User reviews

Khan's death is a tragedy, but at least it led me to this absolute knock-out. A faithfully complex modern rendering of Hamlet, exploring the terrifying psychology of vengeance, guilt & forgiveness. However, that description doesn't do justice to how urgent the film is. Kapoor, who's like an Indian Tom Hardy, gives a lead performance for the ages, commanding every moment he's on screen, a screen filled with strikingly crisp & harrowing visuals.

So, hours after I have finished watching the best movie to have come out this year( by a margin), I am finally in a condition to write anything about it. I am going to stick my neck out and say, Haider is the best work of Vishal Bhardwaj till date.

There is no doubt, that for a story driven by passion, revenge, love and power, where emotional dispute forms the core of it, no land other than Kashmir, which has been living under the clouds of dispute ever since, would have been a better choice as the setting for the adaptation.

The film is haunting and engrossing. It seamlessly adapts Hamlet and at the same time creates unforgettable characters of its own and makes us see a complex world through their eyes. I can't recall any other film which has completely been shot in the valley and surely none depicting it in all it's glory.

The film takes off with the event around which the actions of all the the players of the movie would revolve. One gets only the first hour to get to know the basic nature of the characters as platform for the mind blowing second half is being built. At the cusp of the interval when an ever assured Irrfan Khan makes an intriguing entry, you only get a hint of things to come.

The second half unleashes on you Shahid Kapur, who for the first time in his career shows glimpses of Pankaj Kapur. Those three minutes ( you would know which when you watch it ) where Shahid displays what all he is capable of, are those you would want to watch again and again. Kay Kay Menon is now a veteran and he doesn't disappoint.The only weak link to this extraordinary cast could have been Shraddha Kapoor, but she surprises everyone with a very composed yet captivating presence on screen. The heart of the film lies in the eyes of Tabu who makes the movie as deep as the depth of her eyes and as intensely beautiful as her voice. As we hear that Vishal Bhardwaj was not ready to make the film without Tabu, you will believe it once you have watched the film.

There is no way you can expect anything short of the best from the dialogues and music, when Gulzar Saab and VB themselves are at helm and they ensure that you do not fall off track even for a moment. A cinematographer can hardly mess it up when you are shooting in paradise. After a brushstroke in Rockstar and a miniature art-piece in Lootera, we get to seethe full painting of Kashmir in Haider. There are enough funny spots in this dark tale of complex emotions,thanks to the fact that Salman Khan had long hair during the period the movie is set.

The film has various undertones which were obviously part of the play as well. It would have required a director and screenwriter who is at the peak of his direction and writing skills to have made it happen. The dexterity with which Vishal Bhardwaj has been able to pull it off shows us why he is probably the best in the business in India. I feel, it requires at least another watching before one can completely absorb the enormity of the work that has been created.

Salute Vishal 'Bard'waj. Go get Haidered because rarely do you get a chance to read literature on screen.

Shahid kapoor has hit the bull's eye this time with haider. The ease with which he unveils the character of Hamlet on screen needs an OUT- standing ovation. He has exploited all his talent in the movie and has left no stone unturned. The other eye catching character is the protagonist's mother and I guess no one could have dine it better than Tabu. She has been a brilliant actress and again proves her mettle here. Kay Kay menon and Irrfan Khan are as always superb. Shraddha kapoor is sweet but does not have much to do. Overall, to go or not to go is not a question at all. It's a must watch and undoubtedly the best movie of year 2014 till now.

HAIDER to me is an acronym that means the following:

H. Haunting. Be it in its background score, music, lyrics, playback (especially Rekha Bharadwaj, Sukhwinder Singh, and Arijit Singh), cinematography, or backdrop of Kashmir in 1995, Haider is Haunting, and how! The film will stay with you long after you have left the theater.

A. Astounding. Haider is an astoundingly adept adaptation of a classic written almost 415 years ago that can be enjoyed irrespective of your knowledge about the Shakespearean Tragedy - Hamlet. If you don't know Hamlet, great! You do? Even better!

