Why we should not boycott Haider ?

Vishal Bharadwaj has established beyond doubt that he is a true votary of Bard with his trilogy on Shakespearian tragedies Maqbool (Macbeth), Omakara (Othello) and last one being Haider, an adaptation of Hamlet. In Haider, Vishal takes Indian audiences for a tour to unearthly, beautiful valley of Kashmir not to explore romanticism in mighty mountains and shikaras but to scout around “Switzerland of east” looking for, rotten thorns that exist in beautiful flowering meadows, stains of blood on snow-capped mountains, insurgency in valley of Sufi-Saints and sparkling Jhelum that has learned to live with pain of its people since decades.

“Something is rotten in state of Denmark” points Marcellus (a character from Hamlet) on rising moral and political corruption in the State of Denmark. But in Vishal’s version of desi Hamlet, state in rotten state is heavenly Kashmir. Haider is a courageous portrayal of existing melancholy in state of Kashmir, a tragic melody with dark humour concerning despairing state of ordinary Kashmiris. Set in Kashmir of 1995, Haider is a tale of deceit and revenge, story of a son forced into militancy seeking to avenge his lost father who army has picked up leaving behind no clue of his whereabouts. Bharadwaj has beautifully painted a canvas of human indiscretion inspired by Shakespeare’s work in settings of Kashmir, remaining loyal to emotions drawn in bard’s work.

Haider is an alter ego of Shakespeare’s Hamlet which can be defined by actuality of its character and anyone familiar with the play can easily relate to the movie. Haider (Shahid) is a student who returns from Aligarh to discover a disappeared father, house in ruins destroyed by army and an adulterous mother.

“Dil ki agar sunu toh tu hai. Dimag ki sunu toh tuh hai nahi. Jaan lun ki jaan dun? Main rahoon ki main nahi.”- Haider.

Shahid, as Haider has given his best performance till date depicting all shades of brooding Hamlet through hum hain ya hum nahin (desi version of To be or not to be). One of the scenes where he reminds people of promises made by first PM of India, Jawaharlal Nehru on 2^nd Nov after partition is worth watching.

“We have declared that the fate of Kashmir is ultimately to be decided by the people. That pledge we have given […] not only to the people of Kashmir but the world. We will not, and cannot back out of it. We are prepared when peace and law and order have been established to have a referendum held under international auspices like the United Nations.”

Tabu plays the role of Ghazala (Gertrude in Hamlet), manifesting shades and layering in her character. She plays the character of overbearing woman in search of peace and love. She is captivating and menacing at the same time letting her eyes do all the talking, proving her worth as one of the best actress of B-town. She is at such an ease as Ghazala.

"Disappeared logo ki biwiyaan aadhi bewa kehlati hain, half widows.”

She dominates the screen in Haider and overshadows other characters with her soulful acting. KK Menon (Claudius) is vicious as Haider’s Uncle , who lures his mother into relationship and uses disappearance of his brother for political gains. Irfan Khan’s entry as hideous Roohdar (Ghost in Hamlet), man with a message for a son from his lost father changes the course of movie. As the truth is revealed to Haider, he finds himself engulfed in hatred and revenge. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (friends of Hamlet) are there too in form Salman and Salman who mimic Salman Khan religiously in terms of clothing, hairstyle and mannerism.

Although Haider is an adaptation of Hamlet, its dialogues and scripts have been inspired by scriptwriter Barashat Peer’s novel ‘Curfewed Nights’. Vishal has delicately showcased state of ongoing conflict in Kashmir, emotional warfare of ordinary people, with subtle references to oedipal undertones of mother-son relationship, treachery and adultery customized for Indian sentiments.

It was a stout-hearted attempt on part of Bharadwaj to touch on such a sensitive subject like Kashmir with cryptic yet fine drawn references to AFSPA, enforced disappearances, disarmament, interrogation centres(Mama 2) and their tortures. It goes without saying, that no three hour movie can reveal the level of indiscrimination and intolerance faced by people of Kashmir. But, Vishal with his bold movie on highly politicised issue of Kashmir has set an example for other bollywood directors to inch closer to realism with commercial cinema.

AFSPA, which has been main concern of Kashmir issue, has found special mention in the movie. The daily lives of Kashmiris which is constantly guided from dawn to dusk with curfew timings, constant frisking and security checks with detectors, scanners, security cameras hovering around shrieks of tension and animosity that exist in Kashmir. More than 23 years have passed since this draconian law came into existence. Human right commission has regularly voiced their concern against this law, which provides armed forces unlimited power to arrest and jail a person without trial for 2 years on mere suspicion, in other words its license to kill. The incidence of Feb 1991 mass rape by army personnel of woman of Kunan Poshpora village is still etched in mind of people. Then there is case of illegal execution of human rights activist and lawyer  Jaleel Andrabi. There are too many half widows and orphans. There are also mothers like Praveena Anangar, whose 17 year old was picked by army in 1990 and who now chairs the Association for Parents of disappeared, for whom search will never end.

The only drawback of the movies is too much layering of plots, sub-plots and characters lead to an uneven storyline. Movie is unable to reflect on other tragedies prevalent in valley and fails to make a remark on issue. In spite of being a powerful dramatic satire, it appears to be unstable and stressy. The second half of the movie becomes draggy, loses its hold and leaves audiences to their own self-conclusion. Weaving Hamlet into Kashmir issue was a daunting task and Vishal was partially successful in it. I just hope, second part was not result of sheer politics.

While, majority of bollywood is busy in churning out chutzpahs, Haider is a movie to watch out for. Hindi movies have for long portrayed Kashmiri insurgents as stereotypical enemy of Indian soil and talk about sacrifices made by soldiers. But, Haider has successfully presented a new perspective to the entire scenario. There is a covert and subliminal message that Kashmiris are possessed by inteqaam and they should forget about venegeance. But, we still don’t know why Kashmiris never forgive and forget?

“I must be cruel only to be kind;
Thus bad begins, and worse remains behind.” 
 ― William Shakespeare, Hamlet

But instead of  boycotting our  bigotry, we are boycotting Haider. Let us give this choppy movie a chance. Haider is an incredible movie which will be remembered for its sensitive political issue and exquisite detailing. Movie exhales gravity as well as motive. On the whole, movie makes you shudder with mournful squall, makes you search for sanity in insanity and will make you sympathize with sinners.

And finally will lead you to ask yourself........

“What a piece of work is a man! How noble in reason! how infinite in faculty! in form, in moving, how express and admirable! in action how like an angel! in apprehension how like a god! the beauty of the world! the paragon of animals! And yet, to me, what is this quintessence of dust?” 
― William Shakespeare, Hamlet

As the movie comes to end, we cannot help but wonder at lines

“ In recent devastating flood of Kasmir, Indian Army has saved lives of thousands of civilians, we salute their efforts and valour.”

One cannot stop brooding, whether Indian cinema is learning politics or 'To be or not to be, that is the question.'