Haider (2014)

• Year: 2014
• Released: 02 Oct 2014
• Country: India
• Adwords: 31 wins & 40 nominations
• IMDb: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3390572/
• Rotten Tomatoes: https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/haider
• Metacritics: https://www.metacritic.com/movie/haider
• Available in: 720p, 1080p,
• Language: Hindi
• MPA Rating: Not Rated
• Genre: Action, Crime, Drama
• Runtime: 160 min
• Writer: William Shakespeare, Basharat Peer, Vishal Bhardwaj
• Director: Vishal Bhardwaj
• Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Tabu, Shraddha Kapoor
• Keywords: revenge, death of father, avenge, kashmir conflict, hamlet,

	8.1/10
	88% – Critics
	86% – Audience

Haider Storyline

Set in the year 1995 in the valley of Kashmir, the movie is Vishal Bharadwaj’s own adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet. A humanitarian and peace-loving doctor who does his profession with honesty is doing his duty in saving the life of a militant. For this act of harboring a terrorist the army and the police department arrest him and lodge him in their control with no traces left of his identity. The doctor’s son tries his best to find out his father, but is shocked to find the reality of the incidents that happened to this effect, about his mother and his paternal uncle. What happens thereon makes Haider’s melancholia.

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Haider Movie Reviews

Vishal Bhardwaj’s Shakespeare Trilogy-part 3:Haider.

January 2014:

Attending a screening of the first ever Lollywood movie which claimed to have been filmed completely in English, (that actually turned out to only be half in English,which thanks to the lack of Subtitles led to me not having a clue what the characters were talking about for half the time!)in the gritty Thriller Waar,I was taken aback by a breath- taking trailer,for what appeared to be a Bollywood adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

December 2014:

After spending the whole of the X-Mas period ill in bed,I decided to make New Years Eve a better event,by trying to track down a DVD of Haider. Stumbling on a news report about there being a court case in India that was attempting to stop the movie coming out on DVD over there,I was happy to discover that the UK DVD of the title was due to come out in 3 days time,which led to me getting ready to finally meet Haider.

The plot:

Returning home after the sudden disappearance of his dad Dr. Hilal Meer during a shoot-out over the separatism of Kashmir, Haider Meeris is surprised to find that instead of being desperate to locate him,his mum Ghazala Meer appears to be having a jolly old time with her brother in law Khurram Meer.Learning that his dad was taken for questioning by the military,Haider gets into contact with a mysterious stranger called Roohdar,who tells Haider that both he and his dad were tortured in a detention camp,which Hilal claimed he was placed in,thanks to Khurram being an undercover informant.Taking a closer look at Khurram and Ghazala’s relationship,Haider begins making plans on getting revenge for their betrayal.

View on the film:

From the opening of the film,the score from composer/singer/co- writer (along with journalist Basharat Peer)/directing auteur Vishal Bhardwaj becomes deeply entwined with the unfolding tragedy being underlined by the industrial hum of Bhardwaj’s score unleashed an extremely strong atmosphere of impending slowly covering the landscape of Kashmir.Keeping away from including any songs designed to make the soundtrack a chart topper,Bhardwaj emphasises the feelings expressed in the score,by making each of the songs (one of which is sung very well by Bhardwaj) lay bare sections of Haider’s personality that are about to fall over the edge.

Filmed entirely on location in Kashmir over 2 harsh seasons, (with the first section being shot during the late autumn season of November-December 2013,and the final part of the title being completed during a freezing winter season of January-February 2014)Bhardwaj and cinematographer Pankaj Kumar beautifully open every wound that the battle scar city has suffered.Placing Haider in a corrupt world filled with death & betrayal,Bhardwaj and Kumar give the first half of the title a stark,washed out appearance,whose clarity increases with Haider sets his eyes towards those who betrayed his dad. Casting a suffocating Film Noir shadow across the title,Bhardwaj & Kumar steam the darkness out of the screenplay by covering the screen in mountains of snow,which along with showing the coldness inside Haider,also reveals the destruction of purity in Haider’s loved ones,as their blood turns the snow a frosty red.

