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By Joginder Tuteja, May 15, 2009 - 14:31 IST
MOVIE DETAILS
Cast: Sushant Singh, Rajat Kapoor, Kartikadevi Rane, Vrajesh Hirjee, Chandrachood Karnik
Director: Jaideep Varma
Producer: Sunil Doshi
Music: Indian Ocean
THE FILM
Can one remember if there ever has been a film made around a simple whistle blow which sounds amusing to begin with, only to end up nearly destroying lives
of people associated with it, whether for or against?
Hulla has a nice plot where Sushant Singh is disturbed with the sound of whistle blowing by his society watchman while Rajat Kapoor wants it that way
because it has been an age old practice. The scene is established at the very beginning of the film and once all the characters are established (there are
quite a few of them actually), fun begins. There is a lot of Bheja Fry brand of humour that you get to see as the mood shifts from desperation to
annoyance to kiddish to exasperation.
Sushant is in great form throughout the film's duration and even though the poor guy has to act in similar scenes after every 10 minutes, he does his best to
lend credibility to his act. Moreover, he doesn't allow the turn of events to become a parody of sorts as he plays the part of a middle class young man to
perfection. Watch out for the casual conversations that he has with his pretty wife Kartika Rane; you would realize for yourself how both of them are so
natural in front of the camera while being truly oblivious about the fact that they are in the middle of the shoot.
There are no massive sets, no exorbitant wardrobe and no flashy shot taking but still the impact created by the new storyline and some good acting by
Sushant, Rajat, Kartika, Chandrachood (the watchman) and Vrajesh (who plays Sushant's friend and colleague) makes sure that you look forward to how the story
would culminate.
Culmination. Now this is the point which leaves you dissatisfied. And that's because this film, which for close to 90 odd minutes was a fun film all the way,
suddenly takes a tragic route. This is where the Mithya reference comes in because the film takes a completely unexpected path. Nothing wrong with
that since every filmmaker has his/her own way of telling a story and the way he/she wants to end it. Still, in a film like Hulla where you are
smiling or even laughing for most of its duration, it is disappointing to witness a sad ending.
However, leaving aside the last few minutes of the film, Hulla is a decent entertainer for the prime reason being that it treads a realistic path. The
events are such that could happen to any average middle class person, hence making them immediately identifiable. Also Sushant Singh and Rajat Kapoor play
the roles that Amol Palekar and Utpal Dutt would have been so happy to enact in the 70s. In fact there is a strong Sai Paranjpe and Basu Chatterjee influence
in the film as well that makes one look forward to what newbie Jaideep Varma has to offer in his future projects.
PACKAGING
The DVD comes in a regular plastic case though it is better than the usual Moser Baer 'thin plastic case' that had almost become a trademark for cheap priced
DVDs over the years
DURATION
The film's duration is 105 minutes
SPECIAL FEATURES
- Making of Hulla
This one is a pleasant surprise. There were no expectations from the 'Making' segment of the film but those 25 minutes aren't a bad watch at all. There is no
'Oh, it was wonderful working with so and so actor/director' banter here primarily because 99% crew of this film was made of first timers. Instead what comes
to fore is the kind of trouble that was involved in the making of the film. While roping in of first timer technicians was an obvious cause of worry, what
also stood out was the fact that director Jaideep Varma hadn't quite set out to become a director at the very onset. The young writer turned film maker talks
about how it was Rajat Kapoor who insisted that he took over the subject!
However, what really makes you immediately attentive in this segment is the point when Varma reveals that at one stage, after the test shoot for the film,
producer Sunil Doshi was so disappointed that he even backed out of the film. Worse, he wanted to return to the project only if not just the entire crew but
even the leading lady of Hulla, Kartikadevi Rane, was fired. She managed to stay on in the project but was the crew as lucky? Find it out in the
'making' segment!
TECHNICAL DETAILS
- 16:9 Anamorphic Widescreen Presentation
- Subtitles in English
- Dolby Digital 5.1 and Stereo
PRICE
Rs. 100/=
CONCLUSION
A film that starts off as a Bheja Fry but ends as Mithya. Now that could be the best way to describe Hulla, a film that comes from the
same stream of film makers who are trying to make cost effective multiplex films that explore innovative subjects hitherto unseen.
  
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