clydekennedy Haider is a great film. Bollywood films tend to be shlocky cheesy mess and this film surprised me for being different. Based on Shakespeare's Hamlet the action transpires in war ravaged Kashmir region. Shahid Kapoor is fantastic as the young son hell bent on revenge and every actor from Tabu to Narendra Jha gives this film their absolute best. The cinematography is good, but the plot and characters take precedence in this film. Very few Bollywood films are as effective as Haider- Give this one a chance and you will be surprised.

mohantypranit The movie Haider is one of the best movie of Bollywood film industry.This movie contains some great acting performance from Sahid Kapoor,KK Menon,Tabu and a great cameo by Irfan Khan.The story is really nice, though it is based on Shakespearean tragedy Hamlet but what good way to adapt this Shakespearean tragedy in setting of 1995 Kashmir conflict.Music is also great.Not telling you much about the story I recommend you to watch this movie and get the story by yourself. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------In short, MUST WATCH if you are movie lover

gabrielinwater Each era has its Hamlet; every region has its Claudius, just with different names. Undoubtedly, the story of Haider is a manifestation of the revenge of Hamlet in the region of Kashmir, a place beautiful, remote, and cruel. The scenario uses Hamlet's revenge as its skeleton, and conflicts between India &Pakistan as its flesh. This setting gives universal emotional resonance, and characteristics plus topicality. The first half tells about a young man called Haider who returned home because of his father's disappearance. He had a smart and pretty girlfriend who is the daughter of local police officer; a mother who stayed at his uncle's house after her own was destroyed; an ambitious uncle who wanted to be elected official. Haider looked still very sentimental and innocence, no matter how many times he was turned down, he was still not willing to give up hopes to find his father. Before the "ghost" of his father haunting, he is just a normal boy or a sensitive young poet (I watched the movie with subtitles which he describe himself as a poet, maybe the words has other mean in origin language). Well the second part, after Haider knowing his father was brutally tortured and died miserably , the movies turned into another style, which is darker, cynical, and full of violence. Even Haider himself was on the edge of madness, which accelerate the tragic story line. The open-ending is shocking but still makes sense. Similar as almost all other Bollywood movie, "Haider" has several song and dance scene. I want to say not every one of them was fitting the movie. One last second Haider was full of anger with his uncle, the next second he saw his girlfriend and started to sing and dance with her, this kind of turning is stiff. I like Indian style musical movies, in Haider, the dance, or rather to say a play in the play which mocked his uncle is very powerful and absorbing. The movie actually not only tells us a story of revenge, but also arouse audience to think deeply: to live in a world full of lies and under an oppressive government, how can we know what freedom is? To bear both side advocate their legitimacy then never ending conflict, how to bring peace back? Without a military maintaining order, a region will get into chaos, with an unjust military, a region will be treated terribly, and then how should we be organized and armed?All great thoughts are raised by ideologist and dreamer, but used by realist and plunger, how to prevent the common dream be taken advantage and how to keep ourselves fighting for our own freedom rather than for politician's money and career? Similar tragedies are happening every day in Kashmir, Afghanistan, Libya… Seems like they are endless, like a ouroboros. In the movie "the great dictator" , Charlie Chaplin appealed to all the world to stop being manipulated, to love each other, to fight for democracy , but how ?

xtahiyanx The film is a great drama set in a violent period of Kashmir with mostly the second part adopted from Hamlet. If you're into art films and a bit of killing and blood don't freak you out this is a kind of film you should watch at least once in your lifetime. It might seem to be a bit slow placed however, it is detailed and excellently narrated. The plot, cinematography and dialogue are highly intellectual as well as the visual effects are mind-blowing. I must say, I haven't seen blood looking so beautiful in snow. Each and every character are complex and very much significant and the actors input their award winning performances into the character. No Bollywood cliché, no melodrama. It's a film for people all over the world. I'd easily rate it 9.5 out of 10. Enjoy!