Collaborating with journalist Basharat Peer, (writer of the highly- praised book Curfewed Night: A Frontline Memoir of Life, Love and War in Kashmir)Bhardwaj and Peer make their modern take on Shakespeare’s dialogue one that never feels gimmicky,but precise,and perfectly fitting with the decay that infects Haider.Avoiding any option of taking the film in an easy Bollywood melodrama route,the writers cast a critical eye over Kashmir,with Haider’s revenge tale being used in a mature allegorical manner to show the recurring acts of violence that take place across the Kashmir boarder.Bringing a fresh-face Haider back to Kashmir,the writer’s strike the film with a tremendous intensity,with Haider’s relationship with his family being closely examined ,which allows for the gaps in the relationships to be exposed to a brittle sunlight.Peeling away Haider’s levels of sanity,the writer’s keep an unflinching eye on showing Haider’s toxic revenge engulf all signs of humanity that he possessed.

Shimmering across the screen,Tabu gives a remarkable performance as Haider’s mum,with Tabu showing Ghazala to have a closed-in nature to her surroundings,which leads to Tabu showing the hope on Ghazala’s face that Haider is still her little boy.Bringing the Oedipus complex in Ghazala and Haider’s relationship,Tabu keeps away from any over dramatic notes to instead express Ghazala feelings about her son entirely through body language,with every gesture that she makes towards Haider lingering that little bit too long.Turning down (along with Vishal Bhardwaj) his wage so that every penny could be put on screen, Shahid Kapoor gives an extraordinary,trans-formative performance.Entering the film rather innocently,Kapoor makes Haider’s desire to avenge his dads death an idea whose grip intensity’s,as Haider feels his dad’s shadow wrap around in,as he looks with new eyes at everyone who he has ever known.Sliding Haider into insanity,Kapoor wisely keeps the ghost in Haider’s life on his shoulders,so that no matter how psychotic the character gets,his roots are always laid bare,as Haider wonders to be, or not to be.

Intense, Dark & Thought-Provoking!

A modern-day adaptation of William Shakespeare’s tragedy Hamlet, ‘Haider’, Written, Produced & Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj is an Intense, Dark & Thought-Provoking film! Led by Brilliant Writing, Stunning Direction, Mesmerising Cinematography & Tour-De-Force Performances, ‘Haider’ is certainly a triumph!

‘Haider’ Synopsis: Haider, a poet, returns to Kashmir at the peak of the conflict to seek answers about his disappeared father & ends up tugged into the politics of the state.

‘Haider’ is a story so heartbreaking & disturbing, that it leaves you haunted. The narrative is volatile & completely bleak. ‘Haider’ is certainly not meant for the faint-hearted. This is a daringly unsettling film, that also has moments of violence, that would repulse you instantly.

Basharat Peer & Bhardwaj’s Screenplay is simply brilliant. It talks about the troubles in Kashmir, which reflect on a particular, disjointed family. It tackles an issue that’s dead serious & real. And fortunately, the issue as well as the characters, are powerfully put-up. Bharadwaj’s Direction is Stunning. He has handled the film, exceedingly well. Cinematography is Mesmerising, capturing the magnificent beauty of Kashmir, astonishingly. Bharadwaj, who has also scored the music of the film, gives us tunes that are hummable, yet hammering.

Performance-Wise: Shahid delivers his finest performance to date in ‘Haider’. As the helpless son, who later zeroes on revenge, Shahid embodies Haider & puts up an act, that’s nothing short of remarkable. Tabu, as his long-suffering mother, is absolutely terrific. Her scenes with Shahid, are marvelous. Kay Kay Menon is deliciously wicked, while Shraddha Kapoor is nicely restrained. Narendra Jha is in top-form. Aamir Bashir is ever-effective. Irrfan Khan, in a mysterious & compelling cameo, is flawless.

On the whole, ‘Haider’ is Hardcore Cinema At Its Best! Two Thumbs Up!

Every Frame Beams Of Cinematic Brilliance. ♦ 84%

I have watched both Maqbool and Omkara, and both were as stunning as the literature masterpieces they are based on.

