Baad-e-naubahar chale ...
Chale bhi aao ...
Ke Gulshan ka Karobaar Chale ...
Haider has a soul ... Somewhere Menhdi Hasan and Faiz would be smiling along with Shakespeare.
Cast: Shahid (Haider), Tabu (Ghazala), Kay Kay (Khurram), Shraddha (Arshiya), Irrfan (Roohdaar), Narendra Jha (Dr. Hilaal).
Plot: Set in 1995 Kashmir, this "Hamlet" inspired movie is about revenge of Haider, whose father went missing after a BSF raid on their home. Haider's mom, Ghazala, happens to be his uncle Khurram's secret desire. Arshiya is the lady love of Haider. The movie in fact starts when Haider's father Dr. Hilaal Meer gets caught with a terrorist inside his home and goes missing (BSF is shown in negative/neutral light in this movie, so chill). Haider arrives home in Kashmir from his college in Aligarh, finds his home burnt and that his mom and uncle are not so sad about it all. He starts searching for his missing father alone meandering through the mazes of indifferent system of state administration, police and BSF. In cometh Roohdaar a former ISI agent and current Jihadi who claims that he was with Haider's father till his last moment and that his father was caught due to a deceitful trigger pulled by his uncle Khurram. Rooh also claims that Ghazala was an accomplice in Khurram's plan. The plot thickens. Haider cries "revenge".
The movie moves into a bit of long drawn twists till the time you reach climax. Not sharing the entire plot so as to maintain reader's curiosity.
Highs: You feel the emotional crescendo rising at
1. Bulbul-e-Bismil song and awesome dance by Shahid,
2. "Mike Check" act of Haider,
3. the graveyard song,
4. when you hear Dr. Hilaal singing Menhdi Hasan's "karobar chale" in BSF captivity and
5. when Ghazala takes everyone in audience to climax of movie just by pulling one string.
Lows: None whatsoever. I was glued to screen and could never feel even a single low.
Strengths: Script, Dialogues, Cast, Kashmir, Music, Lyrics, Acting ... What else do you need ?
After long time we have seen such a masterpiece on screen created. Thanks to the script from VB and Basharrat Peer.
Shahid, Tabu, Kay Kay steal the show with their power packed roles as well as flawless acting. 2 thumbs up to the dialogues especially to the one which Roohdaar replies to Dr. Hilaal when he was asked as to wether Roohdaar is a Shia or a Sunni. Signature of VB, Music is just awesome with soulful lyrics from Gulzaar and Faiz Sahab. The movie claims that how seamless the shoot went when credits start rolling ... what could have been a better place to shoot a movie than Kashmir.
Weaknesses: Arshiya's fate, Long drawn twists at times ...
Overall: Haider is not something that you think of. In my knowledge this is the most balanced yet bold flick about the political issue known as Kashmir. It doesn't bend itself towards or away from any side. The "mike check" act by Haider is actually the punch / rhetoric in face of everyone in political brass as to what is solution of Kashmir ? Many of us Indians won't be able to relate to what's shown because for us normal Indians, days and nights are relatively predictable and peaceful. Before anything, we are humans. Vishal Bhardwaj has deep dived into details of the issue and has been very bold in expressing it with his heart. This movie should rather be made tax free and should also contest for Oscars.
Watch it for Kashmir and the best till date from VB. Kids and faint heated should avoid as there are some gory scenes.
My Ratings: 4.5*
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