First things first, "Haider" is among the best till now from the multi talented Vishal Bhardwaj, if not the best. And I say this knowing fully well that he has created other gems like "Omkara", "Ishqiya" and "Maqbool".
Technical things come later, for me the movie stands apart for its intensity, narrative and extremely good performances from almost all its main characters. Kay Kay Menon who would probably end up with the likes of Naseeruddin Shah, Anupam Kher and Om Puri by the time he hangs his boots, delivers yet another flawless performance as the antagonist.
Ambitous and slimy, lecherous and political, highly unethical, but with an excellent gift of the gab and warmth that convinces most people, Menon got under the skin of Bhardwaj's Claudius. There are very few people who can exactly play the director's character more than him. Just think of the other characters he played, Rudra Pratap Singh(Shaurya), Dukey Bana(Gulaal), Rakesh Maria(Black Friday) and you would know. Kay Kay is the most under rated actor of Bollywood and deserves much more recognition and respect.
And one of the most under rated actresses (since non actresses have hogged the limelight) is Tabu! It is sad that Bollywood has not been able to get more from her. Her character is of a woman who slipped, but has been misunderstood a lot more, who loves her son dearly, wants everything in life, but loses all.
The myriad thoughts, the conflicts of emotions in various situations, have been flawlessly portrayed by the peerless actress. Her different gazes and face expressions in difference situations is testimony to her prowess.
Tabu and Kay Kay have given many such great performances in the past, but as far as Shahid Kapoor is concerned, this is his best performance till date.
The character is very challenging and I think his hard work and his great father's genes helped him live up to the role with aplomb. He is very clam in the first half as is the demand of the character, with some burts of anger here and there, but he just owns the second half and matches up to acting powerhouses like Menon and Tabu.
The mood swings, the acting within the acting at times, the sarcastic one liners to his mother, all are superlative. The scene at a chowk as a satire on the establishment and the dialogues with Tabu and Menon stand out.
Television actor Narendra Jha plays the important part of Shahid Kapoor's father and a doctor very effectively. Shraddha Kapoor also tries sincerely and does her best as the protagonist's love interest. I thought one of the best actors of Bollywood, Irfan, was not required to play the role of "Roohgaar", but even in a special appearance he proves his mettle. Maybe Bhardwaj cannot do without him these days.
All other actors, play their parts competently. The two Salmans, based on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of Shakespeare's Hamlet, provide comic relief in an otherwise poignant and tragic storyline.
Macbeth, Othello and now Hamlet, Vishal Bhardwaj could get a PhD on Shakespeare now! :)
The character building has to be appreciated which many directors fail to do. Things are not black and white, all of us have shades of grey and all the characters are consistent with this fact and do what seems right from each one's point of view. The script takes up the Kashmir issue and juxtaposes it with the Hamlet storyline very successfully. Like the characters, the Kashmir issue too has many points of view and lines blur when one honestly sits to decide right and wrong.
There have been many movies on Kashmir. As Indians we must support the Indian cause and our army and we do so. The Kashmir issue however in totality is very complex and as film maker one needs to capture it in its entirety, as per his honest understanding.
So when the army man says, "No terrorist dead or alive is worth my soldier's life", it is a very genuine feeling of a commanding officer, when a soldier from some part of India dies fighting terrorists in Kashmir to protect India's sovereignty. In the same way, innocent civilians who accidentally die in the cross fire of army and terrorists, or are arrested and tortured, also have their own painful stories and their families rightly feel aggrieved.
Though the Kashmir issue is only a sub plot, I think this is one movie which has been able to show things as is, without giving any judgement. Bhardwaj deserves credit for this too.
The cinematography, the picturesque Kashmir, the red blood on white snow for example, the unusual camera angles, the time given to the viewer for some of the scenes to sink in, together give the movie the look of an all time classic.
What may work against the movie though, are couple of songs at the wrong time, which were not required actually. I also felt that some sequences could have been shorter and overall the movie should have been 20 minutes shorter. We shall see whether this ends up as an all time classic.
