Halkaa - 2018

Story

HALKAA is a story about the problem of open defecation. Pichku (Tathastu) lives with his parents (Ranvir Shorey and Paoli Dam) in a chawl. The little boy is ashamed of relieving himself in the open and, in the absence of a toilet at home or in the neighbourhood, prefers to defecate inside his home. This doesn't sit well with his father.

One day, government officials come to the basti in which Pichku lives, to disburse money for building community toilets. The plan is to distribute money among only those people who would use the money for their personal gains rather than to make toilets, after, of course, bribing the officials. Pichku's own father is one such unscrupulous man who is eyeing the government money for his gains.

However, Pichku and his friend, Gopi (Aryan Preet), decide to do the impossible – build a toilet. They accomplish their mission very quietly without telling anyone in the basti. Of course, they seek outside help. Suddenly one day, there's a raid on people who've taken government funds but not utilised the same for constructing a toilet. Pichku's father is the first to be interrogated and faces arrest as he has not used the money to build a toilet.

What happens thereafter is what the film HALKAA is based on.