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Saturday, October 4, 2014

Haider

Had been impatiently waiting for the release of this movie for long and finally! Haider, it was today!
In a scenario where very often the Indian movies and the actors these days urge you to leave your brains behind when you come to watch their movie, we have a breather in the form of Haider which leaves you spellbound for the  two and half hours of the movie's running time. This movie requires you to apply your intelligence, listen to every word spoken, understand, analyze and absorb it.
There are such complex human emotions involved...elements of poetry, romance, comedy, pathos...How the director Vishal Bhardwaj balances so many emotions and shades of character so dexterously is amazing. People have been speaking of Tabu's acting in this movie but my eyes were on K. K. Menon, the evil and slimy character of Khurram, uncle to Haider (Shahid Kapoor). I was missing seeing him in recent movies and then bang, he makes this appearance and what an appearance! His repulsive and slimy ways make you loathe him to the core.
Shahid has aced in every nuance of the character, crying, laughing, dancing, romancing as a troubled college student, as a lunatic, as a revengeful young guy...He has finally come of age with this one.
Irfan shines as usual in his brief role. Tabu's character portrays the body language of the old and young woman equally effortlessly as the plot keeps swinging between the present and past.
Brief but brilliant cameos by Ashish Vidyarthi and Kulbhushan Kharbanda add the necessary subtle elements to complement the story.
Among all such strong portrayals, newbie Shraddha Kapoor manages to hold her fort, though she doesn't have a lot to do.
The movie is an adaption of Hamlet. Set in troubled Kashmir of the 90s, it shows how lives are effected in the strife between Pak-India-Kashmir. The director has chosen to tell the story of one such family that is caught in this milieu.
The story is that of a young man in search of his father who was taken away years ago as he was suspected to be siding with the militants and of all such half widows in Kashmir. Bhardwaj has been very cautious, treading the line carefully, not siding with any of the parties nor adapting a preachy tone.
Plenty of discerning subtleties in the movie need rapt attention. After 'Lunch Box,' this was a movie where I uttered not a word and never realized how that 2 hours and 42 minutes of the time flew.
For those seeking pot boilers and mere mindless entertainment, please keep away. But for those seeking a story, passion, an intensity and acting, que up, buy the tickets and rush to the theaters. Don't know when again Hindi cinema would dare make its footfalls on this untrodden path.


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