I. Incredible. Haider is incredible - in terms of its performances. Be it that of Shahid Kapoor (Haider/Hamlet) who performs a complex role with the kind of award worthy chutzpah that should silence all his detractors once and for all. Or for that matter the the triumvirate of Tabu (Halala/Gertrude) - ethereal, dauntless, and supreme, Kay Kay Menon (Khurram/Claudius) - terrific, resolute, and subtle or Irfan Khan (Rooh/The Ghost of Hamlet's father) - rudimentary and underplayed. Not to be forgotten is Shraddha Kapoor (Aarshi/Ophelia) who pitches in a performance that is 'picture'esque perfect and so full of finesse. And of course the two Salman Khan's who are fans of the superstar and who will surely gain some fans of their own post this film. In fact, every single member of the cast pitches in a perfect performance here, irrespective of the role and duration.

D. Daring. Haider is daring in talking about issues that many wouldn't touch with a bargepole and for the way it has juxtaposed a Shakespearean tragedy with a human tragedy - Kashmir. The valley is a character here that finally finds a voice of its own. The interpretations of that voice are truly brilliant.

E. Effective. Sometimes experimentation and reinterpretations fail. Not here. With layer upon layer waiting for the audience to be interpreted (for example the touch of Oedipal complex between a mother and son, the growing of guilt of a well meaning lover, the song of the gravediggers, the examples of 'Chutzpah' and its comparison with AFSPA etc). Haider is effective on multiple levels and truly faultless in its execution.

R. Rooh (Spirit/Soul). This is a film with an indomitable spirit that filmmakers would die to include in their body of work, and which Vishal Bharadwaj effectively manages to in this lifetime. This film has that which many a masterpiece may sometimes lack - a soul. A terrific triumph encompassing its soulful music, soul stirring performances, and soul warming message.

In short - watch Haider - in a theater. For Vishal Bharadwaj, the Director/Composer/Writer. For Shahid, the rising prince. For Tabu the eternal Queen. For Gulzar, the lyricist. For the cinematography by Pankaj Kapoor and the editing by Aarif Sheikh. And finally for Kashmir, the unforgettable voice of humanity.

When films transmute William Shakespeare's poetic imagery and the atmosphere that his verses conjure into re-imagined, re- contextualized visuals, and not merely reproduce the action with select dialogues, a movie adaptation of a Shakespeare play can be considered successful. That is why, thought British film scholar Roger Manvell, Shakespeare often translates best in what he considered "foreign films". The setting is one of the reasons Haider, Vishal Bhardwaj's adaptation of Hamlet, works. It is true to the haunting ambiguity of the characters' motives in the original play, Shakespeare's most opaque of tragedies, but the Kashmir canvas is potent. Bhardwaj's visual intelligence and the screenplay by Bhardwaj and Basharat Peer, one of India's acute commentators on Kashmir, his home state, add to the effective localization. Shakespearean purism aside, Haider is a thrilling film. It is a film of luxuriant paranoia. It is about Oedipal love. Unlike the cardboard insurgency imagery or images of damaged beauty that soak most films about Kashmir, Haider is an unflinching take on the Kashmir malaise, the tragedy infused with a sense of dark humor about the ordinary Kashmiri's hopelessness. Compared to Bhardwaj's earlier two Shakespeare adaptations, Maqbool (Macbeth) and Omkara (Othello), both of which depended heavily on language and dialogues and used Shakespeare's stories rather conveniently to propel the plot, Haider is a quieter yet richer spectacle and a convincing standalone piece. Bhardwaj chooses bold strokes over gloomy introspection, and in that sense, Haider is in the tradition of mainstream Hindi cinema. The picturization of songs is riveting to watch (Pankaj Kumar's cinematography is breathtaking throughout, and especially in the songs) and the songs are some of Bhardwaj's best compositions as a music director in recent times. The melodrama towards the end loosens the narrative and the last half hour feels like a bit of a drag, again a typical affliction in Hindi films. The protagonist is far from the melancholy Dane; Haider, which Shahid Kapoor plays with impressive zest and inventiveness, is more a dashing, combustible figure than a brooder. Bhardwaj also does away with the supernatural horror so integral to the original play, and which can be an easy tool for creating suspense and drama in cinema. The horror is in the everyday macabre reality of death, loss and waiting, and in the manipulation of a Kashmiri Muslim's emotions and insecurities. Haider (Kapoor) arrives in the Kashmiri village he left long ago to study at Aligarh after his father, a doctor, has disappeared. His mother Ghazala (Tabu) is romantically close to his father's younger brother (Kay Kay Menon). Arshi (Shraddha Kapoor), his childhood sweetheart, is torn between her pro-Indian establishment family and Haider, who is devastated to see his mother's sudden transformation. His idyllic childhood with parents seemingly in love is shattered. When Roohdar (Irrfan Khan), a mysterious man with a limp sends him a message from his lost father, Haider is on a destructive path of jealousy, hatred, turmoil and doubt. Central to the story is the relationship between Ghazala and Haider— a tender as well as anguished bond between mother and son, fueling the film as essentially an Oedipal drama. The romantic love between Arshi and Haider is almost a sweet afterthought. The casting ideas work impressively well. Kay Kay Menon stands out as a superbly calculating man, the villain in Haider's mind, and Tabu makes a heart-rending Ghazala. Shraddha Kapoor delivers an earnestly fervent performance and Irrfan Khan is pitch perfect as a quietly menacing presence, the only personification close to a ghostly apparition. Salman Khan is here too, in a deliciously manufactured ode to the Hindi film hero through Salman and Salman, Haider's friends and a pair of all-round crooks, an interesting replication of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern from the original play. Haider is an immensely effective re imagination of Shakespeare—and the film's biggest triumph is that the provincial, in this case Kashmir and the characters defined by its reality, shine in a universal and timeless tragedy

