Hey! Ram

The genesis of the film “Hey!Ram” can be traced to a letter Kamal Haasan wrote on Gandhi centenary which raked a lot of controversy. At the time Kamal Haasan was in the midst of shooting the film 'Madhumanayakam' which had to be temporarily stopped due to some problems. And Kamal Haasan decided to launch “Hey! Ram”. Contrary to what the title suggests the film, in Kamal Haasan’s words “ the film is not about Gandhi, this film is because of Gandhi. He is in the background. The film looks back at our history, our fights, our struggles.It is the thoughts of a dying man who lived through that time.” ‘Hey! Ram’ begins at the deathbed of Saket Ram, an old man in his 80’s; and travels through his memories from pre-independent India of 1940, tracing the forces of history through 1947 to later. From Saket Ram (Kamal Haasan) and friend Amjad Ali Khan (Shahrukh Khan) in 1940, archaeologists at the excavation site of Mohenjodaro, a civilization before the coming of dividing religions. The film moves to Saket Ram caught in the Calcutta riots of 1947, dislocated physically and emotionally. He loses his wife to the brutal carnage and a part of his soul. His remarries on advice of the elders but fails to settle down. Saket Ram becomes a member of the fraternity opposing non-violence, opposing Gandhi. But he remains torn between this sworn loyalty and his conscience. Saket Ram is witness to a tragic event of history that changes him forever to transform him into a staunch Gandhian.