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Haider : The Screenplay
Based on Hamlet, Haider is the third film in the Shakespearean trilogy written and directed by Vishal Bhardwaj. The screenplays of Omkara and Maqbool will also be published by HarperCollins India at the same time.
Shot in Kashmir, the film faced protests from the locals but was able to complete its schedule. The film stars Shahid Kapoor, Tabu, Shraddha Kapoor, Kay Kay Menon and Irrfan Khan. Shahid Kapoor is co-producing Haider along with Bhardwaj and UTV.
Shot in Kashmir, the film faced protests from the locals but was able to complete its schedule. The film stars Shahid Kapoor, Tabu, Shraddha Kapoor, Kay Kay Menon and Irrfan Khan. Shahid Kapoor is co-producing Haider along with Bhardwaj and UTV.
213 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2014
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About the author
Vishal Bhardwaj
5 books1 followerVishal Bhardwaj is an Indian film director, screenwriter, producer, music composer and playback singer. He is known for his work in Hindi cinema, and is the recipient of eight National Film Awards and a Filmfare Award.
'Nude : Poems' is the first collection of poems (ghazals and nazms) by the juggler of Indian Cinema, Vishal Bhardwaj.
'Nude : Poems' is the first collection of poems (ghazals and nazms) by the juggler of Indian Cinema, Vishal Bhardwaj.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
May 19, 2016
One night in strife-torn Kashmir, a militant suffering from appendicitis is brought surreptitiously to the house of Dr Hilaal Meer. The operation must be carried out in absolute secrecy—and it appears to have passed off successfully, but for a sudden attack. Hilaal is arrested and dragged off to some unknown camp, and his wife Ghazala becomes one of Kashmir’s many half-widows, uncertain of the fate of their husbands: dead, or alive?
But not for long, because when Ghazala and Hilaal’s son Haider returns to Srinagar from Aligarh, where he is a student, it is to find a disturbing intimacy between his mother and his uncle Khurram, Hilaal’s younger brother. With the help of his girlfriend, Arshia, Haider searches desperately for his father—and receives, from an unexpected but oddly reliable source, the news that Hilaal is dead. And that the man behind his death is none other than Khurram, who is now preparing to marry Ghazala.
Vishal Bhardwaj’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet is brilliant on several levels. Firstly, it perfectly mirrors the emotions of the play: the sense of betrayal, the anger, the deep sorrow, the fear, the burning need for vengeance, the different types and degrees of love (from that between a mother and son, to that between a woman and the man she is being adulterous with, to that of a man who knows he is doomed and the woman who loves him despite the doom she sees in his eyes).
Secondly, Haider, while not being anywhere an exact copy of the play, is a very skilful adaptation. It's a modern-day retelling which uses believable techniques to get around several elements that might make the original hard to swallow as a ‘real’ story. Hamlet’s ghost, for instance, is replaced by a flesh-and-blood man, enigmatic though he may be. The gravediggers scene, song and the protagonist’s philosophizing and all is retained, but in a way that fits in perfectly with the setting. There are moments of poetry, too: दरिया भी मैं... दरख़्त भी मैं... झेलम भी मैं... चिनार भी. मैं दैर हूँ... हराम भी हूँ... शिया भी हूँ... सुन्नी भी हूँ (‘I am the river and the tree… the Jhelum and the chinar… Fortitude and forbidden… a Shia and a Sunni, I’m both’).
Thirdly, the setting, so apt. Kashmir, bloody and violent and caught in chaos: just the sort of place one could imagine a Haider going swiftly insane.
The dialogues are sparse, precise and evocative without being wordy. The characters are excellently etched, and I especially liked the depiction of the characters of Ghazala and Haider, and their relationship.