Less cinematic & more theatrical!

This movie seriously has too much! And too much of everything..

The psychic-eccentric character of Haider in so many ways resembles Prithvi Bana (Gulaal) and has deeper connotation to the character's get-up & dialogs, some which can stay with us for long and make us get deeper into it every time we check it again!

The '3 old men firing snipers' is the best western scene I've seen in Indian Cinema. Sergio Leone feel!

The 'Bismil' sequence: Wow! What an achievement in theatrics in cinema! The best theatrical sequence since 'Jaane bhi do Yaaro' I would say! Much more than a song; it is a sequence that gets things out of control and sets the pace of the movie in the second half...

'Aao Na Grave-digging' sequence is yet another beauty & I spurted out laughing crazily for some minutes! 'O Brother! Where Art Thou' feel!

'Haider Stand-up Performance' is bloody good & gets metamorphic!

Emotional turmoil handled in a spectacular way. The confrontation that the characters 'Haider', 'Arshia' & 'Ghazala' face is shown in an epic way… The confrontation ignited by the dominant society for so-called larger good (haha…)

And what if this confrontation is prevalent everywhere in the society around you and there's a very thin line between being a 'friend of the society' or an 'enemy of the society'? Things get out of proportion and messy and sad and brutal and bloody…

A brutal take on the Kashmir dilemma. I haven't experienced it in a better way...

Super metaphorical mimicry on 'AFSPA' & 'Chutspa'

Music that would just perfectly blend & leave deep impression!

Power-packed performances make this movie an epitome of talent showcase… I guess we get such output when the director doesn't compromise at all and expects nothing less than perfection in each aspect, in each sense… And he eats, sleeps, drinks, thinks, trips just this movie for a very long time in life… But however he does it, VB delivers something par excellence… Has to be a super ambitious work!

Mile stones in Hindi Cinema: 1. Gulaal & Haider 2. Maqbool 3. Gangs of Wasseypur and so on and so forth

Right at the top for now! Wow!

Haider is the latest offering from the renowned Indian filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj. Co-written by Basharat Peer and Bhardwaj himself, Haider is the third and final chapter in Bhardwaj's Shakespeare trilogy. Having already made successful adaptations of Macbeth (Maqbool, 2003) and Othello (Omkara, 2006), Bhardwaj was left with the choice of adapting either King Lear or Hamlet to complete his trilogy. He opted for the latter because of the presence of a strong sexual undercurrent in the source material—a motif that harks back to the first two films of the trilogy. The uncanny choice of Kashmir of the 1990s—a treacherous avenue of unparalleled beauty and unfathomable danger where people just disappear, never to return again—as the movie's backdrop proves to be a stroke of pure genius as it helps Bhardwaj in orchestrating an enchanting mise-en-scène that elevates an otherwise sprawling orgy of histrionics to the realms of realism.

