Kajol Bishnoi

EDISON, NJ (TIP) – Edison hosted the first US premier of Cheer Haran, a 90-minute Hindi documentary based on Jaat reservation agitation that claimed many lives, paralyzed Haryana and shamed India across the globe last year.

The title reminds us of the heinous incident from the Mahabharata as Last year around mid-February, Haryana was in a similar situation, unguarded and abandoned, when all of a sudden, the JAAT agitation for OBC reservation flared up into a devastating inferno of sectarian violence. Women were allegedly gang-raped by mobs. The film tries to decipher why turned things turned violent, whether the brutality could have been averted?’’

Produced by Twister Entertainment and directed by Kuldeep Ruhil, who was born and brought up in Dahakora village near Rohtak. Ruhil, an actor and writer, says, “The tagline of the movie is ‘February 2016: Haryana lost peace, harmony and 31 kids’ and it peeps into the psyche of people, post agitation.”

The documentary has been shot in Haryana, Delhi and Gurgaon, and has two songs dedicated to those killed in police firing. “We interviewed the affected families, Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Finance Minister Capt Abhimanyu, and officials. We tried to show both sides of this violence,” says Ruhil, who is now based in Mumbai.

As a film maker it’s my duty to prevent and show the reality of Haryana.” On being asked about the reason behind portraying it as a documentary and not a feature film, the director said, “The reason behind the documentary is that a feature could be a statement with conclusion. But that could not be the idea because there would be no exploration otherwise. The documentary serves the reality.” He also added, “You will see that the real victims and survivors are still positive but these reservations has kept alive the cast discrimination. Cheer Haran depicts a true picture of Jaat reservation agitation that claimed many lives and soon to be released in India on over 100 screens.