Cheer Haran: A film by Kuldeep Ruhil

February 2016, Haryana lost peace, harmony & 31 kids

music & background score SADHU SUSHIL TIWARI & NISHANT SALIL lyricist ROHIT SHARMA editor PRAVEEN ANGRE cinematographer MOHIT KAKODKAR second camera RAJESH VK, ATUL SUPARE & PINTU KUMAR camera attandents SHIVRAJ PUTHRAN, SHIVSAGAR SINGH, VINAY SHUKLA, GOLU, MANOJ & RAVINDER sync sound ANIL LAWRENCE DSILVA sound second unit SHIV MISHRA & RAVI SHARMA sound assistant JYOTI assistant director JANHAVI ASTHANA & SUKRITI RAHUL SHARMA excutive producer AMIT RAI produced by RITU RUHIL & KULDEEP RUHIL directed by KULDEEP RUHIL

Cheer Haran is an attempt to understand & dissect the machenism of any voilent human conflict.

SYNOPSIS

Cheer-Haran (Disrobement ), The very title reminds us of the most heinous incident from the epic, Mahabharat. In the wicked game of dice the Pandavas lose everything including themselves. Prince Duryodhan, once insulted by Draupadi, had harbored the seething desire to humiliate the Pandavas and her. The opportunity presented itself and Duryodhan was not the one to miss that.

His offer to return everything make the Pandavas put their wife Draupadi at stake. The loaded dice again falls in favor of Duryodhan. Upon his command, Dushasana is seen dragging Draupadi into the royal court . Shocked and clueless, Draupadi finds herself standing helpless in the royal court filled with the dignitaries and commoners alike.

Duryodhan orders Dushasan to disrobe her and make her sit on his lap. Dushasan, as if just waiting for the order, attempts to disrobe her and the heinous act of Cheer-Haran starts. Having already surrendered their own sovereignty to Kauravas, Draupadi’s own husbands find their hands tied. Even the veterans and stalwarts like Bheeshma, Karna, Dhritrashtra, Vidur and Dronacharya choose to be mere spectators and turn a blind eye. The very act was disturbing but more disgusting was the fact that not a single person in the court came forward to protect the dignity of a helpless woman. Draupadi, disrobed of her dignity, unguarded and abandoned by everybody until the divine intervention happened.

Last year around mid February, the state of Haryana too found itself in a similar situation, unguarded and abandoned, when all of a sudden, the peaceful Jaat reservation agitation flared up into a devastating inferno of sectarian violence. Sudden incidents of arson and stone pelting made law & order situation worse, properties worth hundreds of crores were destroyed and most disturbing was the fact that nearly 31 youngsters lost their lives and According to the media several women were allegedly gang-raped by uncontrollable mob during this torrid period.

This region, right from the beginning had been famous for its unmatched spirit of harmony and peaceful coexistence. The very term ‘sectarian violence’ was alien to the people of this region but these countless incidence of violence changed everything. The very social fabric of Haryana was in tatters. Just like Draupdi, that spirit of harmony and peaceful coexistence found itself disrobed of its dignity, unguarded and abandoned praying for some divine intervention.

Cheer Haran is an attempt to understand & dissect the machenism of any voilent human conflict.

Violence in any form, be it physical or emotional is unacceptable. All we need to do is to introspect ourselves and stay aware of the fact, what we sow, we reap.

DIRECTORS NOTE

Cheer Haran is an attempt to peep into the psyche of Haryana in the aftermath of Jaat Reservation Agitation 2016. It’s an attempt to decipher the two words Jaat & Reservation and understand why the agitation, all of a sudden, turned horribly violent. Whether the brutality that occurred could have been averted?

It was during 1990 when, for the first time, I heard the term Reservation. TV, newspapers and magazines were overflowing with this term. Just like media, entire India had started appearing divided on the lines of recommendations of Mandal Commission, a committee established by then Prime Minister Mr. Morarji Desai during 1979 to identify socially or educationally backward casts and suggest ways and means to uplift them. For some reasons, best known to the authorities, recommendations made by this commission were overlooked for a decade which witnessed many socio-political upheavals and shift of power centers through democracy.