Except for the dialogues, which are written in Devnagari (followed by a translation in English), the entire screenplay is in English. Besides the occasional typos—in both languages—what I found odd was the sometimes inexplicable discordance in the translation. As an example, the English translation for these words of Ghazala to her son: ‘पागल हूँ मैं... भूल ही गयी की तू चाय नहीं पीता कॉफ़ी पीता है’ is given as ‘My dear… you’ve lost so much weight…you’ve grown a beard too…’. Besides being completely not what the original means, it puts a different spin on what was said, too, in what it reflects of Ghazala. The dialogue, in English, is a concerned mother; in Hindustani, it’s a concerned mother, but a mother, too, who has perhaps found something or someone else to occupy the centre of her universe.
But, all said and done, a screenplay which makes one wants to see the movie, and soon.
But not for long, because when Ghazala and Hilaal’s son Haider returns to Srinagar from Aligarh, where he is a student, it is to find a disturbing intimacy between his mother and his uncle Khurram, Hilaal’s younger brother. With the help of his girlfriend, Arshia, Haider searches desperately for his father—and receives, from an unexpected but oddly reliable source, the news that Hilaal is dead. And that the man behind his death is none other than Khurram, who is now preparing to marry Ghazala.
Vishal Bhardwaj’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet is brilliant on several levels. Firstly, it perfectly mirrors the emotions of the play: the sense of betrayal, the anger, the deep sorrow, the fear, the burning need for vengeance, the different types and degrees of love (from that between a mother and son, to that between a woman and the man she is being adulterous with, to that of a man who knows he is doomed and the woman who loves him despite the doom she sees in his eyes).
Secondly, Haider, while not being anywhere an exact copy of the play, is a very skilful adaptation. It's a modern-day retelling which uses believable techniques to get around several elements that might make the original hard to swallow as a ‘real’ story. Hamlet’s ghost, for instance, is replaced by a flesh-and-blood man, enigmatic though he may be. The gravediggers scene, song and the protagonist’s philosophizing and all is retained, but in a way that fits in perfectly with the setting. There are moments of poetry, too: दरिया भी मैं... दरख़्त भी मैं... झेलम भी मैं... चिनार भी. मैं दैर हूँ... हराम भी हूँ... शिया भी हूँ... सुन्नी भी हूँ (‘I am the river and the tree… the Jhelum and the chinar… Fortitude and forbidden… a Shia and a Sunni, I’m both’).
Thirdly, the setting, so apt. Kashmir, bloody and violent and caught in chaos: just the sort of place one could imagine a Haider going swiftly insane.
The dialogues are sparse, precise and evocative without being wordy. The characters are excellently etched, and I especially liked the depiction of the characters of Ghazala and Haider, and their relationship.
Except for the dialogues, which are written in Devnagari (followed by a translation in English), the entire screenplay is in English. Besides the occasional typos—in both languages—what I found odd was the sometimes inexplicable discordance in the translation. As an example, the English translation for these words of Ghazala to her son: ‘पागल हूँ मैं... भूल ही गयी की तू चाय नहीं पीता कॉफ़ी पीता है’ is given as ‘My dear… you’ve lost so much weight…you’ve grown a beard too…’. Besides being completely not what the original means, it puts a different spin on what was said, too, in what it reflects of Ghazala. The dialogue, in English, is a concerned mother; in Hindustani, it’s a concerned mother, but a mother, too, who has perhaps found something or someone else to occupy the centre of her universe.
But, all said and done, a screenplay which makes one wants to see the movie, and soon.
June 21, 2016
Haider, the third installment of Vishal Bhardwaj's ambitious trilogy of bollywood movies based on William Shakespeare's plays has been in my favourite list of bollywood movies. So, when it came to my notice that the original screenplay of that movie is made available in the form of paperback, I didn't spare a moment to grab my copy and now that I am done with it, I feel immensely satisfied.
The plot is set in 1995's Kashmir where the political insurgency is at its peak at that time. Haidar, a young poetry student finds himself shuttered and traumatised due to the mysterious disappearance of his father who's apparently a victim of the dirty game played by local authorities, politicians and terrorists. Haider's torment gets doubled when he discovers the illegitimate relationship between his "half-widowed" mother and his uncle, and his intention gets murderous when he comes to know that his uncle is involved in his father's disappearance, and he swears revenge.