By the mid-1990s, Kashmir had taken the form of a like a spewing volcano, a ticking time bomb ready to go kablooey at any given moment. The terrorist insurgency in the Kashmir valley had started to pose a serious threat to India's sovereignty and the army had to be given a carte blanche so as to guard the country against any possible threat from both within and as well as outside the country. The people of Kashmir started seeing the growing military activity in the region as a violation of their basic rights. The separatist leaders saw this as a golden opportunity to galvanize the masses against the state and started adding fuel to fire as the valley got encompassed in a miasma of mistrust. Although, the situation has improved significantly over the last decade, a lot of work still needs to be done before the conflict can be fully resolved. Bhardwaj's film also leaves a strong message not only for people of Kashmir but for all humanity that nothing can be gained through revenge and in the absence of trust.

Adapting a work of Shakespeare is no kid's play. Even the most experienced campaigners can falter if their ambition gets the better of them. The key to adapting any major work of literature is to be wary of one's limitations. Haider is far from being called a perfect adaptation of Hamlet. But, Bhardwaj, to his credit, gets the job done. There are moments of sheer brilliance but there is also a lot of drivel which could have easily been chopped off. Haider has all the makings of an epic but it faces some serious pacing issues towards the second half. Also, the narrative appears to be sketchy at some places. But, that's the price that one must be willing to pay for one's ambition.

One of the main themes of Hamlet is chaos. This chaos is most evident in the play's central character who, in many ways, is a personification of confusion and duality. His highly complex, fascinating albeit bizarre nature makes him a singular character in all literature, endowed with contradictory traits that fade the lines that separate virtue and vice, heroism and villainy, and sanity and madness. In Haider, Vishal Bharadwaj and Shahid Kapoor try their best to grapple with the endless contradictions that define Hamlet's multidimensional character. Oedipus complex is another major theme that runs through Hamlet. The term Oedipus complex denotes the subconscious emotions and ideas that focus upon a child's desire to have sexual relations with the parent of the opposite sex. In Haider the syndrome is both latent and nuanced in comparison to the play.

Haider not only serves as a decent adaptation of Hamlet, but it also proves to be a powerful socio-political commentary on Kashmir of the 1990s. Without the Kashmir angle, Haider would have appeared more empty and existential, with the Shakespearean characters merely playing their parts in a bid to reach the end of the trail. But, with Kashmir as its backdrop, it almost comes across as a propaganda films that aims to serve as a bitter reminder of our not too distant past. Haider is a warning of how easily the youngsters can be brainwashed and led astray by anti-national elements if the state machinery fails to look after them.

While the acting is brilliant all around, it is Tabu who steals the show with a multilayered portrayal that would have guaranteed her an Oscar had Haider been a Hollywood production. Shahid Kapoor's performance in Haider is not perfect but is easily the best of his career, and it comes as no big surprise as Bhardwaj has a reputation to get the best out of his actors. Kay Kay Menon plays his detestable part with the desperation of a mangy scoundrel. Shraddha Kapoor serves well as an eye candy, but, beyond that, not much can be said of her acting. Irrfan Khan is brilliant as ever in the limited screen time that he gets. While the entire support cast does a reasonable job, Narendra Jha, who impresses in the role of Haider's father, deserves a special mention.

Overall, Haider is a dark, distorted and diabolical work of cinematic art that falls well short of attaining perfection. At regular intervals, Bhardwaj tries to lighten up the mood perhaps to satisfy the cravings of the casual viewers. Needless to say, the movie is technically brilliant: cinematography, editing, and music are all at par with the international standards. The movie has several memorable sequences but the ones that stand out are: Shahid Kapoor's monologue, the sequence in which Haider brutally kills his captors, and the final graveyard sequence which may prove to be a real trendsetter as far as Hindi cinema is concerned. Haider is not meant for casual viewers for it will test their patience to the limit. As far as the intelligent viewers are concerned, the movie offers enough food for thought to keep them engaged. Highly recommended!

For more, please visit, A Potpourri of Vestiges.

Macbeth, Othello, and now Hamlet. Vishal Bharadwaj does it once again, by re-imagining Shakespeare in a very gritty Indian milieu. This time it is the Kashmir of 1995 in throes of militancy.

