William Shakespeare’s Hamlet is a fallen hero and Vishal Bhardwaj’s Haider is no different. He is tragically flawed, vengeful and sometimes unhinged.
Completing his Shakespearean trilogy with a unique interpretation of the classic play, Bhardwaj and co-writer Basharat Peer locate their film in Kashmir. It’s the mid-90s, when the state was in the grip of the militants versus military conflict.
In the deep winter months, Haider (Shahid Kapoor) returns from university to a home that has been destroyed by notions of corruption and ambition. He embarks on a hunt for his ‘disappear-ed’ father. The people of Kashmir are haunted by the arbitrary disappearance of the men of the Valley, often accused of militancy. These disappeared men are either interned in overflowing jails or killed and thrown into the Jhelum.
Bhardwaj never leans on clichéd images of shikaras on Dal Lake and while he does succumb to one love song among snowcapped peaks, for the most part he stays true to a gritty realistic milieu. The first hour builds slowly, establishing the politics of the state and the dynamics between Haider, his mother Ghazala (Tabu), his girlfriend Arshia (Shraddha Kapoor) and uncle Khurram (Kay Kay Menon). But the pre-interval half is also burdened by the need to present several issues that plagued Kashmir.
Its post interval that Bhardwaj turns up the heat and tempo on a dish that was so far on simmering slowly. This is where his genius, his imagination and Shakespearean references reveal themselves building to a shocking, moving and tragic climax.
Bhardwaj remains one of the most original voices in contemporary Indian cinema. The scene with the gravediggers is as much Shakespeare as it is Bhardwaj and how clever is the tribute to a 90s hero through the adaptation of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to Salman and Salman, two young men obsessed with Salman Khan.
Of the cast, Shahid Kapoor, slightly hindered by a character whose motivations and metamorphosis are sketchily etched, comes to his own only after cropping his hair. Until then it’s hard to connect with his raison d’être, his pain or madness. He peaks in the ‘Bismil’ song – a visual treat.
Shraddha Kapoor is respectably within the bounds of requirements. Irrfan Khan leaves you wanting so much more than his limited but pivotal scenes (accentuated by thumping background music). Kay Kay Menon proves that underrated as he is, he is a fine actor. Narendra Jha makes a strong impact as Haider’s father Dr Meer.
But it’s Tabu who steals the show. She is enigmatic as the complex, conflicted, manipulative Ghazala who rapidly loses her grip on events and embodies the innocents who become unwitting victims in an inexplicable war. She captures Ghazala’s loneliness and loss with an achingly nuanced performance.
Rating: ****
