The short film makes us wonder about the idea of India and the spirit of humanity, brotherhood and secularism that forged the nation.
Hey Ram! review: A chilling film that speaks to our times
Cinestaan Rating
Release Date: 2020
Sukhpreet Kahlon
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New Delhi, 02 Oct 2020 7:30 IST
Updated: 30 Mar 2021 2:14 IST
Inspired by true incidents where mobs unleashed violence in the name of god in our country, Yashwardhan Goswami’s Hey Ram! makes us question what it means to be a certain kind of devotee in these times.
On a seemingly regular day, a god-fearing autorickshaw driver engages in conversation with his passenger, lamenting that technology has made people distant instead of bringing them together. As the passenger is nudged into conversation, the two discuss generalities when suddenly they are stopped by a mob that starts harassing them.
Hey Ram! highlights the religious persecution that permeates an increasingly divided society. Goswami adeptly creates tension with verisimilitude, making us imagine what the actual victims of hate crimes in our country must have gone through. The use of technology hints at the motivations of the perpetrators of violence as they unleash terror upon innocent people in a deliberate manner.
The ending of the film questions the idea of faith and the meaning of ‘Jai Shri Ram’, a phrase that, sadly, has accompanied heinous acts carried out in the name of religion across the country. Hey Ram! leaves us unsettled, wondering who is the true believer?
On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti, the film is especially pertinent as we think about the idea of India and the spirit of humanity, brotherhood and secularism that forged the nation.
Hey Ram! won the UK Asian Film Festival Short Film Competition and was also screened at the Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival 2019.