Hellaro Makes Waves With Women, Even Today!

The Draft, in continuance of the International Women's Day celebrations held on 8 March 2021, profiles superwomen of sorts, from all walks of life, for a full week on till 15 March 2021

(Read all the Women's Week stories here)

Few films have made such an impact with a simple, yet so powerful, approach towards women issues. Hellaro now evokes interest in the student fraternity across the world, writes
Manu Shrivastava who spoke with the female cast and crew on Women's Day

At the 50th International Film Festival of India (IFFI) held at Panjim, Goa in November 2019, when Gujarati film Hellaro premiered under the Indian Panorama section, no one had even imagined the film, focusing on women emancipation, will fetch accolades and across borders like it did.

Now, of late, the makers were in for a pleasant surprise when they learnt the film has gone on to garner special interest among the global student fraternity too.

TWO GOOD: Actress Tejal Panchasara with husband and Hellaro director Abhishek Shah

A University of Florence student, Anastasia Vulgaris, has written a thesis on Hellaro after she saw the film in December 2019 at Florence’s River to River Indian Film Festival - the first festival in the world, outside India, devoted to films from and about India, under the patronage of the Embassy of India. Anastasia’s thesis is in Italian and compares the portrayal of women in Hellaro to that in other Indian films.

It may be recalled that Hellaro received several awards including the best feature film at the 66th National Awards – the first Gujarati feature film to receive one – and a Special Jury Award for all the thirteen actresses of the film.

MANJHRI MAGIC: Actress Shraddha Dangar was always a performer

The lead role of Manjhri played by Shraddha Dangar was finalised after “several rounds of auditions.” A native of Rajkot, Shraddha was always a performer as a child. It was her mother, in particular, who “supported her dreams.”

“Thankfully, my parents are broad-minded and treated us siblings, irrespective of gender, in the same manner. Mom, despite being less educated is very modern in thinking. She’d tell me, engineer, doctor to sab bante hai, tum kuch alag karo.”

After Shraddha tasted initial success, women from the neighbourhood casted aspersions pointing out how unsafe the industry was, to which her mother responded, "Raise your daughter like a sword so she can slay the deadliest of foes and face the worst of situations." 

TOGETHER: Shraddha's family, especially mother, has always supported her dreams

In Rajkot, where even today due to an orthodox mindset, a lot of girls cannot pursue their dreams, Shraddha was bolstered by her parents. “I’d get upset when people judged me. I want to change that about myself and want to tell all the young women out there that don’t bother about what people think or you will end up making wrong decisions in life. I have learnt that from my mother.”

Like most members of Hellaro’s cast and crew, Shraddha too didn’t anticipate the film’s success. “Hellaro shattered the perception about regional films and their reach.” After Hellaro, Shraddha went on to work in a few Gujarati films, music videos and a few web-series. 

Ahmedabad-based actress Tejal Panchasara, who played Gomti in Hellaro, was a last minute entry into the film’s cast. A theatre artist for 15 years and wife of director Abhishek Shah, Tejal was involved in the process since the very idea of the film was conceived. “Once, Abhishek got in touch with an old friend, a renowned professional, who hadn’t put up any images of herself on her social media profiles.

"Upon asking, she confided that her husband had prohibited her from doing so. That really stayed with us and we decided to pursue the subject of women oppression.” Being folk lovers, they both knew the theme for the film would be a rural/folk set-up. 

It was when an actress who was selected for the role backed out at the last moment that Tejal stepped in. Speaking of her journey during Hellaro, Tejal gives credit to her theatre background. “Being theatre artists, we knew very well what not to do…what dialogues not to speak, what expressions not to give and rehearsed the dialogues keeping in mind the limited budget as it was a regional film. We shot exactly as planned.”

SET TO SUCCEED: Tejal with Abhishek on the sets of Hellaro

The love Hellaro has received so far has been unexpected and only continues to grow. “We started out making a film on a subject close to our hearts. Hellaro has struck a chord with many,” notes Tejal. "While casting, we had approached several top actresses who declined despite it being a women-centric story. I am sure they must be regretting the decision today,” she offers.

Talking of the status of women, Tejal says women should step out of their comfort zones and spend time with themselves. “If nothing else, just go for outdoor activities to spend quality time with oneself.” Tejal and Abhishek have named their daughter Saanjh Abhishek Tejal.

Even during the filming, the actresses faced issues at personal fronts but stayed dedicated to their work. “Someone’s child was sick, had exams or was simply very young. And then, there was someone who was shifting house. But all remained dedicated to the work.” 

Hellaro was Mumbai-based choreographer Arsh Tanna’s first Gujarati film who had choreographed dance sequences in films like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Ram Leela, etc. “I was not too keen on taking up Hellaro but Abhishek was persistent and when I heard the story, I was completely floored by it and decided to go ahead with it.” 

IN TUNE: Choreographer Arsh Tanna with her team and the dancers

Arsh fell in love with the fact that it was about emancipation of women whose passion was dance. It was a powerful story where the women don’t fight patriarchy directly but resist it by pursing their passion of garba.” It was when the director told her that "there is no hero in the film, the hero is garba," that she decided to go ahead with it.