For now, the movie gets 4.5 out of 5 from me!
Technical things come later, for me the movie stands apart for its intensity, narrative and extremely good performances from almost all its main characters. Kay Kay Menon who would probably end up with the likes of Naseeruddin Shah, Anupam Kher and Om Puri by the time he hangs his boots, delivers yet another flawless performance as the antagonist.
Ambitous and slimy, lecherous and political, highly unethical, but with an excellent gift of the gab and warmth that convinces most people, Menon got under the skin of Bhardwaj's Claudius. There are very few people who can exactly play the director's character more than him. Just think of the other characters he played, Rudra Pratap Singh(Shaurya), Dukey Bana(Gulaal), Rakesh Maria(Black Friday) and you would know. Kay Kay is the most under rated actor of Bollywood and deserves much more recognition and respect.
And one of the most under rated actresses (since non actresses have hogged the limelight) is Tabu! It is sad that Bollywood has not been able to get more from her. Her character is of a woman who slipped, but has been misunderstood a lot more, who loves her son dearly, wants everything in life, but loses all.
The myriad thoughts, the conflicts of emotions in various situations, have been flawlessly portrayed by the peerless actress. Her different gazes and face expressions in difference situations is testimony to her prowess.
Tabu and Kay Kay have given many such great performances in the past, but as far as Shahid Kapoor is concerned, this is his best performance till date.
The character is very challenging and I think his hard work and his great father's genes helped him live up to the role with aplomb. He is very clam in the first half as is the demand of the character, with some burts of anger here and there, but he just owns the second half and matches up to acting powerhouses like Menon and Tabu.
The mood swings, the acting within the acting at times, the sarcastic one liners to his mother, all are superlative. The scene at a chowk as a satire on the establishment and the dialogues with Tabu and Menon stand out.
Television actor Narendra Jha plays the important part of Shahid Kapoor's father and a doctor very effectively. Shraddha Kapoor also tries sincerely and does her best as the protagonist's love interest. I thought one of the best actors of Bollywood, Irfan, was not required to play the role of "Roohgaar", but even in a special appearance he proves his mettle. Maybe Bhardwaj cannot do without him these days.
All other actors, play their parts competently. The two Salmans, based on Rosencrantz and Guildenstern of Shakespeare's Hamlet, provide comic relief in an otherwise poignant and tragic storyline.
Macbeth, Othello and now Hamlet, Vishal Bhardwaj could get a PhD on Shakespeare now! :)
The character building has to be appreciated which many directors fail to do. Things are not black and white, all of us have shades of grey and all the characters are consistent with this fact and do what seems right from each one's point of view. The script takes up the Kashmir issue and juxtaposes it with the Hamlet storyline very successfully. Like the characters, the Kashmir issue too has many points of view and lines blur when one honestly sits to decide right and wrong.
There have been many movies on Kashmir. As Indians we must support the Indian cause and our army and we do so. The Kashmir issue however in totality is very complex and as film maker one needs to capture it in its entirety, as per his honest understanding.
So when the army man says, "No terrorist dead or alive is worth my soldier's life", it is a very genuine feeling of a commanding officer, when a soldier from some part of India dies fighting terrorists in Kashmir to protect India's sovereignty. In the same way, innocent civilians who accidentally die in the cross fire of army and terrorists, or are arrested and tortured, also have their own painful stories and their families rightly feel aggrieved.
Though the Kashmir issue is only a sub plot, I think this is one movie which has been able to show things as is, without giving any judgement. Bhardwaj deserves credit for this too.
The cinematography, the picturesque Kashmir, the red blood on white snow for example, the unusual camera angles, the time given to the viewer for some of the scenes to sink in, together give the movie the look of an all time classic.
What may work against the movie though, are couple of songs at the wrong time, which were not required actually. I also felt that some sequences could have been shorter and overall the movie should have been 20 minutes shorter. We shall see whether this ends up as an all time classic.
For now, the movie gets 4.5 out of 5 from me!
