''Halo'' is a 1996

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by

Santosh Sivan Santosh Sivan (born 8 February 1964) is an Indian cinematographer, film director, producer and actor known for his works in Malayalam, Tamil and Hindi cinema. Santosh graduated from the Film and Television Institute of India and has to dat ...

. It tells the story of how the loneliness in Sasha, a seven-year-old girl's life is filled by her puppy Halo. When Halo gets lost, Sasha aims to find him at any cost. Sasha's search for her puppy on the Byzantine streets of

Mumbai Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...

leads her down a rabbit hole as she encounters one idiosyncratic person after another.

Plot

The film starts with the school's nun-teacher (Mehr Vakil) being frustrated at the ringing of the school bell, which indicates the end of school and the start of summer vacation. The story then turns to Sasha (

Benaf Dadachandji Benaf Dadachanji is an Indian actress, working in Hindi television. She is known for her role as Radhika "Baby" Thakkar, a physically disabled young girl, in the TV series ''Baa Bahoo Aur Baby''. Early life and career Born in Mumbai, she di ...

), a motherless child who yearns of a mother's love despite having Mr. Deshpande (

Rajkumar Santoshi Rajkumar Santoshi is an Indian film director, producer and screenwriter of Hindi films. Having received several accolades including three National Film Awards and six Filmfare Awards, he made his directorial debut with the crime film ''Ghayal ( ...

), her doting father who works as a

criminal lawyer A criminal defense lawyer is a lawyer (mostly barristers) specializing in the defense of individuals and companies charged with criminal activity. Some criminal defense lawyers are privately retained, while others are employed by the various ...

. Her friend Thomas (

Kavin Dave Kavin Dave (born 12 November 1984) is an Indian film and television actor. He works in Bollywood and Gujarati films. Dave made his big screen debut in the movie ''Mumbai Meri Jaan'' in 2008. This was followed by further successful films includ ...

) has gone to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

to undergo a surgery. During vacation, while all the other kids are busy playing, Sasha sits silently, not eating. So, a servant fabricates a story that a

miracle A miracle is an event that is inexplicable by natural or scientific lawsOne dictionary define"Miracle"as: "A surprising and welcome event that is not explicable by natural or scientific laws and is therefore considered to be the work of a divin ...

will happen in form of a halo. A street dog comes along and Sasha believes it to be the miracle, the God-sent halo. She adopts it and names it Halo. Sasha's life now revolves around the dog. She sleeps, drinks, and eats with him. Her father doesn't object, even though he doesn't like dogs. Her father, through a Satyavadi and following the principles of

Gandhiji Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

, observes a fast. One day, Halo goes missing, and Sasha searches inside and outside for him but to no avail. She first asks the police commissioner (

Mukesh Rishi Mukesh Rishi (born 19 April 1956) is an Indian actor and film producer who works primarily in Hindi and Telugu films. He has also appeared in Malayalam, Kannada, Punjabi, Marathi and Tamil films. He got his first break in Hindi in 1988 and has ...

) who uses her for his own plan to capture a gang of notorious

smugglers Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

led by Smuggler Raja (

Tinu Anand Tinu Anand (born Virender Raj Anand, 12 October 1945) is an Indian actor, director, writer and producer in Hindi cinema and a few Telugu and Tamil films. Early life He is the son of veteran writer Inder Raj Anand, brother of producer Bittu ...

). However, the credit for capturing the smugglers goes to Sasha. She also gets help from Ranga (Wasim Khan), a leader of a group of street urchins. Eventually, she finds Halo under the care of an old couple (Dr. B. M. Banerji and Mrs. Banerji) with their

physically disabled A physical disability is a limitation on a person's physical functioning, mobility, dexterity or stamina. Other physical disabilities include impairments which limit other facets of daily living, such as respiratory disorders, blindness, epilepsy ...

grandson Abdul (Yazad Mohedji). At the end of the movie, Sasha happily gives the dog to Abdul.

