The charm of a tale... Review on Halo

A prayer:

Close your eyes and say this lill' prayer.

God dear,

-Amen

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Halo

Cast: Benaf Dadachanji, Rajkumar Santoshi, Mukesh Rishi, Tinnu Anand.

Director: Santosh Sivan

The Story:

Halo everybody. The other day at school, my teacher asked me write an essay on the topic 'Myself'. So here goes what I wrote.

My name is Sasha. I am a girl. I am 7 years old. My best friend's name is Halo. I love Halo very much. We play together. I and my other friends sing songs to Halo. Everybody loves Halo. First daddy didn't like Halo, but now he doesn't mind at all......

So Sasha's essay on 'Myself' goes on and on about her friend 'Halo'. Who is Halo? Sasha is a small girl who has lost her mother. She is always found silent until she meets Halo. Halo is a cute lill' puppy, Sasha finds for herself. And she smiles n' laughs like never before. Sasha's daddy doesn't like dogs and is irritated of Halo. But soon starts liking Halo as he sees his daughter happy with her pup. Sasha has lotsa fun n' frolic as she and her friends play with Halo. But one morning, Halo disappears. First she seeks help from her lovesick teenage cousin, criminal lawyer father and her servant. But no practical help comes her way. Sasha's search leads her into the nooks n' corners of Bombay city. During her search she meets up with a crazy dog catcher, a newspaper editor, street kids, smugglers, a police inspector and even faces the communal riots. After all this, does Sasha find Halo? The climax is something to be watched out for. Something which nothing in world can buy. I leave it upto you pals to watch the movie and find out the climax.

The Lill' Wonder:

Sasha played by Benaf Dadachanji is the heart n' soul of the movie. Benaf plays Sasha to the soul of the character. It is this child's innoscence and the understanding level that makes Halo inseperable from our thoughts. Otherwise in movies child actors tend to go over the top with their roles. Everybody else including Rajkumar Santoshi as Sasha's father, Mukesh Rishi as the Police Inspector, Tinnu Anand as the gangster carry out their jobs honestly.

The tender touch:

Who else but the director has to decide if he will spoil the movie or make a movie remain in the viewer's heart. Santosh Sivan chooses the later option. He displays his skills with the camera brilliantly. He himself being an ace cinematographer knows very well the importance of presentation. The camera catches the innoscence and scatters it everywhere in the air of the flick. What we get to experience is a tender story of an innoscent lill' girl told innoscently through the medium of the camera.

Halo's Lesson:

In our busy and tedious schedules, we forget the child in us. That child in us is truely honest and caring as a person than we as adults are. In the movie, when the communal riots are on their high, we find Sasha least bothered about anything, but her puppy. All she cares about is Halo's well-being. That is known as the honesty of a child towards her responsibility as a friend. Children don't know anything about communal discrimination, unless their surroundings use their rubber stamps of fanaticism on tender minds.