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The Halla Bol Podcast
The Halla Bol Podcast episodes
- Halla Bol | Episode 10: Spreading WingsSafdar is one of the main organisers of the biggest anti-communal campaign — in 1984 — in the history of Delhi. He also begins working in television, just as the video revolution begins in India. He writes his most popular work, the song 'Padhna Likhna Seekho'.51 min
- Halla Bol | Episode 9: KitabenJanam tries to write a play on caste – and fails. Safdar begins writing for children; he writes plays and poems, including the well-known song, Kitaben, on the joys of reading.47 min
- Halla Bol | Episode 8: Hit the StreetsJanam actors are a colourful bunch. Safdar plays a catalyst’s role in getting Ritwik Ghatak’s films to the world. A spectator recalls her first experience of watching a street play. Street theatre spreads rapidly through the country.
Guest starring Amruta Subhash.45 min - Halla Bol | Episode 7: Newspaper of the PoorJanam’s street plays are a hit. Audiences are gobsmacked by this new type of theatre. Safdar starts thinking about the theory of street theatre. In Karnataka, Samudaya pioneers street theatre.42 min
- Halla Bol | Episode 6: Love in the Time of EmergencyJanam is formed in 1973, and the Emergency is declared in 1975. Safdar leaves Delhi, and falls in love. Moloyashree and Safdar get married in 1979.46 min
- Halla Bol | Episode 5: The Growing-Up YearsHow Safdar, like the proverbial grasshopper, joined college only one year after his brother, elder to him by four years. How resistance brewed in a coffee cup. How Safdar and others revived IPTA, and were thrown out of it.57 min
- Halla Bol | Episode 4: Joining JanamSummer, 1987. The young narrator joins Janam and makes a disastrous debut in street theatre. And then discovers that he is a disaster at pretty much everything he tries his hand at. Safdar watches, amused.35 min
- Halla Bol | Episode 3: Farewell, ComradeJanuary 2, 1989: Safdar dies; January 3: Thousands bid him goodbye, in anger and rage; January 4: Janam returns to the site of the attack to complete the interrupted play, led by Moloyashree.30 min
- Halla Bol | Episode 2: Hide and SeekJanuary 1, 1989. Safdar is grievously injured in the attack. Three Janam actors move him from hospital to hospital, to try and save his life. The others escape, or hide. Among them is Moloyashree, Safdar’s wife.49 min
- Halla Bol | Episode 1: The AttackJanuary 1, 1989. A crisp, sunny, winter day, perfect for street theatre. The play is disrupted by a procession. It seems a small enough matter — but isn't.29 min
About The Halla Bol Podcast
From the publisher's feed
Artist and activist Safdar Hashmi's short and rich life is narrated by Sudhanva Deshpande from his book, Halla Bol: The Death and Life of Safdar Hashmi. The podcast features guest actors, archival…
interviews and rare recordings, of even Safdar's own voice.
It was a killing that shocked a nation. On January 1, 1989, the Delhi-based theatre group Jana Natya Manch (Janam) was attacked by political goons while performing its street play Halla Bol. Two people were killed in this attack — a young migrant worker from Nepal, Ram Bahadur, and Janam's charismatic leader, the playwright-actor-director-lyricist Safdar Hashmi. Less than 48 hours after Safdar's death, Janam returned to the scene of the killing and completed the interrupted play — led by Moloyashree, actor, theatre activist and Safdar's wife. In his death, Safdar became an icon — for freedom of expression, for standing up to oppression, for the right to dissent.
हल्ला बोल: सफ़दर हाश्मी की मौत और ज़िंदगी is a book about the luminous life of Safdar Hashmi, written by Sudhanva Deshpande, one of Safdar's closest collaborators. Actor Naseeruddin Shah says of the book: “I was by turns informed, amused, enraged, and deeply moved.”
