''Hellaro'' () is a 2019 Indian Gujarati

period drama A historical drama (also period drama, period piece or just period) is a dramatic work set in the past, usually used in the context of film and television, which presents history, historical events and characters with varying degrees of fiction s ...

film co-written and directed by Abhishek Shah and produced by Ashish Patel, Nirav Patel, Aayush Patel, Prateek Gupta, Mit Jani and Abhishek Shah under the banner of Saarthi Productions and Harfanmaula films. The film having ensemble cast of Jayesh More,

Shraddha Dangar Shraddha Dangar (born 15 October 1994) is a national award winning Indian actress from Gujarat, India. She is known for '' Hellaro'' (2019), machhachu (2018), kasoombo (2024) , mansion 24 (telugu/hindi) (2024) and '' Pappa Tamne Nahi Samjaay' ...

, Brinda Trivedi Nayak, Shachi Joshi, Niilam Paanchal, Tejal Panchasara and Kausambi Bhatt, marks the directorial debut of Abhishek Shah. The film revolves around a group of women living in the

Rann of Kutch The Rann of Kutch is a large area of salt marshes that span the border between India and Pakistan. It is located mostly in the Kutch district of the Indian state of Gujarat, with a minor portion extending into the Sindh province of Pakistan. ...

in the 1970s. ''Hellaro'' won the

National Film Award for Best Feature Film The National Film Award for Best Feature Film is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the National Film Development Corporation of India, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in I ...

at the

66th National Film Awards The 66th National Film Awards ceremony was the award ceremony which took place in 2019 to honour the best films of 2018, in the Indian cinema. The declaration of awards was delayed due to 2019 Indian general election. Selection process The Dir ...

. It was officially selected as the opening film at Indian Panorama, at 50th International Film Festival of India (IFFI). It was also nominated for the best debut feature film of a director at the film festival. The film was released in theatres in India on 8 November 2019 to positive reviews.

Synopsis

In 1975, a young girl named Manjhri is married off to a small village in the middle of nowhere in the

. There has been no rain in the village for many years. The villagers believe it is a curse of the goddess because of a widow rup who was an embroider and tried to earn money and escaped with another villager. As an apology the men present a Gujarati folkdance garba to impress the goddess, but the women are not allowed to play garba. Every morning the women of the village go to a distant lake to fetch water, this is the only time when they are not suppressed but free. One day they come across an unconscious drummer and help him. In return, he plays his dhol and the women play garba for the first time. Since then, every day they fetch water and play garba. After some time the women convince him to ask the mukhya of their village for shelter and play dhol for navrati. Every day he plays garba for the women at the day and for the men at night. One day the women are caught playing garba and are beaten as a punishment. On the same night the women play garba in the village and it rains.

Cast

as Manjhri * Jayesh More as Mulji, a drummer * Tejal Panchasara as Gomti * Shailesh Prajapati as Mukhi * Maulik Nayak as Bhaglo * Aarjav Trivedi as Arjan * Brinda Trivedi as Kesar * Tarjanee Bhadla as Gauri * Niilam Paanchal as Leela *

Kaushambi Bhatt Kaushambi Bhatt (born 1 October 1991) is an Indian actress from Gujarat, India. She is known for her role in Gujarati films '' Hellaro'' (2019), '' Dhunki'' (2019) and Montu Ni Bittu (2019). Biography Kaushambi Bhatt was born on 1 October 199 ...

as Champa * Swati Dave * Denisha Ghumra as Radha * Aakash Zala as Joraavar * Rajan Thakar * Kishan Gadhvi * Kamlesh Parmar * Sachi Joshi * Riddhi Yadav as Kanchan * Jagruti Thakore * Dhriti Patel as Reva * Kamini Panchal * Ekta Bachwani * Parva Bhatt

Production

The debut director and co-writer Abhishek Shah stated that the story was inspired from folklore of the Vrajvani village in Kutch and real-life instances of

patriarchy Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of authority are primarily held by men. The term ''patriarchy'' is used both in anthropology to describe a family or clan controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males, and in fem ...

. Prateek Gupta co-wrote screenplay, edited, and co-produced the film while also serving as the Associate Director. Playwright and poet

Saumya Joshi Saumya Joshi (born 3 July 1973) is an Indian poet, writer, playwright, director and actor associated with Gujarati language literature, theatre and films. He is known in Gujarati theatre for his plays ''Welcome Zindagi'' and ''102 Not Out''. ''G ...

wrote lyrics, additional screenplay, and dialogues.

