The film is the story about a group of hostel boys who start a resistance against the institution and the educational system, upon a series of circumstances aimed at pandering to those in power. Of course, it starts with the school canceling the Holi celebration to hold a function to celebrate the founder of the college, mandatory attendance required.
What makes it a lost gem is how most of us don’t know that it was the beginning of many of the currently revered artists. The second film directed by Ketan Mehta, it was the debut film of Aamir Khan (credited as Aamir Hussein), Paresh Rawal , Ashutosh Gowariker, Amole Gupte (writer of Taare Zameen Par), Neeraj Vora, Kitu Gidwani, and also starred Naseeruddin Shah, Om Puri, Deepti Naval, Mohan Gokhale, Shreeram Lagoo.
And it was mainly on the campus of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune and Fergusson College, Pune.
In an interview, Mehta said that the inspiration came from a strike at his alma mater, FTII. “I made Holi in 1984 which was about internalised violence which society imposed upon students,” he said. “There was a strike at FTII when I was a student there. I was reliving the experience through the movie.” Looks like much hasn’t changed.
The film won the National Film Award for Best Cinematography for Jehangir Choudhary in 1985. And you can buy the VCD here.
Or watch in on youtube!