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HAIDER

                                                                                   HAIDER
And that is how a story is told!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
The legacy of the Bard is in safe hands with ‘Bard’waj…….
Well this is no news if you have seen Maqbool and Omkara. What a story teller the man is! I couldn’t take my eyes off the screen for even a moment. VB is indeed one of the few directors who can take actors of the stature of Tabu, KK Menon and Irfan Khan and do them complete justice. What performances he has elicited form them! Truly stupendous!  And who knew that Shahid could act like this?
The backdrop of the story is indeed Kashmir, but not the Kashmir of the romantic tales. It is a Kashmir that lies stark and bare and shows us how people there actually live.
The story couldn’t be simpler. It’s a classic tale of revenge. A young boy finds out that his father has been betrayed and he sets out to avenge him. The story is dominated by the utter selfishness of his mother Gazala- played by Tabu, who is stuck in a marriage she has grown to dislike. Consequently she uses every possible feminine wile known to her to get her own way with her son and husband.

Her selfishness is fully exploited by her cad of a brother-in-law (Khurram) , who is creepy to say the least. The disgust that these two characters arouse in you is a testimonial to their acting prowess.
Helping Haider in his quest for justice is his childhood sweetheart Arshiya played by Shradhha Kapoor. She is competent but leaves no mark. A person who does leave a mark is Narendra Jha, the actor playing Haider’s father- Hilal. I hope we get to see more of him. Anshuman Malhotra plays the young Haider and is a treat to watch.

Irfan Khan is surprisingly the style quotient in this one! J J He is so flamboyant that even in such a short role he is memorable! Why I wonder, does he find the need to do The Amazing Spiderman?

There are two Salman Khans in this movie and they provide the much needed comic relief. The scenes explaining “CHUTZPAH” are hilarious. The dialogues are beautifully crafted and the scenes between Haider and Gazala are superb. Also mentionable is a scene between Haider and Arshiya where he teaches her correct pronunciations!

Shahid Kapoor is exceptional both in his soliloquy and the song Bismil. I never ever thought he could act like this. But then he does have his father’s genes!
The music in the movie is beautiful. The grave digger’s song gives goose bumps. Bismil in both sound and visuals is par excellence. Vishal and Vishal together have given us a new rock anthem – Aao Na is mind blowing.

I am not giving out too many details because you absolutely have to see this one.
Also I am proud to live in a country like ours where movies like these can be made and exhibited without censorship!



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