Mehul Surti Mehul Surti (born 16 November 1977) in an Indian music composer and singer from Surat, Gujarat, India, known for his work in Gujarati cinema and Gujarati theatre. He has composed music for several successful Gujarati films including ''Kevi Rite ...

composed the music. Ashish Patel, Nirav Patel, Aayush Patel, Abhishek Shah, Mit Jani, and Prateek Gupta produced the film under the banner of Saarthi Productions and Harfanmaula films. Aayush Patel and Mit Jani helmed as creative and executive producers. A set of village with fifteen Bhunga (traditional houses), a town square and a temple was created in

near Kuran village where the film was shot.

Soundtrack

Release

It was released in theatres on 8 November 2019. The film was released on

video on demand Video on demand (VOD) is a media distribution system that allows users to access videos, television shows and films Digital distribution, digitally on request. These multimedia are accessed without a traditional video playback device and a typica ...

service,

MX Player Amazon MX Player, formerly known as MX Player is an Indian video on demand and Over-the-top media service, over-the-top Streaming media, streaming service, owned by Amazon (company), Amazon India. The platform currently operates on an Online a ...

on 4 April 2020.

Reception

Critical response

The film was universally acclaimed by the critics. Abhimanyu Joshi of ''

The Times of India ''The Times of India'' (''TOI'') is an Indian English-language daily newspaper and digital news media owned and managed by the Times Group. It is the List of newspapers in India by circulation, third-largest newspaper in India by circulation an ...

'' rated it 4 out of 5. He praised the film's direction, story, screenplay, acting, cinematography, music, and choreography, further stating that the film justly deserves the National Award it received and fulfills expectations. Namrata Joshi writing for ''

The Hindu ''The Hindu'' is an Indian English-language daily newspaper owned by The Hindu Group, headquartered in Chennai, Tamil Nadu. It was founded as a weekly publication in 1878 by the Triplicane Six, becoming a daily in 1889. It is one of the India ...

'' praised the story, direction, production, and cinematography. She further added that the film "questions

while celebrating the colours and culture of Gujarat". Jigar Ganatra of Mumbai Live called it "masterpiece" and rated 4.5 out of 5. ''Parsi Times'' rated it 3.5 out of 5. Delnaz Divecha writing for BookMyShow noted that the film's presentation of the subjects of

casteism A caste is a fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (endogamy), foll ...

, and

superstition A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic (supernatural), magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly app ...

connects the audience, and further praised the film's performances and choreography. She also pointed that "some customs may seem outdated but still happen to be the reality of many rural women". Jinal Bhatt of Mashable India rated it 4.5 out of 5. Ramesh Tanna of '' Kutchmitra'' praised the film for its direction, acting, and cinematography, calling it a "must-watch" but criticised the false subject of opposition to garba and

embroidery Embroidery is the art of decorating Textile, fabric or other materials using a Sewing needle, needle to stitch Yarn, thread or yarn. It is one of the oldest forms of Textile arts, textile art, with origins dating back thousands of years across ...

work, some characterisations, and the lack of

Kutchi language Kutchi (; કચ્છી, , ڪڇّي, ) or Kachhi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken in the Kutch region of Gujarat, and some parts of Rajasthan, India and Sindh, Pakistan. The Jadeja rulers of Cutch and Rajputs of Kutch, speak Kutchi lan ...

in a film set in Kutch. He also questioned the relevance of the film's subject in contemporary times and pointed to the inaccurate representation of Kutch's local culture and the 1970s.

Box office

The film had grossed over in the box office. The film had grossed over $1,41,304 () in overseas market.

Controversy

A police complaint under Atrocities Act was filed against the film's producer, director, and writer for use of term

Harijan Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...

in the film's dialogue. According to the complaint Jamnaben Vegda, the term is considered derogatory by the Scheduled Caste people.

Accolades

''Hellaro'' was selected as the opening film at the Indian Panorama during the 50th

International Film Festival of India The International Film Festival of India (IFFI), founded in 1952, is an annual film festival currently held in Goa, on the western coast of India. The festival aims at providing a common platform for the cinemas of the world to project the excel ...

(IFFI), held in November 2019 in

Goa Goa (; ; ) is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is bound by the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north, and Karnataka to the ...

, where it won a special mention from jury for its "incredible music, colour and choreography." It is also nominated for the best debut feature film of a director at the film festival. It was also screened at the 19th River-to-River Florence Indian Film Festival held in Italy in December 2019. Apart from this Hellaro premiered at numerous Film Festivals like Dhaka International Film Festive 2020, International Film Festival of Bhuvneshwar 2020, and Aurangabad International Film Festival 2020. ''Hellaro'' won the