The instruments Vishal Bharadwaj used for Maqbool and Omkara, are far sharper this time around. The songs are very rustic, and completely of the type to be found in street plays (not even a symbolic nod to Bollywood or a titillation to the audiences with a Bidi). The sense of suspense even sharper (even with a story with a basis as well known as Hamlet). The characters continue to be just as eccentric as in Omkara. And death once again continues to be not an infrequent visitor just like with Omkara. Yet the context is more sombre. And the whole scenario of militancy IMO dealt with quite responsibly with (what I would imagine to be) a good sense of reality.

Not everything is wonderful. On the acting front, Tabu is impressive but understated. Shahid Kapur does well by his standards, but every so often I used to wonder how much better Pankaj Kapur would've done in some of the scenes. Shraddha Kapoor manages the role of pretty innocence well enough, but will probably cringe when she watches her own histrionics. Kay Kay Menon, and Irfan Khan of course are a pleasure to watch, but this is not their best film. While the songs aim to dramatise, I found them underwhelming and unnecessarily melodramatic in this context, Also the film is just a tad too long and could've been shortened by 15-20 minutes.

Be prepared to see a Kashmir which does not look the swiss alps but still deserves to be considered amongst the most beautiful places on earth. This kashmir is a little raw. And forms the milieu for two concurrent threads, one the intra family drama which is the very essence of Hamlet, and the general environment of militancy and counter insurgency. Moreover the plot moves at a fairly measured pace and manages to retain the interest and fascination. It might surprise you (after my earlier paragraph), but these are the reasons why I would classify the movie to be a must watch.

Yeah, go watch this, this is not to be missed, any complaints you might've notwithstanding.

The movie Haider, as most of you would be aware of is an adaptation of Shakespeaes' Hamlet. It does help if you have read the original work ,but believe me there is nothing in the movie which you cannot understand if you have not read it.In fact if you have not read it till now,its better because the story would be anew to you.

Set in Kashmir it takes the essence of problems faced in Kashmir valley due to insurgency and counterinsurgency measures though it doesn't focus on the problem alone. In a broad sense this movie is about search of a father by a son and subsequent events which leads him nearer towards revenge.

First of all the movie is not everybody's cup of tea. You've to be very patient throughout to get the real pleasure out of it. The film is slow paced so as to draw you into it, just like an old wine. And, like an old wine you are supposed to sip it and not drink it in a hurry.

The ensemble actor list is itself worth mentioning from Shahid ,Shradhha,Kulbhushan Kharbanda to the talented KK Menon,Tabu and of course the ever reliable Irfan Khan. Their performance is indeed flawless in the movie.The relationships are well portrayed ,the agony and trauma well expressed and the hate ,betrayal ,action scenes well-choreographed and scripted(especially the action sequence in the last scene). The only fault I could find in the acting department is that because of the presence of so many good actors (though the movie has good runtime still) much is left to be desired especially from Irrfan Khan whose performance is too succinct for an actor of his caliber.

As said earlier, the movie is slow paced but the script doesn't fail the plot often. There is hardly anytime where you find yourself napping in the movie. Songs are good especially Arjit Singhs voice again creates magic with 'khul kabhi'.Cinematography, background score(which sometimes sound like Bourne trilogy) are also good. Accent training for the actors could have been better as anyone who has visited Kashmir for even a short duration would find only the two Salmaans accent to be genuine. But then it is a minor fault in a movie a cut above rest.

If you are patient and could immerse yourself in the plot ,then the movie holds a lot of promise for you. But wont recommend to those who could not find tickets for another movie or those who want to have party time without application of brain.It is certainly not the best work you will ever see, but certainly a cut above rest, deserving a watch.

Haider as a must-watch, as it has a phenomenal story, which is backed up by amazing performances by every actor but Shahid Kapoor shines in this movie, this is his best performance as of now. Despite that, I got bored a few times, but then I instantly got interested, and this happened a few times throughout the movie.

Vishal is one of my Fav. directors. His Omkaara and Maqbool are my fav movies. I respect his film making a lot and wish there were of his kind in Bollywood. I have liked Shahid in past, esp in Kaminey. Although he makes wrong choices in his movies but when I found he would be in Haider, it made me happy.

I don't think we have any praise left for Tabu, KK and Irrfan. They are marvelous.