Cast

as Sasha Deshpande * Bulang Raja as Anil *

as Advocate Deshpande, Sasha's father *

Pooja Punjabi Puja or Pooja may refer to: Religion *Puja (Hinduism), a ritual to host, honor or of devotional worship, or one to celebrate an event *Puja (Buddhism), expressions of honour, worship and devotional attention * Puja, a wooden stick, sometimes leat ...

as Mamta *

as Police Commissioner *

as Smuggler Raja *

Harish Patel Harish Patel (born 5 July 1953) is an Indian character actor. He has appeared in a variety of Hindi films, but in recent years has begun to appear in American projects like reimagination of ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' on Hulu. His latest pr ...

as Astrologer *

Mehr Vakil Mehr or Mihr may refer to: Persian names * Mehr, an alternative name for Mithra, a Zoroastrian divinity * Mehr (month), the seventh month of the year and the sixteenth day of the month of the Iranian and Zoroastrian calendars * Mehr's day, or ...

as Nun *

Dolly Chainani Dolly may refer to: Tools *Dolly (tool), a portable anvil * A posser, also known as a dolly, used for laundering * A variety of wheeled tools, including: **Dolly (trailer), for towing behind a vehicle **Boat dolly or launching dolly, a device f ...

as Girl 1 *

Tamana Gulrajani Tamana may refer to: * Tamana, Kiribati, an island * Tamana, Kumamoto is a city located in Kumamoto Prefecture, Japan. The city was founded on April 1, 1954. As of the October 3, 2005 merger (but with 2008 population estimates), the city has an ...

as Girl 2 *

Vinita Chainani Vinita may refer to: People * Vinita Bali (born 1955), Indian businesswoman, Managing Director of Britannia Industries * Vinita Gupta (born 1969), Indian-born American businesswoman, founder of Digital Link Corporation * Vinita Joshi, Indian tel ...

as Girl 3 *

Supriya Pathak Supriya Pathak (born 7 January 1961) is an Indian actress who works in Gujarati and Hindi films and television. She has received multiple awards including three Filmfare Awards for Best Supporting Actress. She is mostly popular for playing the ...

as Mother * Chintu Mahapatra as Chintu * Dimple Ghosh as Lata *

Mr. Punjabi ''Mister'', usually written in its contracted form ''Mr.'' or ''Mr'', is a commonly used English honorific for men without a higher honorific, or professional title, or any of various designations of office. The title 'Mr' derived from earlier ...

as Doctor * Poocha as Tiger *

as Thomas * Marukh Dadachandji as Thomas's mother * Sahil as TV Host of BadBad talk show * Anamika Ghosh as Videographer * Dipankar as Prabhu Deva * Goldie Singh as Goldie * Ajit as Tabla Player * Ashok Narayan as Mr. Pappu, the 99-year-old man *

Halo Halo, halos or haloes usually refer to: * Halo (optical phenomenon) * Halo (religious iconography), a ring of light around the image of a head HALO, halo, halos or haloes may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Video games * ''Halo'' (franch ...

as Halo * Farookh Dadachandji as Veterinarian * Bala (Nandlal) as Newspaper Editor * Prakash Mahapatra as Assistant Newspaper Editor * Sagar as Photographer * Kanika Nandlal as Secretary * Suhas Gujrathi as Office Boy * Suresh Bhagwat as Dog Catcher * Vijay Khote as Constable 1 * Anand as Constable 2 * Ajay as Constable 3 * Snehendra as Constable 4 * Abdulkayyam as Journalist * Anil Sharma as Smuggler 1 * Javed Khan as Washer Boy * Babu as Ranga's Assistant *

Wasim Khan Wasim Gulzar Khan (born 26 February 1971) is a former British cricketer who was the first British-Pakistani player to play professional cricket in England. He was a left-handed batsman who also bowled right arm medium pace. Khan's family, or ...

as Ranga * Dr. B. M. Banerji as Old Man * Mrs. Banerji as Old Woman * Yazad Mohedji as Abdul * Sajana Sivam as Kid in Riots

Awards

*1996:

National Film Award for Best Children's Film The National Film Award for Best Children's Film is one of the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, India. It is one of several awards ...

*1996: National Film Award – Special Jury Award / Special Mention (Feature Film) –

*2001: Filmfare Award for Best Film (Critics)

Public viewing

''Halo'' was first released on

Children's Day Children's Day is a commemorative date celebrated annually in honor of children, whose date of observance varies by country. In 1925, International Children's Day was first proclaimed in Geneva during the World Conference on Child Welfare. Sin ...

in 1996 on

Doordarshan Doordarshan (abbreviated as DD; Hindi: , ) is an Indian public service broadcaster founded by the Government of India, owned by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and one of Prasar Bharati's two divisions. One of India's largest bro ...

References

External links

*
Official website from the Children's Film Society, India
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Halo (1996 Film) 1996 films Indian children's films 1990s Hindi-language films Best Children's Film National Film Award winners Films that won the Best Audiography National Film Award Films about dogs Films directed by Santosh Sivan Films about pets