So, hours after I have finished watching the best movie to have come out this year( by a margin),I am finally in a condition to write anything about it. I am going to stick my neck out and say, Haider is the best work of Vishal Bhardwaj till date.

There is no doubt, that for a story driven by passion, revenge, love and power, where emotional dispute forms the core of it, no land other than Kashmir, which has been living under the clouds of dispute ever since, would have been a better choice as the setting for the adaptation.

The film is haunting and engrossing. It seamlessly adapts Hamlet and at the same time creates unforgettable characters of its own and makes us see a complex world through their eyes. I can't recall any other film which has completely been shot in the valley and surely none depicting it in all it's glory.

The film takes off with the event around which the actions of all the the players of the movie would revolve. One gets only the first hour to get to know the basic nature of the characters as platform for the mind blowing second half is being built. At the cusp of the interval when an ever assured Irrfan Khan makes an intriguing entry, you only get a hint of things to come.

The second half unleashes on you Shahid Kapur, who for the first time in his career shows glimpses of Pankaj Kapur. Those three minutes ( you would know which when you watch it ) where Shahid displays what all he is capable of, are those you would want to watch again and again. Kay Kay Menon is now a veteran and he doesn't disappoint.The only weak link to this extraordinary cast could have been Shraddha Kapoor, but she surprises everyone with a very composed yet captivating presence on screen. The heart of the film lies in the eyes of Tabu who makes the movie as deep as the depth of her eyes and as intensely beautiful as her voice. As we hear that Vishal Bhardwaj was not ready to make the film without Tabu, you will believe it once you have watched the film.

There is no way you can expect anything short of the best from the dialogues and music, when Gulzar Saab and VB themselves are at helm and they ensure that you do not fall off track even for a moment. A cinematographer can hardly mess it up when you are shooting in paradise. After a brushstroke in Rockstar and a miniature art-piece in Lootera, we get to seethe full painting of Kashmir in Haider. There are enough funny spots in this dark tale of complex emotions,thanks to the fact that Salman Khan had long hair during the period the movie is set.

The film has various undertones which were obviously part of the play as well. It would have required a director and screenwriter who is at the peak of his direction and writing skills to have made it happen. The dexterity with which Vishal Bhardwaj has been able to pull it off shows us why he is probably the best in the business in India. I feel, it requires at least another watching before one can completely absorb the enormity of the work that has been created.

Salute Vishal 'Bard'waj. Go get Haidered because rarely do you get a chance to read literature on screen.

A modern-day adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, 'Haider', Written, Produced & Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj is an Intense, Dark & Thought-Provoking film! Led by Brilliant Writing, Stunning Direction, Mesmerising Cinematography & Tour-De-Force Performances, 'Haider' is certainly a triumph!

'Haider' Synopsis: Haider, a poet, returns to Kashmir at the peak of the conflict to seek answers about his disappeared father & ends up tugged into the politics of the state.

'Haider' is a story so heartbreaking & disturbing, that it leaves you haunted. The narrative is volatile & completely bleak. 'Haider' is certainly not meant for the faint-hearted. This is a daringly unsettling film, that also has moments of violence, that would repulse you instantly.

Basharat Peer & Bhardwaj's Screenplay is simply brilliant. It talks about the troubles in Kashmir, which reflect on a particular, disjointed family. It tackles an issue that's dead serious & real. And fortunately, the issue as well as the characters, are powerfully put-up. Bharadwaj's Direction is Stunning. He has handled the film, exceedingly well. Cinematography is Mesmerising, capturing the magnificent beauty of Kashmir, astonishingly. Bharadwaj, who has also scored the music of the film, gives us tunes that are hummable, yet hammering.

Performance-Wise: Shahid delivers his finest performance to date in 'Haider'. As the helpless son, who later zeroes on revenge, Shahid embodies Haider & puts up an act, that's nothing short of remarkable. Tabu, as his long-suffering mother, is absolutely terrific. Her scenes with Shahid, are marvelous. Kay Kay Menon is deliciously wicked, while Shraddha Kapoor is nicely restrained. Narendra Jha is in top-form. Aamir Bashir is ever-effective. Irrfan Khan, in a mysterious & compelling cameo, is flawless.

On the whole, 'Haider' is Hardcore Cinema At Its Best! Two Thumbs Up!