Now Haider! Well I have seen Hamlet, as Kenneth Branagh comes pretty close to actual play. Its such a mammoth. I love Hamlet's soliloquy and thats what makes Hamlet good for me. Now Haider has that missing and whatever little was there was a bit disjointed. Initial part of movie is pretty weak, Shahid's performance in first half is very ordinary. Things change in second half, and Shahid has done a splendid job. Movie suddenly gets on with business and breathes again. I did not find Haider's descent into madness that convincing at all. I think VB still bit a more than he could chew. In past he has done brilliant and perfect job of taking these plays and making them even better and more desi. But this time, it did not work that well.

So I have rated movie at 6/10, although 6.5 but that was not possible on this IMDb scale. Btw best thing about movie was Bismil song and Aao Na, I wish there were more of these.

Firstly, I am constantly surprised at the high ratings Bollywood movies seem to garner on IMDb. 8.8 for this, really? That's at par with Schindler's List, Matrix, Forrest Gump and Inception, and this movie is definitely not quite there. I would rate it a 6.5 as an international film, it has some good acting and interesting improvisations, but then its a flawed gem and not quite in a good way.

Let's start with the story. It's an ambitious project that seeks to translate the madness and greyness of Hamlet on-screen. Not many directors would be confident enough to take on and experiment with Shakespeare's most- studied and obsessive, self-destructive anti-hero. But Vishal Bharadwaj has been successful with adaptations of Macbeth (Maqbool) and Othello (Omkara) in the past, and, well, Maqbool remains his best work till date. Haider's execution is tame by comparison - a let-down when you consider the explosive pot-boiler of murder, madness, rage, revenge, recklessness, betrayal, blood and incest that the original play offers.

The decision to model the decaying state of erstwhile Denmark, and its phase in-between transfer of powers, on Kashmir is double-edged. Kashmir fits, but any storyline with Kashmir will always have to compete with the real-life tragedy of Kashmir - a compelling story of loss and loyalties in itself. Shahid Kapoor as Haider/ Hamlet is simply not good enough to bring focus back from Kashmir and its bleakness. In fact, his performance is easily trumped by Tabu's understated one - and probably not by the director's design. Which does not bode well for a movie with a titular character! Shahid probably gives one of his finer performances till date, but still comes across more as a petulant and confused child out to confound others, than as a young man beset by maddening doubts and suspicions and questioning everything - including himself.

The film adds in local twists and tales captured in stark and haunting cinematography - which is a plus point. But then, adding Kashmir to the equation does mean necessarily providing meaningful context to events - which again takes the focus away from the main narrative which ought to have been Hamlet's and Hamlet's alone. The details are sketchy and superficial. The flat political portrayal feels like biased and incomplete propaganda rather than as an atmospheric additive to increase the sense of intrigue essential to the story. AFSPA,'chutzpah' - ah, its even pronounced wrong to make the statement - like the Indian cuss-word, either very clever or very ignorant. To be fair, it is the director's own art and interpretation, even if the film sometimes makes you feel like you are watching two different stories unfurl, bound by a tentative link.

The first half is tight and taut, with a promising build-up towards the infamous obsession and reckless violence. However, the second half lets it down thoroughly, with the last half-hour dragging on unnecessarily. There are glimpses of potential, but they don't really deliver. KK Menon and Irfan Khan are quite wasted as actors, and you almost feel annoyed at the director for being such a tease - anyone else could have essayed their respective roles, and without being a bigger talent than Shahid. The doomed love-story (with Shraddha Kapoor), and his brush with the militants till the very end, feel poorly done, with inconsistent plot-flow. Tabu is the best thing in the movie, even in the most incongruous bits, and totally owns every frame she is in.

With a storyline as intense as Hamlet's, a backdrop as dramatically evocative as the 90s' militancy-riddled Kashmir, and a great ensemble of actors - well, as a viewer, I would have expected a lot more. Not a bad watch on a big screen, but there are much better films out there. Yes, 6.5 it is and no more.

Simply put: Do not see. Or see it. Or see it on TV later. This film is not worthy of such discussion.

