An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind.
People have called it a masterpiece and an out of the world experience. Well – I cannot argue with that. Lets leave tragedy aside for a while, for all I know Vishal Bhardwaj has captured the essence of any Shakespearean play – the immense strength of his characters.
A good film needs a good plot and a really good film, needs really good actors. If I could start with mentioning the people who have made Haider a blown out of my mind experience, the list wouldn’t end. From the visionary to the actors, from the production table to the editor’s suite – its indubitably a blood and sweat collaborative effort. Plus, Rekha Bhardwaj’s voice in the end was the creamiest icing in the most delicious cake we have had in a long time.
The film begins with a Doctor treating an ‘enemy of the nation’ in his house for who its only about saving a life. The army gets to know about it and he is sent to one of the prison camps. Enters Haider, the doctor’s son. On one side is his mother, Ghazala who has an affair with her husband’s younger brother and on the other side is his missing father. As much as he loves his mother, more than that he adores his father. Its a story of revenge. Its a story ABOUT revenge, Intakam.
There has been a lot of talk about Haider demonising Indian Army. I definitely did not feel so. It was Haider’s perspective and his life that made him call AFSPA – chutzpah. The film is not about Indian Army torturing people, it is about the overall atmosphere in the state of Kashmir, driven by so many catalysts – innocents or not, crooked or not. None of the army personnels in the film seemed to be portrayed as crazy people with guns ready to kill anybody on sight. Actually, it did not try to justify anybody – neither the army nor the “innocents”.
The title could not be more apt. Its Haider’s story. And what – a – story. Period.
Shaj's Film blog 