or hooked us on with item numbers but it went on to make a place in the heart of the spectators and linger on in their minds enough to make a difference. No wonder it won a National Film Award.
