The 2014 film, Haider has now been ranked at no. 7 amongst the world's top 10 Hamlets by Literary Hub (prominent daily literary website). Congratulations to the whole team for this remarkable achievement on the international stage and remembering the five significant elements of this masterpiece.
Vishal Bhardwaj: Riding Two Wild Horses
The frightening idea of mixing the sensitive Kashmir with Hamlet's revenge tragedy was gorgeously painted on the big-screen like poetry by Vishal Bhardwaj. The camera work, the way he built tension in those voiceless frames, or managing such a stellar cast without dimming anyone, he proved the mettle of his cinematic genius, yet again and set the bar too high for other Indian filmmakers.
Dialogues: A Class Apart
For the whole of '2hours and 42minutes', we heard dialogues that deserve to be tattooed or converted into a novel. Dialogues spoken by every actor in this film are their career-defining dialogues, and they'll be remembered by these forever. The way, 'Darya Bhi Main, Darakht Bhi Main' comes into our mind, whenever we talk about Irrfan sir, Shraddha's iconic dialogue, 'I loved you more than my life' and all those hard-hitting dialogues from Shahid and other stars.
The Unsung Architect: Basharat Peer
Kashmiri Locals admired Haider for being as close to the 'real' Kashmir as Bollywood has ever reached in all these decades. The reason behind this is the authentic scripting of Basharat Peer, a renowned Kashmiri journalist, author of the groundbreaking memoir, Curfewed Nights, and Opinion Editor at The New York Times. During the day he was working for TNYT, and on weekends he was writing the script, working 16-18 hours a day. But in his words "It never felt like work." His dedicated work is the hugest reason behind Kashmir's authenticity in Haider.
Choreographer Sudesh Adhana: Man Behind Bismil's Brilliance
It's hard to imagine Haider's enormous success without 'Bismil'. Gulzar Sahab knitted the lyrics of this song and often undercelebrated, Sukhwinder Singh engraved them in our hearts forever. And, it was a colossal task to present this masterpiece on-screen. That's when supremely skilled choreographer, Sudesh Adhana stepped-in. The choreography of the song involved more than just dance steps and displayed the power of expressions and body language. Shahid also hailed him and said, "Bismil is one of the best songs of my career."
Kay Kay Menon: You Can't Hide Canopus
Actors like Irrfan Khan, Tabu, Shahid Kapoor, and Shraddha Kapoor gave one of the finest performances of their respective careers. And any talented actor would've been dimmed by them, quite proudly. But Kay Kay Menon again proved that he's the Canopus (one of the brightest stars) of Bollywood and sadly, overshadowing him is unthinkable. It's hard to sum-up, how effortlessly, he portrayed his complex character, Khurram Meer that was inspired by Claudius, the evil uncle of 'Hamlet'. You're a Genius Kay Kay sir, and we wonder, what we have done to deserve you!
Tabu: Never Read Any Shakespeare
Irrfan Khan said this on Tabu's performance "I am surprised why Tabu did not get a National Award. Her performance in Haider was one of the best performances by any Indian actress in Hindi cinema." Tabu portrayed the role of Ghazala, Haider's mother, sometimes you hate, sometimes you love her, and sometimes you are afraid of her. That's how transitional her performance is throughout the film, keeping the fact in mind that she had never read any Shakespeare books in her life.
By Rishabh Naudiyal