FOR THE PEOPLE FROM KASHMIR (1). For people from Kashmir, who are looking for some authenticity in the storyline; I am sorry to say that the situations are mostly contrived. The objective is to create pathos for the hero of the film. So, the army is shown as the aggressor in a vacuum and its actions as the instigators for the common man. Many times, the people who fund such propaganda/ political movies have their own agendas and it appears to be very much the case here. There are other objectives and those are from the political leanings of the well-known, separatist-sympathizing, script-writer Basharat Peer. (2). In reality, the anti-terrorist local force, Ikhwan was made more from the people who had been wronged by the terrorists and not from turncoat terrorists. The cause and motivation of these Ikhwanis is not explained as such. The horrors and miseries of the terrorists (many of them being non-Kashmiris from Pakistan and Afghanistan) upon the common man and women, which created Ikhwanis, are not shown. Ikhwanis are shown as mercenaries under the guidance of the Army but Ikhwanis were actually the ones who had earlier been wronged and tortured by monster terrorists and that was their motivation against them. In the film, this Ikhwan-Ul-Muslimeen is deliberately called the Ikhwan-Ul-Mukhbareen. The subtlety in changing the nomenclature should not be lost on you if you are from Kashmir. The History of Kashmir and the names of places in Kashmir are being rewritten with an agenda and the story of the Ikhwan-Ul-Muslimeen seems to have been rewritten with the same agenda. (3). For Kashmiri Hindus, half a million of whom were forced into mass exodus, there is barely any mention and no background is provided about them. The script writer/ movie maker sees that if it was done, you could not develop pathos for any terrorist and Haider eventually is just a terrorist. (4). In the future, if a writer were to actually weave all the subplots (Kashmiri Hindus, What the army was up against, Torture of Locals by the Terrorists, Reasons for the Ikhwan, Role of the rich and the famous and the well off from among the Kashmiri Muslims ….) into the narrative, it will be a hell of a story. Haider is not.

FOR THE PEOPLE WHO DO NOT HAVE THE BACKGROUND ON KASHMIR (I will stick to facts) (1). There were 2 rows occupied in the entire hall. 1 row was occupied by people of Kashmiri origin and their friends. (2). The people in the row behind the Kashmiris were fidgety after the first 20 minutes of the movie. They would walk out and walk back in. I am not sure how many stayed for the length of the movie. (3). The story is supposed to be adapted from Hamlet. During the portions of the movie that touch the Hamlet storyline, one could only hear guffaws and lack of inclination towards the film. (4). During what should have been the most touching scenes and songs, people kept casually leaving their seats to fetch popcorn, to ease their heads, to take a break… (5). After the movie, during the follow-up dinner, I asked some of the non-Kashmiri friends what they thought of the movie. They are open-minded, liberals and what you will call very secular. They did not believe the storyline was as much about Kashmir as it was about Haider and his conflicting/ unclear emotions for his mother and her undeclared, under the covers relationship with his uncle. Unfortunately, this portion of the story and the inter-relationships of the people were not developed well because the script-writer/ filmmaker chose to cover the Kashmir issue way more than required. The movie therefore became a hotchpotch. Even without any background, the non-Kashmiri people in the audience did not believe that the story was anywhere close to the truth. It was just their feeling about the story, even if it had been fact. The problem was that the script-writer/ film-maker tried too hard to thrust their emotion on the audience and that fact had not been lost. Think of a salesman trying too hard to sell to you and your reaction! (6). Their rating for the movie ranged from 1.5 to 2. They said that if they did not know that it was based on Hamlet and if it was an original story, they may have rated it 2.5.

CONCLUSION This movie is not a game-changer or a piece of history for anyone. You can safely watch it now, ignore it, watch it for free on TV later, save your time and do something better …..

(1). It will not appeal to the young Muslims because they know that it is not the truth. They are up against an incredible amount of propaganda anyway and if they have to be affected, it will be due to that propaganda than due to this movie. (2). The Kashmiri Hindus will know that this is a lop-sided story. They should not worry that general people (other Indians, an international audience … ) will believe in this being a statement of truth. (3). The remaining audience finds the movie to be only moderately entertaining (for art, visuals, drama, suspense … ) but certainly not a reflection of truth.

It's Kashmiri Sons of Anarchy, right? What is this Hamelt of which people speak? Just kidding, it's Hamlet, right down to the talking plastic skull. Due to the subtitles, it's even easier to understand in Hindi than in Shakespearian. In addition to the well-acted drama, I learned a lot about Kashmir just by looking and listening. Despite being an Indian film, the Indian government came off poorly. And after seeing this film and several others, I have but one bit of advice for anyone visiting India - Do Not Mess With The Cops! Well worth your time to watch this.