The Halla Bol Podcast, produced by Ashish Paliwal, is more than a reading of the book. It contains archival interviews, revolutionary songs, plays, Safdar's writings for children, and rare recordings of Safdar's own voice. Safdar's life is narrated over 19 episodes by Sudhanva. Joining him are incredible actors like Naseeruddin Shah as the voice of Habib Tanvir, Ratna Pathak Shah as the voice of Moneeka Mishra Tanvir, and Amruta Subhash as the voice of Kalindi Deshpande. The announcement and credits are read by Sania Hashmi. In a bonus episode, Janam actors read out the script of the play 'Halla Bol'.
Primary language: Hindi | Total episodes: 19 + 1 | Fresh episodes every Tuesday and Friday from April 22 to June 29, 2021.
Credits: Halla Bol is published in English by LeftWord Books, and in Hindi (translation: Yogendra Dutt) by Vaam Prakashan. Production Assistant: Hymanshu Singh. Sound Editor: Dhruv Rai. Photographer: Tapesh Sharma. Graphic design: Sherna Dastur. Recording and mastering: Mohammad Hasan Siddiqui, Hertz Sound Studio, New Delhi. Signature tune: M.D. Pallavi. Audio interviews courtesy: Jana Natya Manch and Sudhanva Deshpande. Thanks to: Kajal Ghosh, Parcham, Jana Natya Manch, Barefoot, Vinutha Mallya, Sameera Iyengar, Hasan bhai's family, Amruta Subhash, Ratna Pathak Shah, Naseeruddin Shah. Directed by: Ashish Paliwal and Sudhanva Deshpande. Produced by: Ashish Paliwal.
Additional credits are mentioned at the end of each episode.
It was a killing that shocked a nation. On January 1, 1989, the Delhi-based theatre group Jana Natya Manch (Janam) was attacked by political goons while performing its street play Halla Bol. Two people were killed in this attack — a young migrant worker from Nepal, Ram Bahadur, and Janam's charismatic leader, the playwright-actor-director-lyricist Safdar Hashmi. Less than 48 hours after Safdar's death, Janam returned to the scene of the killing and completed the interrupted play — led by Moloyashree, actor, theatre activist and Safdar's wife. In his death, Safdar became an icon — for freedom of expression, for standing up to oppression, for the right to dissent.
हल्ला बोल: सफ़दर हाश्मी की मौत और ज़िंदगी is a book about the luminous life of Safdar Hashmi, written by Sudhanva Deshpande, one of Safdar's closest collaborators. Actor Naseeruddin Shah says of the book: “I was by turns informed, amused, enraged, and deeply moved.”
The Halla Bol Podcast, produced by Ashish Paliwal, is more than a reading of the book. It contains archival interviews, revolutionary songs, plays, Safdar's writings for children, and rare recordings of Safdar's own voice. Safdar's life is narrated over 19 episodes by Sudhanva. Joining him are incredible actors like Naseeruddin Shah as the voice of Habib Tanvir, Ratna Pathak Shah as the voice of Moneeka Mishra Tanvir, and Amruta Subhash as the voice of Kalindi Deshpande. The announcement and credits are read by Sania Hashmi. In a bonus episode, Janam actors read out the script of the play 'Halla Bol'.
Primary language: Hindi | Total episodes: 19 + 1 | Fresh episodes every Tuesday and Friday from April 22 to June 29, 2021.
Credits: Halla Bol is published in English by LeftWord Books, and in Hindi (translation: Yogendra Dutt) by Vaam Prakashan. Production Assistant: Hymanshu Singh. Sound Editor: Dhruv Rai. Photographer: Tapesh Sharma. Graphic design: Sherna Dastur. Recording and mastering: Mohammad Hasan Siddiqui, Hertz Sound Studio, New Delhi. Signature tune: M.D. Pallavi. Audio interviews courtesy: Jana Natya Manch and Sudhanva Deshpande. Thanks to: Kajal Ghosh, Parcham, Jana Natya Manch, Barefoot, Vinutha Mallya, Sameera Iyengar, Hasan bhai's family, Amruta Subhash, Ratna Pathak Shah, Naseeruddin Shah. Directed by: Ashish Paliwal and Sudhanva Deshpande. Produced by: Ashish Paliwal.
Additional credits are mentioned at the end of each episode.