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 harbouring 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.
Language:
Hindi
Running Time:
162 min
Rating:
U/A
Release date:
2 October 2014
Directed by:
Vishal Bhardwaj
Produced by:
Vishal Bhardwaj
Siddharth Roy Kapur
Written by:
Basharat Peer
Vishal Bhardwaj
Based on:
Hamlet by
William Shakespeare
Starring:
Shahid Kapoor
Shraddha Kapoor
Tabu
Narendra Jha
Irrfan Khan
Kay Kay Menon
Music by:
Vishal Bhardwaj
Shot by:
Pankaj Kumar
Editing by:
Aarif Sheikh
Distributed by:
UTV Motion Pictures

What’s Hot

  • Vishal Bharadwaj takes the icing of the cake for having directed this desi adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. His narration comes out as poetic as it can get when it comes to his storytelling and the casting process. Not only has he succeeded in bringing the original essence of the story, but also in bringing out the grim reality that people face in the valley. He has put the motherly emotional blackmailing to wonderful use.
  • Shahid Kapoor as Haider, Shraddha Kapoor as Arshia, Tabu as Ghazala and last but not least, Kay Kay Menon as Khurram, have essayed their roles crisply to live the characters of their Shakespearean counterparts. They all have equally emoted very well throughout the movie, not once during the movie can one find them go wayward.
  • Since the movie is set in Kashmir, we are in for a visual treat from the cinematographer Pankaj Kumar. He has made sure that there is no compromise between his capturing the emotions of the characters or the beauty of the valley, especially the Jhelum.
  • Vishal Bharadwaj the musician for this movie once again scores well for having composed tunes which have aided the narration, with some important messages conveyed through the songs as well. The song ‘Bismil’ rendered by Sukhwinder Singh deserves a special mention.

What’s Not

  • The only downside of the movie is that it slows down a wee bit during and just after the interval. But this can be cast aside as the viewer is in for a treat watching this movie.

Badges

Verdict

Verdict Stamp

In bringing out the struggle that the people of Kashmir faced with the AFSPA and twining it with the plot of Hamlet, Vishal Bharadwaj has managed to take a path less known to not only bring out the realities, but also hold the viewers in its essence and undulations! Haider will remain long to be spoken about for its depiction!