My rating:- 8 on 10

=>What's Good:-

1. Brilliant Cinematography

2. Brilliant performances by all the star cast

3. Special credits to Irfan Khan, Tabu, Shahid Kapoor and Kay Kay

4. Songs went well with the situations...special credit to Bismil song.

5. The movie has its on charm taking you into a different world

6. The dark Kashmir of 90's

=>What's Bad:-

1.Very few scenes where your mind may be diverted or you may feel bored....but can be ignored easily as hardly one or two scenes for couple of minutes each.

=>Final Words:- "A very well directed movie with brilliant performances by all the star cast.....its a different genre movie,not for the masses....if any one is looking for a masala or typical Bollywood movie its no fun for them to watch.....as this one is slow which builds on the go and has its own charm and class".

The movie "Haider" proves that Bollywood has evolved and that India has now some bold filmmakers like Vishal Bharadwaj. This outstanding movie with a mind-blowing performance by Tabu deserves 10 stars, but I am holding one star because the movie fails to come off as unbiased and the movie could have done with better editing and zero romantic songs.

First, the movie shows a realistic Kashmir - this is not the heavenly Srinagar of old Hindi movies, and the movie realistically depicts one of the problems that the people of Kashmir face. But here the movie should have balanced opinion in order to appear neutral. While the movie clearly shows things as seen with the eyes of terrorists or budding terrorists (Roohdar and Haider) and makes a case for these people to dislike Indian Army, it fails to explain why the Army has to resort to the measures that it does. The movie does not explicitly show the murders and the guerrilla war that the Army has to suffer at the hands of the terrorists. Even when the Army arrests Haider's dad, the doctor, for harboring terrorists in his home, the movie provides the counter-argument that the doctor is on "life's side". We then go on to see one of the primary characters, Haider, turn against the Army in search of his dad - and there is little ambiguity here - the filmmaker clearly wants you to sympathize with Haider. The only thing to the movie's credit in this matter is the message of peace borne by the protagonist Ghazala - yes, Ghazala, and not Haider, is the true protagonist of the movie because she plays the upper hand in all events including the climax - Bharadwaj has shifted the center of gravity of Shakespeare's play from Hamlet's dilemmas to Gertrude's mind.

Screenplay is mostly perfect but slips at a few places. One of the strongest points of the movie is its ending. The screenplay puts a surprising twist to the Shakespearean drama. In a way, this is the movie's way to try to balance the case it has built for violence and revenge.

Direction and cinematography are superb. Editing is also good, except the romantic songs, whose presence in the movie, first of all, I do not know the reason for, but worse, which have been inserted into the movie at the most unfitting moments. They actually end up making the viewer impatient instead of providing any respite.

I would give primary credit for the movie to the performances, and above all, to Tabu. Ghazala is heart-breaking and her eyes and facial expressions speak volumes. Lending her full support is Kay Kay Menon in a highly convincing villainous Kashmiri role. Shahid Kapoor, as Haider, is exceptionally good in the second half of the movie, but not so convincing in the first half. The only weak link in the cast is Shraddha Kapoor and clearly stands out as an under- performing novice among veterans - fortunately, she has pulled off her last scene well - which is where her character really matters.

All in all, "Haider" is a must-see Bollywood affair. It will leave you deeply moved and make you think. However, remember that the movie succeeds in making the case for only one side of the full picture, the main reason it loses one star in my rating.

This is not a simple adaptation, this takes not a simplistic stance; Haider is a remarkable achievement and one of the most powerful political films we've ever made, a bonafide masterpiece that throbs with intensity and purpose.The result is a knockout, a film that makes you smell corpses, that makes you shudder with melancholia, and a film that points accusing fingers. A film that doesn't flinch. Is Haider Vishal Bhardwaj's best film? Vishal Bharadwaj brings alive the ecstasy, pain and passion of Hamlet on screen, he also reminds us of the harsh truth in our own backyard, the man-made mayhem in the God-made jannat that is Kashmir. All this done with his classic poetic touch intact. The second half dips a bit before it picks up again with an unforgettable climax. Please watch this film