Haider turns 10: Shahid Kapoor's bold role on Shakespeare tragedy in the heart of Kashmir

Shahid Kapoor’s transformative role in Haider has garnered a decade of critical acclaim and success.

Shahid Kapoor in a still from Haider

It's been a decade since Vishal Bhardwaj brought the gut-wrenching contemporary take on Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet titled Haider, to screen. The film went on to become a career-defining moment for Shahid Kapoor as the actor even went completely bald for the role. Bhardwaj co-wrote the 2014 political crime thriller Haider with Basharat Peer. Tabu, Shraddha Kapoor, Kay Kay Menon, and Irrfan Khan round up the rest of the talented cast of the film.

Contemporary tragedy in Kashmir

Haider a dramatized account of the insurgency-stricken Kashmir disputes of 1995, also draws inspiration from Basharat Peer's memoir Curfewed Night. At the height of the battle, Haider—a young poet and student—goes back to Kashmir to find out what happened to his father and finds himself entangled in the state's politics. In addition to Omkara (2006) and Maqbool (2003), Bhardwaj's Shakespearean trilogy continues with Haider (2006).

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Haider is about a young guy (Shahid) whose father (Narendra Jha) goes missing and who comes home to Kashmir. He learns that his mother (Tabu) is seeing his uncle (Kay Kay Menon) and that security agents have arrested his father for harboring terrorists. The youngster and his mother have a strained relationship as they both grieve the loss of his father. After learning that his uncle committed the horrific murder Haider sets out on a mission to exact revenge for his father's death.

Critical acclaim and success

Following its global premiere at the 19th Busan International Film Festival, Haider received rave reviews upon its release on 2 October 2014. Despite the film's contentious subject matter, it was a huge financial success at the box office. The film's subject matter, director, screenplay, cinematography, editing, and ensemble cast's performances received critical acclaim and numerous awards.

The Rome Film Festival's People's Choice Award went to Haider making history. Best music direction (Bhardwaj), Best male playback singer (Sukhwinder Singh for Bismil), Best dialogue (Bhardwaj), Best choreography (Sudesh Adhana for Bismil), and Best costume design (Dolly Ahluwalia) were among the five major accolades bestowed upon Haider at the 62nd National Film Awards.

Earlier, in an interview with Indian Express, Bhardwaj discussed setting Haider in Kashmir, citing the political upheaval and tragedy that have plagued the region over the past 25 years as his driving forces. The way people see Kashmir has been superficial, used solely for filming music videos, or ideological, depicting a man with a Kalashnikov and a phiran. Haider gives an inside look at Kashmir, a first in cinematic history. The filmmaker believes they have tackled the problem in a major film.

Subtle Oedipus complex

Hamlet has an Oedipus complex that pulls him towards his mother, Gertrude, according to the plot of Hamlet. Bhardwaj kept this allusion subtle, referring to it as one of the aspects of this mother-son relationship, due to the film's primary target audience being India. His earlier production of Othello's adaptation, Omkara (2006), had the last monologue cut because he felt it belonged in a stage play, but he kept it for Haider. In preparation for the dramatic sequence in which Haider's character goes insane, Kapoor memorized a six-page monologue. He gave a monologue performance in front of an audience of five thousand people. For the three or four hours it took to film the scene, the actor practically shaved off his head.

You can stream Haider on Netflix and ZEE5 (OTTplay Premium).

ALSO READ: Pyaasa to Haider: The best character-driven Indian movies ever made

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