Hey Ram

The film is about a protagonists journey from religious hatred to love with the theme of the partition of Bengal in the background. Its relevance in the present Indian environment clouded by religious extremism was widely unrecognised. This is the story of Saket Ram, as narrated by his grandson. The film takes place as Ram, a retired archaeologist, lies on the deathbed, on 6 December 1999, the 7th anniversary of the destruction of Babri Mosque in Ayodhya.The movie begins at present day with Saket Ram (Kamal Haasan), an 89-year-old Hindu man at his death bed.

The scene reverts to the past as Saket remembers the 1940s, when he and his good friend, Amjad Ali Khan (Shah Rukh Khan) are archaeologists working together under their boss, Mortimer Wheeler, in Mohenjo-daro (Indus Valley Civilization) in the Sindh province in what was then North-West India. Relations are pleasant between the Indians and the English, and Saket and Amjad do not approve of Partition and the creation of Pakistan. Aparna Ram (Rani Mukerji), Sakets simple Bengali wife, is a school teacher. She lives in Calcutta in the midst of riots and chaos over the issue of the formation of Pakistan and the call by Mohammad Ali Jinnah for Direct Action. Saket goes to Calcutta and is swept into the madness.

In one instance, Saket saves an innocent Sikh girl from the hands of a Muslim gang. When he returns to his house, he finds a group of Muslims entering his house. They brutally rape and murder Aparna. Saket, unable to cope with his tragic loss, kills the Muslims who raped and killed his wife in a fit of rage.Outside his house, he runs into Sriram Abhyankar (Atul Kulkarni), who is part of a Hindu group determined to fight the Muslims malice with similar brute force, and assassinate Gandhi for what they perceive to be his treachery towards Hindu dominated India (Gandhi wanted Hindus and Muslims to co-exist peacefully with hope of winning over the hearts of the rioters through sheer self-pity).

However, Abhyankar and his fellow extremists had lost patience at what they deemed Mahatma Gandhis unreasonable stand to appease Pakistan, who had already invaded Kashmir by that time. Gandhi was pressuring the newly founded Indian state to pay Rs. 620 million to Pakistan and some territorial concessions as well.Urged by family to remarry, Saket weds Mythili (Vasundhara Das). However, on a trip to Maharashtra, he reunites with Abhyankar and becomes a part of his militant organisation that plots to do away with Gandhi.

Due to an horse-riding accident, Abhyankar is left a quadriplegic and has Ram swear that he will carry on his work, that of killing the Mahatma.Saket comes to the belief that Mahatma Gandhi (Naseeruddin Shah) is solely responsible for the division of India and of the two religions and also of having supported whom they viewed as the enemy. Hindu fundamentalists, including Saket, are furious and plot to murder Gandhi. However, Saket, after several incidents surrounding and leading to Amjads death (with whom he reunites briefly in a congested Delhi area), changes his mind about Gandhi. He decides against assassinating the leader, and attempts to beg for forgiveness.

Soon afterwards, Gandhi is killed by another assassin, Nathuram Godse. Ironically, Gandhi dies without his famous last words: Hey Ram! as popularly believed, and as in Richard Attenboroughs film Gandhi.Then on, Saket Ram lives by Gandhian principles. As the 89-year-old Saket Ram is being taken to the hospital, he is told of bomb blasts in the city due to Hindu-Muslim communal riots. He asks Innuma (even now)?.

They are forced by the police to be taken into an underground shelter for their security, but Saket Ram dies there. In his funeral, Gandhijis grandson comes and sees Sakets private room which is full of historical photos. Sakets grandson hands over Gandhis footwear and spectacle which Saket had previously collected from the place of shootout and had treasured it all the while.