Haider Movie Review

Vishal Bhardwaj screwed up by casting Imran Khan, in return Khan screwed up his absurdist social drama Matru Ki Bijli Ka Mandola.

On Mahatma’s birthday Bhardwaj returned from the oblivion with his third adaptation of Shakespeare. Haider is Hamlet in troubled Kashmir.

If Gandhi’s life was a message of non-violence then Vishal Bhardwaj’s message is artistic violence.

Idea of the film is simple. Son going all out to avenge his father’s murder. What is complex is the backdrop. Kashmir of 1995 is at the height of militancy. Haider (Shahid Kapoor) returns home after years & begins his search of his missing father, assisted nobly by his ostensible love, Arshi (Shraddha Kapoor). His unrelenting quest takes him to dark alleys, hidden cache of dirty secrets. Haider finds his father was murdered at the behest of his chacha Khurram (Kay Kay Menon) who eventually marries his mother Ghazala (Tabu).

Haider, the film, shows Kashmir that is heavenly made grotesque by the blood of its own people. Film gets into murky reality of Kashmir: APSPA (Armed Forces Special Power Act). In simple terms it means Army men can arrest, torture, violate all human rights & of course kill you without being held liable in the court of law. Irom Sharmila has been on fast for the past 14 years to get it repealed. But nobody cares. And it won’t surprise me if you’re thinking “who the fuck is Irom.”

Haider is grim & self-indulgent in its entire journey. Caricatures ‘Salman & Salman’ do their bit to lighten things a tad but appear forced into the narrative. Instead I wish there were some characters who could see the satire in the sad reality of life in beautiful Kashmir.

Bhardwaj clearly doesn’t give a damn about the average cinemagoer’s lack of intelligence, apathy towards sufferings of anyone who isn’t their own, burning desire for degrading item songs, red bikinis, powder-made six-packs, ageing superstars, mushy love stories, distasteful generalizations, and everything punjabi. He has made a film that he envisioned & made it the way he found authentic. And authentic it is.

Where it fails for me is the sentimentality. The film is drenched in sentimentality. And it drowns in it.

What’s wrong with sentimentality, Mr. Bist? Have you grown so cold that a mother’s love for her son; son’s love for his murdered father; a braveheart girl’s love for his torn lover makes you cringe & curl up into a little ball. Have you become so heartless?

It is true that sentiments are human; they make us who we are. On the face of it they’re as harmless as the babies invading our facebook walls. Cute. Then these babies grow up & become Adolf Hitler, a known sentimentalist. The once cute baby killed millions of people on a negative sentiment.

Haider exploits the dark side of sentiment. The manipulative, the blackmailish side. Bhardwaj’s Omkara (Othello) did the same but that film justified it. Omkara pulled it off. Haider doesn’t. It milks the whole Kashmiri heartbreak & loss. It has characters so intense yet none truly have a mind of their own. Audience never finds out who Haider is. Who Haider really is. Through the film he’s influenced by external forces, circumstances. Haider essayed with spirit by Shahid Kapoor is let down by the writing. All the actors (barring Shraddha) are seasoned; their performances are excellent without being breath-taking. Shraddha blends in well & delivers with aplomb. The visuals of the film are as good as it gets.

I really liked Haider’s madman-like impromptu speech at the square. The songs, Khul Kabhi filmed exotically with Kapoor & Kapoor (totally out of place though), and Bismil (totally spot on) before the extended climax.

Watch it if you’re ready to be bored. Watch it if you want to feel pain that isn’t yours. Watch it for the honesty of everyone involved in the film. Watch it for the broken paradise Kashmir. And most of all watch it for no reason at all.