January 2014:

Attending a screening of the first ever Lollywood movie which claimed to have been filmed completely in English, (that actually turned out to only be half in English,which thanks to the lack of Subtitles led to me not having a clue what the characters were talking about for half the time!)in the gritty Thriller Waar,I was taken aback by a breath- taking trailer,for what appeared to be a Bollywood adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet.

December 2014:

After spending the whole of the X-Mas period ill in bed,I decided to make New Years Eve a better event,by trying to track down a DVD of Haider. Stumbling on a news report about there being a court case in India that was attempting to stop the movie coming out on DVD over there,I was happy to discover that the UK DVD of the title was due to come out in 3 days time,which led to me getting ready to finally meet Haider.

The plot:

Returning home after the sudden disappearance of his dad Dr. Hilal Meer during a shoot-out over the separatism of Kashmir, Haider Meeris is surprised to find that instead of being desperate to locate him,his mum Ghazala Meer appears to be having a jolly old time with her brother in law Khurram Meer.Learning that his dad was taken for questioning by the military,Haider gets into contact with a mysterious stranger called Roohdar,who tells Haider that both he and his dad were tortured in a detention camp,which Hilal claimed he was placed in,thanks to Khurram being an undercover informant.Taking a closer look at Khurram and Ghazala's relationship,Haider begins making plans on getting revenge for their betrayal.

View on the film:

From the opening of the film,the score from composer/singer/co- writer (along with journalist Basharat Peer)/directing auteur Vishal Bhardwaj becomes deeply entwined with the unfolding tragedy being underlined by the industrial hum of Bhardwaj's score unleashed an extremely strong atmosphere of impending slowly covering the landscape of Kashmir.Keeping away from including any songs designed to make the soundtrack a chart topper,Bhardwaj emphasises the feelings expressed in the score,by making each of the songs (one of which is sung very well by Bhardwaj) lay bare sections of Haider's personality that are about to fall over the edge.

Filmed entirely on location in Kashmir over 2 harsh seasons, (with the first section being shot during the late autumn season of November-December 2013,and the final part of the title being completed during a freezing winter season of January-February 2014)Bhardwaj and cinematographer Pankaj Kumar beautifully open every wound that the battle scar city has suffered.Placing Haider in a corrupt world filled with death & betrayal,Bhardwaj and Kumar give the first half of the title a stark,washed out appearance,whose clarity increases with Haider sets his eyes towards those who betrayed his dad. Casting a suffocating Film Noir shadow across the title,Bhardwaj & Kumar steam the darkness out of the screenplay by covering the screen in mountains of snow,which along with showing the coldness inside Haider,also reveals the destruction of purity in Haider's loved ones,as their blood turns the snow a frosty red.

Collaborating with journalist Basharat Peer, (writer of the highly- praised book Curfewed Night: A Frontline Memoir of Life, Love and War in Kashmir)Bhardwaj and Peer make their modern take on Shakespeare's dialogue one that never feels gimmicky,but precise,and perfectly fitting with the decay that infects Haider.Avoiding any option of taking the film in an easy Bollywood melodrama route,the writers cast a critical eye over Kashmir,with Haider's revenge tale being used in a mature allegorical manner to show the recurring acts of violence that take place across the Kashmir boarder.Bringing a fresh-face Haider back to Kashmir,the writer's strike the film with a tremendous intensity,with Haider's relationship with his family being closely examined ,which allows for the gaps in the relationships to be exposed to a brittle sunlight.Peeling away Haider's levels of sanity,the writer's keep an unflinching eye on showing Haider's toxic revenge engulf all signs of humanity that he possessed.

Shimmering across the screen,Tabu gives a remarkable performance as Haider's mum,with Tabu showing Ghazala to have a closed-in nature to her surroundings,which leads to Tabu showing the hope on Ghazala's face that Haider is still her little boy.Bringing the Oedipus complex in Ghazala and Haider's relationship,Tabu keeps away from any over dramatic notes to instead express Ghazala feelings about her son entirely through body language,with every gesture that she makes towards Haider lingering that little bit too long.Turning down (along with Vishal Bhardwaj) his wage so that every penny could be put on screen, Shahid Kapoor gives an extraordinary,trans-formative performance.Entering the film rather innocently,Kapoor makes Haider's desire to avenge his dads death an idea whose grip intensity's,as Haider feels his dad's shadow wrap around in,as he looks with new eyes at everyone who he has ever known.Sliding Haider into insanity,Kapoor wisely keeps the ghost in Haider's life on his shoulders,so that no matter how psychotic the character gets,his roots are always laid bare,as Haider wonders to be, or not to be.