Vishal Bhardwaj has restored the faith in Bollywood. Time and again, he has managed to use his unparalleled chutzpah in filmmaking and bring out the best in his characters and the actors who play them. It would be an understatement to describe his latest venture as celluloid art, because Haider not only flashes stellar performances, direction and score-soundtrack, it defines them. If Haider was to be reviewed and analyzed properly, and yet depicted in few words, I’d say: “Movies gain cult following only years after they release, but Haider does it in hours.”

The main themes are aplenty, but what intrigued me is the thread of sexual conflict that is rampant and clear in Bhardwaj’s Shakespearean trilogy. Omkara was better when it comes to it, but Haider does have its share. Thank Tabu for her enigmatic performance as Ghazala, a mother torn between three men she so credulously believes in. She is the central character and the fountain of plot points splashes from her. Her son Haider (Shahid Kapoor) transforms into a creature after he learns about the ill that played in his Kashmiri family while he was away learning poetry. He then embarks on a journey filled with betrayal, lust, love along with other emotions, terrorism, and insanity. The climax is a perfect rendering conclusion to the eclectic prelude. It is sure food for thought as the titular character reasons with his metamorphosed and troubled mind, and dives into unforeseen solitary.

The writers have used two main under-themes: 1995 Kashmir conflict and ASFPA Act (salute to Irom Sharmila). They loudly beckon the audience closer to understand the story it tries to narrate. With a rapid use of non-linear storyboard, Bhardwaj and Basharat Peer succeed in impacting. With the first frame it is evident what lies in the photography. A landscape of Kashmir in the last decade of 20th century as it bears tumult and tension opens the film and what closes it is the aftermath of both, fiction & non-fiction.

The best thing about Haider is the score and its timing. If it were not for the music, songs and background, Haider would’ve been a mortise locked cocoon of fiber. The garage rock, electronic rock, and elements of gospel music haunts the viewer and along with the pictures they are performed on, your goose-bumping stimuli are sure to get tired. Every time a chord is to be hit in a scene, the music commands it with a beat or a catch or a riff, which enables us to think simultaneously as to what might have led the character to do what it did. Brilliant. Pure brilliant, is such use of score and melody.

Shahid Kapoor exemplifies character portrayal, how he administers the role which takes heavy banging (ah, Hrithik’s Bang Bang is so inferior at the moment) throughout 160 minutes. It may sound easy when your co-actors are so experienced, but Kapoor shows his maverick side of acting (definitely inherited from his father) with Haider. Shraddha is for the first time good and there is this small speck of tinkle in her portrayal as Haider’s lover. The love scenes look original and readily gather moss. I will be ever charmed by Kay Kay Menon and in here he deserves my admiration for his elastic expressions that say more than his physical show. Tabu, like I said shares the limelight with Menon and Kapoor. Irrfan Khan, one of my favorites, is introduced with a piece of music as mystifying as his character build-up.

Songs and their enacting is par excellence. While the romance between Kapoors may add seam to the film, I was in awe with one particular song, “Bismil.” If you observe closely, it outlines the story in five minutes, so the ignorant folks (fans of Salman Khan films or the ones who are all anticipating Farah Khan’s Happy New Year) could get an idea what and how a film is made.

Editing is very good and so is the cinematography. But I wonder if the film could’ve been cut short by few minutes, especially when there is an attribute of monotony in the second half. The final 15 minutes will keep you at the edge of the seat because it has gunshots, grenades and absolution. If someone swirls the magic wand and does manages to find a dull moment in the film, then it will be nullified the next second, because Haider tells a story with so much emphasis and panache, you will leave the theater hall visualizing the sequences and feeling bad for the characters, because we all know, and if you don’t know then you should, that it is all tragedy. Shakespeare was a genius and so is…! Who (all)? You decide!

BOTTOM LINE: Just the best film to come out from Bollywood this year. We have 3 more months to go, but I’m positive and the only competition it has is from Hirani’s P.K.. Lets see.

Can be watched with a typical Indian family? NO

Sex: Mild | Vulgarity/Profanity: Strong | Violence/Gore: Very Strong