After defeating Congress, Janta Dal led by Mr. V.P. Singh had come to the power and it was during his tenure that recommendations made by Mandal Commission finally saw the light of the day. By the time anyone could ponder upon the ramifications of those recommendations, unparalleled strings of student protests had erupted all over the country. Students from general classes fortified against it and within no time the ones supporting it took to the streets as well. Clashes were countless, law and order condition throughout the country was in tatters. Attempt of self-immolation by Delhi University student Rajeev Goswami fanned it further. For a 13 year, old kid from a small remote village of Haryana, all this made no sense but ever since any pro or anti reservation news would draw my attention.

After a gap of some 23 years, around 2013, that village lad, now a grown-up man chasing his dream of becoming a film writer-director in the tinsel town of Mumbai, dealt with the terms Reservation and Mandal commission in depth while writing dialogues for a romantic movie set against the backdrop of Anti-Reservation agitation. Research for the project made me go into the details of Mandal commission and history of reservation. Constitution itself and successive governments had categorized the population into brackets of General, Schedule casts (SC), Schedule Tribes (ST) & Other Backward Casts (OBCs). For the first time, I realized what it meant. My country, appearing united, stands divided on the deep invisible lines of religion, casts and tribes.

In 2016, the news flashes captured nation's attention when a peaceful Jaat reservation agitation in Haryana turned violent after three protesting students were shot dead by police firing. Now this was no longer a reservation agitation. Within no time, it had exploded into a ghastly multi-party sectarian violence.

As per government records, 31 people lost their lives throughout the state, hundreds of cores of property got destroyed. Amidst all this devastation, there came a extremely disturbing news, from a small town named Murthal. It was alleged that many women were dragged out of their vehicles to the nearby fields and ganged raped. Because of the violence and such news reports the image of the entire state and its people got tarnished. Haryana was disrobed of its reputation of being a peaceful state.

People like me who despite residing outside, still find themselves attached to the state, were shocked because of such dismal affairs in Haryana. Friends from other regions would throw disturbing questions, how can they stoop so low? Does the prosperous Jaat community needs benefits of reservation? Why are the Jaats so hell bent on getting into the OBC list? Who are the real culprits of pushing a peace-loving state into violence? Many uncomfortable, unanswered questions like these disturbed not just me but thousands of us. I decided to search for the answers and my quest for truth resulted in this documentary.

Violence in any form, be it physical or emotional is unacceptable. All we need to do is to introspect ourselves and stay aware of the fact, what we sow, we reap.

The only devils in the world are those running around in our hearts.

DIRECTOR'S PROFILE

Kuldeep Ruhil, an Actor/Writer/Director is above all a dreamer. Like the stories he pens, his own journey from a small village to the tinsel town is equally fascinating.

Born and brought up in a tiny hamlet named Dahakora near Rohtak, Haryana, a series of unbelievable incidents took Kuldeep to the Department of Indian Theatre, Chandigarh. The liberating city provided the village boy with a rare exposure to various art forms and the world of cinema.

While doing his Masters, Kuldeep found his true calling and realized that he had many stories within that he wanted to see on the silver-screen. Human ideas transformed into films that would touch and tickle the audience, and make them smile as well as think.

His quest brought him to Mumbai where he started as an assistant director. If one is attentive, the grinding process of film-making can educate better than any film school. While assisting, he also developed himself as an actor. To his credit, he has played lead as well as important parts in Hindi & Southern films.

Pursuing his passion of being the story teller, Kuldeep soon started writing screenplays. Unheard stories woven with extraordinary lives and situations of ordinary people. Some that saw the light of the day and some waiting. The dream to bring them to life keeps him awake and his pen rolling, in pursuit of the magic like those who entertained and inspired him.

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