Bhardwaj's version of "Helmet" is not a mare adaptation but much more than that. The effective storytelling skill, dialogues with poetic beauty and emotions, and especially the smart incorporation of politically restive Kashmir are the elements that made Haidar a masterpiece, a truly ambitious film.
I had little knowledge about how a screenplay is prepared and after getting this original screenplay of one of my favourite movies, I count myself incredibly lucky. Have enjoyed it at the fullest extent and what pleases me the most is that I could easily read and understand the Hindi dialogues without even going through the English translation.
The plot is set in 1995's Kashmir where the political insurgency is at its peak at that time. Haidar, a young poetry student finds himself shuttered and traumatised due to the mysterious disappearance of his father who's apparently a victim of the dirty game played by local authorities, politicians and terrorists. Haider's torment gets doubled when he discovers the illegitimate relationship between his "half-widowed" mother and his uncle, and his intention gets murderous when he comes to know that his uncle is involved in his father's disappearance, and he swears revenge.
Bhardwaj's version of "Helmet" is not a mare adaptation but much more than that. The effective storytelling skill, dialogues with poetic beauty and emotions, and especially the smart incorporation of politically restive Kashmir are the elements that made Haidar a masterpiece, a truly ambitious film.
I had little knowledge about how a screenplay is prepared and after getting this original screenplay of one of my favourite movies, I count myself incredibly lucky. Have enjoyed it at the fullest extent and what pleases me the most is that I could easily read and understand the Hindi dialogues without even going through the English translation.
June 15, 2016
I always wondered how the screenplay of a film is written (since I came across what screenplay is ) ? How different screenplay is from other writing works of a film ? And had a curiosity to read or see a screenplay . One day on goodreads I was searching for Bashrat Peer's book " Curfewed Night " , I clicked on author and came to know that there exists a paperback volume of screenplay of Vishal Bhardwaj's film " Haider " , and of his entire Shakespeare Trilogy (the other two being Maqbool and Omkara) .
I was so excited to read it that I completed it within a day and it was a really great , great read . The writing was superb and I understood the level of creativity and clear vision to make each and every scene of a film real and lively . Vishal Bhardwaj and Bashrat Peer has done it perfectly . If you watch the film you will come to know the magic of their screenplay .
The best thing about this screenplay is that Vishal Bhardwaj mixed Kashmir problem with Hamlet and this mixture has worked out very well as the screenplay talks about some serious problems of Kashmir and retains the Shakespeareic tone at the same time .
The only thing that the book - not the screenplay - lacked that the English translation of deep dialogues of the film was not top notch and in some places the translation was completely different from the sense of the dialogues .
Overall a great read .
4.5 Stars .
I was so excited to read it that I completed it within a day and it was a really great , great read . The writing was superb and I understood the level of creativity and clear vision to make each and every scene of a film real and lively . Vishal Bhardwaj and Bashrat Peer has done it perfectly . If you watch the film you will come to know the magic of their screenplay .
The best thing about this screenplay is that Vishal Bhardwaj mixed Kashmir problem with Hamlet and this mixture has worked out very well as the screenplay talks about some serious problems of Kashmir and retains the Shakespeareic tone at the same time .
The only thing that the book - not the screenplay - lacked that the English translation of deep dialogues of the film was not top notch and in some places the translation was completely different from the sense of the dialogues .
Overall a great read .
4.5 Stars .
October 17, 2020
i want to live in the intersection of the venn diagram of vishal bharadwaj and shakespeare
September 12, 2018
[Screen Adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet ]
It is sheer brilliance of Vishal Bharatdwaj that despite being adaptations his works always looks so different from original yet soul of original remains intack and arouses same feelings as original.
Haider is must read for anyone interested in screenplay writing.
It is sheer brilliance of Vishal Bharatdwaj that despite being adaptations his works always looks so different from original yet soul of original remains intack and arouses same feelings as original.
Haider is must read for anyone interested in screenplay writing.
August 6, 2022
This is an essential read for screenplay writers and cinema students. Vishal Bhardwaj did an excellent job with this film, which I consider one of my favorites.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews