“It’s not about a community, it’s not about a nation, it’s about humanity”
Haider the adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, was not just a movie, a viewer would comfortably watch for 161 minutes and walk out of the hall. For audience’s who think Haider is a film that would make them travel through the beautiful valley of Kashmir on the 70mm screen, here’s a warning , this movie might in the very first scene spring you up from the chair.
The agony of a son, the guilt of a mother and the betrayal of an uncle and are ingredients used by Vishal Bhardwaj to subtly bring out the problem of Kashmir out of the box. There couldn’t be a much more befitting re-imagining of a tale was penned more than a century back in the contemporary times.
After a really long passage of time, has a movie been made which will not let the viewer enjoy the twists and turns of the plot or the picturesque view of the valley, without shock waves running down the body. Haider will leave you uncomfortable, I would rather say very uncomfortable. As you sit with a tub of popcorn and a big tumbler of cold drink at your cushiony and cosy chair. Let me warn you, 30 minutes into the movie and you will find it hard to gulp down even a sip of your drink or pop in a corn in your mouth.
The conflict of Kashmir and the conflict within a family have been placed on each other in a way that it will be hard for the audience to realise the subtle political message the director of the film wishes to convey. The metaphors (red scarf Shraddha gifts her father-a police officer) used by the master of his craft, Vishal Bhardwaj have been placed with perfection in every scene of the movie. Also the gory visual images not only aim at making the viewer uncomfortable but also to evoke emotions for the sake of humanity.
Most of the death scenes in the movie have been shot with the ethereal beauty of Kashmir as a backdrop. Violence and beauty have never been put together so effortlessly as it has been done by Mr.Bhardwaj. Talking about the acting and on screen performances of the cast, I would definitely fall short of words when talking about it. 15 minutes of strong screen presence of Irrfan Khan does the magic and makes the audience get engulfed in the story. The casting director has done more than a great job as the actors playing their respective characters fit in their roles perfectly.
One of the most famous poems of Faiz Ahmad Faiz, called the people’s poet and a strong follower of Karl Marx, “Gulon main rang bhare” has been used in the film to provide the movie with the spirit of the common people of Kashmir. The song “Aaj ke naam” another beautiful composition of Faiz has been used to describe the suffering, emotions and feelings of despair families of disappeared Kashmiris go through. Their sons, husbands, fathers are taken away by the Indian army for interrogation and under the PSA (Public Safety Act), most of the times, never to return to the safety of the homes.
The story of Hamlet has been beautifully juxtaposed with the issue of disappearances in Kashmir. The tale of betrayal and revenge that came from the pen of Bard of Avon could not have a better adaptation than this one. The song “Bismil” which is an electrifying dance drama, makes every little hair on your body stand, no other pen could compose the whole story of Hamlet in just one song but the pen of Gulzar Saab.
The description of Mama 2 in the movie, an interrogation camp of the Indian Army, sent me back to the reign of General Zia where similar jails and camps were used to detain political prisoners. The horror of these jails and camps are tales definitely not for the weak heart. The story of Haider is not just a story of community or a family, it a story of humanity that has existed on this planet.
I would like to end my musings with the words of Gulzar Saab:
“How sorrowful is this valley
Someone is choking its life out
It breathes, and yet it cannot ….”
