Hey Ram

Hey Ram is a historical crime drama set against the upheaval of India's independence and partition. Saket Ram, an archaeologist working for the British, lives happily with his wife Aparna and shares a close friendship with his Muslim colleague Amjad Ali Khan. After Amjad leaves, Saket travels to Calcutta with his wife during the violent Direct Action Day riots. In the course of that communal bloodshed, Aparna is raped and killed. Consumed by grief and rage, Saket comes under the influence of Shriram, a Hindu nationalist who leads a militant group. Shriram convinces him that Mahatma Gandhi bears responsibility for the country's suffering, and Saket joins the group, later taking part in a conspiracy to assassinate Gandhi. The film is a period drama examining how personal loss and communal hatred turn into political violence.

Kamal Haasan directed, wrote and produced the film and stars as Saket Ram, his second outing as director after Chachi 420 in 1997. The cast includes Shah Rukh Khan as Amjad, Hema Malini, Rani Mukerji, Vasundhara Das and Girish Karnad, with 41 credited performers in all. It was an expensive venture for its time, with a reported budget of about four million dollars. Audiences on IMDb rate it 8 out of 10 across roughly 15,000 votes, while on TMDB it holds 7 out of 10 from about 65 votes.