I
shared popcorn with a friend during the second half. I finished it very quickly
so I didn't have to hear myself chewing.
Spoiler alert!
Cold
and brutally unforgiving, Haider was a very welcome interpretation of
Shakespeare's powerful tragedy, Hamlet. The third of his Shakespeare influenced
epics; Vishal Bharadwaj once again plunges into deep character play and
wonderful storytelling, although the editing and continuity of the movie were
surprisingly wanting. Let's break it down, shall we?
The
movie was, of course, set in a beautiful scenic place blanketed by crispy white
snow and yet, the air was choked with blood and pain. There were a couple of
interesting Birdseye shots, rolling over lush green hills and sparkling waters.
I really liked the house. Not many houses can seem so charming after they've
been blown up. Every scene had a very befitting landscape to support it.
STORY
Here's
why I really loved it. I read condensed version of Hamlet a week or two before
the movie, and the thing about Shakespeare is that he makes everything VERY
dramatic. Every dialogue is heavy with emotion, every scene ripe with
melodrama. Normally, Bollywood would be all over that shit. Heck, if Karan
Johar remade a Shakespeare classic, it would be a 6 hour boo-hoo fest. But not
this time. VB trimmed the fat. He made the adaptation SO brutally
straightforward, so relentlessly brash and tight, that I felt a hot slap to my
face. The story is different. The people who I thought would die, did not. The
people I hoped would die, did.
 |
| "Feel my rapier scoundrel! Wait, actually, this big rock will do" |
The
first half was slow, yes, but the second was at cutthroat pace in comparison
and we were teetering off the edge of our seats in no time. Based on the length
of the film I have a feeling it was meant to be a sort of commentary on
Haider’s life after the tragedy. The first half did its best to elucidate
Haider’s search for his father and the several places that it carried him to,
but there was too much other stuff going on. In this respect, the story wasn’t
all too strong, especially since he comes straight home to get his mother to
eat.
Another
welcome interpretation of the story was Irfan Khan’s character. While the
original Hamlet involved the ghost of his late father whispering vengeance into
his ear, VB made a supercool cellmate for Haider’s father who becomes the
film’s game changer. The only hint of the supernatural is in a short and
beautifully rendered dream sequence which was more than sufficient.
VB:2
Shakespeare: 0
Bismil
was amazing. I’m not a fan of mid-movie Bollywood numbers but this song really
tied things together. Very interesting camera angles and the slowly changing
expressions on the actors faces were perfect. Kudos to Kaykay Menon in the
ending of this scene.
And
of course I was pleasantly surprised that “To be or not to be” was successfully
converted into a kickass Hindi monologue. Although the “Salman, to go or not to
go” line almost made me throw my shoe at the screen. I had a hard time keeping
up with the beautifully scripted Hindi, but I definitely noted some very hard
hitting dialogues. And of course I was very happy with the graveyard scene. But Shraddha Kapoor's English was NOT funny. It was much better to see Tabu teaching it at her school rather than a really bad post-love-scene monologue.
| "I louu you 4eva" |
Hamlet
does have some smart political commentary which was missing in Haider, but
perhaps I was too distracted by all the blood.
And
the ending, oh god, the ending. I was on my feet before the movie was over. So
the uncle was supposed to die. NO. Haider decided to go Arya Stark on his ass
and leave him bleeding. I applaud VB for this unforgiving tactic that really
sealed the deal for me, although I really wish the movie had culminated in an
epic dialogue. The movie was full of them! Instead he chose to settle with a
cheap and weak fade to black. Speaking of which…
EDITING. Awful. The primary reason why this movie was slow was
because there was NO continuity. Scenes started and ended with dialogues that
were awkwardly out of place and everything was fading to black! Shoddy work I
must say. There was also this tiny shot of the house as it took the first bomb
where a really bad CGI corpse was dangling from the roof for just a second. My
guess is that it was cut short and retained because it was probably expensive.
Either way, it was rather off-putting. The movie deserved much better.
CHARACTERS
Shahid
Kapoor wins. His eyes will haunt my dreams for the weeks to come. He’s done an
incredible job and his facial hair-madness-face was vital to the character. I
would’ve preferred a slow descent into madness rather than an abrupt visit to
the barber but the movie was long enough as it is. I especially liked how he
continued to polish his dead father’s shoes in the ruins of his home. Very
classy. His dialogues were full of venom
and icy hatred. He delivered his lines with perfection and really struck a
chord with his brilliant acting.
 |
| "How I felt after R...Rajkumar" |
Tabu
was as elegant and beautiful as always. Her relationship with Haider (creepy)
was a looming thought through the length of the movie. She played the perfect
doting, motherly infidel and was exceptionally convincing during the Bismil
sequence. Although at the end, her suicide, while seemingly abrupt, was sort of
welcome. It almost felt like it was just meant to happen. On a side note, the
explosion wasn’t nearly as big as it should’ve been.
Kaykay
Menon did a great job in making people hate him while still putting in his best
sympathy face. I must admit I expected much more from him during the prayer
scene when he’s supposed to be repenting for his sins. But his reaction to
Bismil was all I needed. The movie may have ended rather badly for him but his
final cry of anguish was echoing in my ears for a while. He really went out on
a limb. Or two. <pat self on back>
Shraddha
Kapoor has a really sexy back. Yeah that’s about it.
The
Salman’s, ugh. But there was very little of them so it didn’t entirely throw me
off. They actually turned out to be very interesting characters, and to be
fair, they died in a very brutal way. I’m sold.
Haider’s
dad was pretty good. The man had an air of righteousness about him, and he made
a very convincing jailbird poet. There was something about his quest for vengeance
that was so noble and true that it almost made his thirst for blood seem permissible.
Irfan
Khan’s cameo was very cool, and as I said before, much more welcome than some
ethereal ghost of Haider’s father. Not like he had much to do, but his
pronounced limp really added to the charm. Also, what a cool name! “Roohdaar”
I
really couldn’t care less about Shraddha Kapoor’s brother. I just waited for
him to die. It was like he was never there to begin with.
Small
shout out to the supercool graveyard guys and the way they recite that poem before
planting a slug in that guy’s head. Damn it VB, you really get me.
So
the characters were all great, but I felt they could’ve really used a little
more depth. Haider was fine and all but the story would’ve really benefited
from a little more on Tabu’s fight with her own guilt and Kaykay Menon’s need
for redemption.
All
in all, it was a very uplifting movie with beautiful dialogue, exceptional
acting and a very good perspective on Shakespearean drama. Welcome back VB; I shall
be downloading Kaminey very soon.
4.5/5 for being so awesome