IN CONVERSATION: Arsh (extreme right) is all ears to director Abhishek Shah's spiel

Despite the scorching sun and tight schedules, the dance sequences were one of the best features of the film. Arsh says, “Women must follow their passion and never ever give up. There’ll be many pitfalls in the journey of life, one must stay focused and everything ultimately falls in place.”

Ahmedabad-based Jagruti Thakore who played the role of Rudi in the film, one of the older members of the flock of women, is an industry veteran. She’s also a folk dancer and during the shooting the most difficult part for her was to not dance in the initial garba sequences. “I was actually the one who was supposed to stop the women from dancing in the film. In real life, if I’d hear a dhol playing, I’d start dancing on the road also…It was very difficult to not being able to dance.”

SOLO: Actress Jagruti Thakore posing on the sets in her character as Rudi

Jagruti’s profession entails observing people and their lives. She recalls instances when her female acquaintances faced oppression in cities even in this day and age. “I know of a garba dancer who went to the US after marriage where her husband refused to let her dance. In another instance, a girl in Ahmedabad wasn’t allowed to wear western outfits by her in-laws. It’s appalling that these things happen even now. I have raised my son to respect all women and wish all mothers do the same.”

AT EASE: Jagruti with her family

Despite the heat, the practice sessions in the scorching sands of the desert, barefoot and early morning schedules beginning at 3 am, “the national award made it all worth it. She says, "women can do anything they want if they are determined. Stree Shakti hai… women are far ahead of men, as they give birth to life."

Jagruti has worked in films, theatre, television serials, documentaries, etc. “Hellaro has been the culmination of my work so far and has yielded phenomenal success…jiska nasha abhi tak hai.”

Costume Designer Niki Joshi did a brilliant job with the costumes of the film to render the rustic appeal it warranted. Ahmedabad-based Niki relocated to Mumbai after marriage. Within a few years, she returned home with son Maurya after ending an abusive marriage. 

TURBANNED THEM ALL: Costume Designer Niki Joshi (centre) with the men of Hellaro

“I was extremely depressed and had no clue what I’ll do with life and would just stay back at home. My father got worried and called a cousin to take me outside the house.” That helped Niki and she started looking for opportunities and a film came her way. “Initially my father was reluctant about me entering the regional film industry. He was worried as I was a single mother and new to the field but mother was very supportive and eventually father agreed too.” 

FAM JAM: Niki (extreme left) with her family and son Maurya (extreme right)

For Hellaro, not only was she entrusted with designing and creating costumes for the cast, she had to do it “in a very short span of time.” Niki took up the project as a challenge and a diversion from a personal crisis she was tackling and…succeeded. “I had roped in local tailors from Bhuj, Anjar, Bhachau, Nakhtrana and Ahmedabad to create the costumes. The coordination was challenging given the shooting was taking place in the middle of the desert in Kutch and with limited resources. At the end, it was all worth it though!” feels Niki Joshi. “Women should believe in themselves, they can do anything,” she adds.

Ahmedabad-based Production Designer Sheel Thakore studied Fine Arts and Advertising before venturing into films. Owing to her interest and brief exposure, she entered the field of art direction starting with television commercials for local brands. Sheel was in charge of “creating the sets for the film, designing colour palettes and supervising the overall look for the film.” Even the tattoos of the female characters were “designed by me and my team,” she says.

AT WORK: Production Designer Sheel Thakore with her team

“It was a difficult task to create the sets as in most interior parts, owing to the surge in infrastructure development all across Gujarat, it was impossible to find a barren spot to double up as Hellaro’s location. We found it near impossible to pinpoint the ideal location that required a vast, uninterrupted view of the desert. We had to go deep into Kutch, in the middle of nowhere, before we found what we wanted.” 

CREATIVE: Sheel roped in local artisans to create the sets

“It was a very challenging project. I had to stay on field supervising set construction, without proper facilities even phone networks that made coordination very difficult.” Sheel too had roped in local artisans from nearby villages such as Kuran, Dhordo to create the huts, mirror work by using locally-available natural material to create the sets. “It took more than a month to complete the set construction.”

Sheel says, “I’d like to tell their families that they should let the women be and let them focus on their lives, especially in their professional careers. My father has been very supportive despite being a single father as my mother died a few years ago. Women need a nurturing environment and they shine.”

It’s notable to mention Jayesh More’s dhol-playing character Mulji that catalyses the liberation of the village women in the film who express their silent rebellion through their garba, otherwise prohibited by the village men. Jayesh went on to win several awards for his portrayal of the character.

Several other actresses matured to a different level during the film-making process and the journey afterwards. These include Shachi Joshi who played Ganga, Denisha Ghumra who played Radha, Brinda Nayak who played Kesar, etc.

All the women cast and crew members of Hellaro came together to overcome personal and professional challenges to deliver a film that millions could identify with. Hellaro’s story is not just about women in a village in Kutch, it’s about overcoming bias, winning gender battles, making a point and succeeding even amidst all odds.

#WomensWeek | Few films have made such an impact with a simple, yet so powerful, approach towards women issues. #Hellaro now evokes interest in the student fraternity across the world, writes Manu Shrivastava on #WomensDay.#IWD2021 #InternationalWomensDay https://t.co/9kBQHtyqcG

— The Draft (@TheDraftWorld) March 14, 2021

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