Before I discuss the film in depth, I want to talk about the distributor of this DVD--Eros Video. Despite the name, it is not a pornographic film company. But, I am less than impressed by their practice of forcing ads upon the viewer. When the DVD begins, it forces you to watch previews (you cannot hit the menu button to skip them). Then, AFTER you finally push the DVD button to begin the feature, it forces you to watch another ad! This is the only company I know which does this. They also do something else which is terribly annoying--they don't bother to caption the songs sung throughout the film! Come on Eros, are you deliberately trying to get potential customers to deliberately avoid your releases and look for other Indian films to watch instead?! I know that because there are thousands and thousands of Indian films out there, I sure will look for those from other companies first.The story is told as a giant flashback by Saketh Ram (Kamal Hassan) and is set in 1946--just a year before India became independent of the United Kingdom. While many in the West may not realize it, this was a VERY scary time in India, as partition into East and West Pakistan and India would help to bring a lot of suppressed hatred between Hindus and Muslims to the surface--and countless people (at least in the hundreds of thousands) would die in sectarian violence. Many more would be forced to immigrate because of this violence.Ram adores his new wife--so much so that his friends think he's a bit henpecked and make fun of him. When, in the midst of the violence that is overtaking his city, he sees a woman being attacked by a crowd he rescues her--but, as the expression goes, no good deed goes unpunished! Later, a crowd of Muslims storms his home--raping and murdering his wife! Not surprisingly, he now hates Muslims and joins a group of extremists--determined to kill as many of 'them' as he possibly can. However, he and his new 'friends' come to hate one person more than anyone else...Gandhi. Although a Hindu, Gandhi calls for peace and forgiveness--which enrages these radicals and he is their number one target....and Ram is their chosen instrument of revenge.You probably noticed my summary in which I called this a fine but brutal film. Now the brutality certainly is necessary--this film is about a very, very violent time in India and I think everyone should know more about this period in history. But it is NOT a film for the young. While it doesn't show the rape occurring (thank God), it has quite a few scenes of shocking brutality. You can't help but flinch at several scenes--I know I did. Plus, this DID make the movie more realistic and hard-hitting---so have some Kleenex nearby just in case. And what is to like about the movie? Well, a lot...that's for sure. To me one of the best things about the film was choosing Kamal Hassan for the lead. He not only did a good job but looked so ordinary--not the larger than life sexy leading man. This 'ordinariness' of Ram and his wife as well made the film much easier to connect with and appreciate. I also liked the story....with one minor exception. Although the film is told through flashbacks, sometimes you can't tell when it's in the 1940s or the present--and that is a tad confusing--as are some of the surreal dreams. But, these are minor complaints, as the overall film is entertaining, touching and informative.For another film about the same period, though told from a different viewpoint, try also watching Deepa Metha's "Fire". I don't think the film is superior to "Hey Ram"--just different and quite touching.

This is one of the few Hindi films to take head on issues related with India's partition and succeed. 'Hey Ram' features an impressive performance by Kamal Hasan. His role is complex and its hard to see how anyone else could have done better. There are lots of religious metaphors subtly woven into the script. Naseeruddin Shah is a memorable eccentric Gandhi. Shahrukh Khan has a small role but impresses. The film is very violent and some parts are quite difficult to watch, so beware. The period detail is effective. Ultimately, the film makes a strong plea for tolerance but does so without strident moralizing. Highly recommended.Overall 9/10

I'm from Malaysia and studying films is a part of my academic course. If anything, a film like 'Hey Ram' only makes me feel frustrated because I firmly believe that 'Hey Ram' is out-and-out film school stuff. It should be treasured, appreciated, and studied upon time and again. I would love to get my hand on this movie's script copy. But that is the prejudice and stereotype that Indian films so often suffer from that the effort goes un-recognized. This is underlined by the fact that I had to wait for four years before i could get my hand on a DVD of this movie, so that i could add this to my collection. It is as if the film doesn't even exist in records. Would be an exaggeration to call 'Hey Ram' as a masterpiece? Definitely no. It takes a genius to create a fictional character and fit him so perfectly with what had happened for real during the Partition, make him both a victim and a murderer, also an eyewitness, later portray him as the man who wanted to kill Gandhi but retreated at the end. Ironically, his name is also Ram (the real killer was also Ram). It isn't impactful if your movie is suppose to say Gandhi's a great person and you narration from start to end only shows the positive view of Gandhian principles. But what Kamal has brilliantly done is to sketch a character which is well-reasoned and well-placed to hate Gandhi's principles, make the character feel victimized by Gandhi's ideologies, and later bring the character as close as it gets to Gandhi himself and make the character realize, with the help of his selfless Muslim friend (brilliantly played by Shah Rukh), that non-violence is indeed the answer for the communal riots. I too noticed recently that 'Hey Ram''s cover for an European edition has Shah Rukh completely on it, as if he was the star of the film. Now thats a shame because Shah Rukh was just a guest character and it insults everything Kamal has done for this film. My favourite film of all time this is.

Hey Ram is the story of Saket Ram (Kamal Haasan), an archaeologist. He is on a dig in pre-partition Harappa with his buddy Amjad (Shah Rukh Khan) when communal violence erupts in the region and the dig is closed down. Saket Ram goes off to Calcutta to visit his new wife Aparna (Rani Mukherjee). Calcutta is in chaos with religious strife and Ram's wife is brutally assaulted and killed by some Muslim men a few days after his return. He becomes unstable and seeks out the perpetrators of the crime and deals with them. While wandering the streets Ram meets with Abhyankar (Atul Kulkarni) who tells him that his family has suffered a similar fate and that the one man responsible for all this is MK Gandhi. Ram goes off to Tamil Nadu and after seeing Maithili (Vasundhara Das) agrees to marry her. All the time he is still traumatized by Aparna's death and planning revenge. When Abhyankar is paralyzed in a polo accident Ram vows to take his place as the killer of the Mahatma. He moves to Delhi and there he re-encounters his friend Amjad. Now hatred for Muslims and his prior closeness to Amjad are at war and Ram must choose his path - will it be the road to revenge or redemption? The story is excellent and the movie manages to retain its grip on the viewer for over three hours. The direction is for the most part very good. There are a few strange moments that seemed unnecessary to me - why is there the surreal stuff when Ram is shown with Maithili? The Marathi dance seemed unnecessary. Why were the bullets in a cartridge in a pre-partition handgun? Can one talk after one's throat is sliced open? But these are indeed minor quibbles in an overall excellent film.The background score is a bit intrusive, the songs not memorable. Maybe this is not the best of the Maestro Illayaraja. The beginning song/dance in the club is sort of silly, certainly not needed. Surely bonding between friends can be shown in other ways.Acting is very good throughout. For me the outstanding performance was given by Rani Mukherjee. She breathed life into Aparna and was at her most attractive and charming as a Bengali Bodhu! Kamal was very good. He showed love, passion, anger, rage, madness very well. And what looks at nearly age 50! The man is awesome. Shah Rukh gave a great performance as Amjad - a very restrained and balanced performance that in the end showed us which path Ram would choose and why. Atul Kulkarni was awesome as the fanatical Abhyanker. Vasundhara Das was luminous and did an excellent job playing Maithili. Naseer Shah as Gandhi, Hema Malini as the mother were all very good. In fact there was no bad performance in the film.This is a fine piece of movie making and deserves all the accolades it got. If you have not yet seen this film then you are in for a rare treat.