Badlapur

Directed by: Shriram Raghavan

Starring: Varun Dhawan, Nawazuddin Sidiqui, Huma Qureshi, Yami Gautam, Divya Dutta

Released: 2015

My rating: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

A bloody revenge movie is a tricky thing. You need a lot of strong points. Reason for revenge. Believable acting. Arevenge which leaves you with a feeling of gratification or at least understanding for the hero."

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Hawaizaada

Directed by: Vibhu Puri

Starring: Ayushman Khuranna, Pallavi Sharda, Mithun Chakraborthy

Released: 2015

My rating: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

Loosely based on the life and alleged achievements of Shivkar Talpade, who is sometimes credited as a maker of the first unmanned plane, which he supposedly constructed with the help of Vedic texts as leads for proportions and materials, Hawaizaada is a product with an ambition to be part Lagaan, part Bollywood extravaganza. I would have enjoyed the film a lot more if it didn´t feel like a huge Saawariya hangover. Mind you, Saawariya is to me a gem of a film, one of my most favourite movies ever. But here the inspiration with Bhansali style of making films is so rampant it actually out-Bhansalies the Bhansali. The one thing missing though is the mystery, atmosphere and deep feeling of it all. Cinematography is stunning and details poetic and wonderful, yet the picturesque beauty lacks soul.

Not only the fairytale-like, colour-harmonized sets larger than life feel familiar. Ayushman Khuranna as Shivy feels familiar too. As if "Raj" from Saawariya just stepped into another story with a different face. They are both young, carefree, optimistic and playing instruments, not worrying of where they are to sleep tonight or what tomorrow will bring. They both fall for a girl who is beautiful in a second, and she becomes their obsession. Where Ranbir was believable in the role, Ayushman does not strike the chord. Perhaps my knowledge of his previous movies interfered too much with the innocence shown here, and so I was simply not convinced, even less so during his weeping scenes. As the film progresses, Ayushman´s over the top act gets actually really annoying. The exumberant, forced smiles, the constant shaking of the head and stubbornly repeated sentimental lines – Shivy with his head of artificial curls has nothing on Ranbir´s Raj. Pallavi Shardha is a girl who I think is destined to be lost to Bollywood viewers soon, simply because she just has hardly any screen presence. Unless luck smiles upon her, I don´t think she will stick around for long as a lead actress.

Then there is of course Mithun Chakraborthy, a man grossly underrated because once upon a time 80s happened to him. I cannot say a bad word about him, and if there is any failing with his character of Shastry, just pin it on the screenplay please.

Clearly, the film was meant to boost some patriotism, being after all set at the time of British dominance over India. And so you can be sure there are petty English officers (awful actors) speaking awful Hindi - even among themselves, and some big patriotic speeches and mottos. I like patriotism, just in films it sometimes gets too much. Hawaizaada does overstep the line, more dramatically as it goes on. Furthermore: I am not keen on technical aspects of building planes, but the movie made it look as easy as nailing few boards together. It takes one particularly harmless bomb to set free and flee with a prisoner right from a courtroom, and the British only find out hours (days?) later. Well, no wonder, since they also apparently have no idea where to look for the guy, even though he lives on a big-ass ship that keeps the lights on and is clearly inhabited.

Better, tighter screenplay and more emphasis on the conflict between love for a girl and dedication to a teacher and friend could have made Hawaizaada a very good film in spite of the blatant ripping off of Saawariya. As it is, it does not deserve more than an average rating.  

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Second half of 2014 overview

The second half of 2014 was full of changes for me on personal front. I finished university, got thrown into the whirlwind of looking for a job, and then finally finding it as well as finding out I got diabetes. Naturally with a change of lifestyle and schedule I have not been able to keep up with Bollywood (or other things) as much as I would have liked to, and so the films I have watched were fewer. As you may have noticed also by lack of activity on this blog. The following are the ones I still managed to see:

Entertainment

Directed by: Sajid-Farhad

Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonu Sood, Prakash Raj, Tamanna Bhatia, Johnny Lever, Mithun Chakraborthy

My rating: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever– flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

This could have been a truly great family entertainer, had it not been for too many hurt crotches, a useless (and awful) song about being forced to drink and perhaps too much not-funny violence near the end. Also, the amount of film-references is like a tsunami which almost makes you choke for air. Akshay, Sonu Sood, Prakash Raj, Johnny Lever - all are effortlessly funny in this over the top comedy, in which the over-the-topness is fine since you have never been expected to take it seriously. Unlike another film of the similar sentiment - Humshakals - it remains watchable throughout, and that a dog might inherit a business empire is still more logical than that a potion can change your DNA and turn you into a dog. And while Tamanna (who was meant for better things in life) has a very small and basic role, the picture is not insulting women (still comparing with Humashakals). Entertainment is a stupid name for a dog, or for a film for that matter. If you are a big Akshay Kumar fan, you might enjoy parts of it. Like the scene in which Akshay interacts with a bunch of different dogs in the jungle. "Hey, Germand Sheperd! Has you father ever been to Germany?!"

Singham Returns

Directed by: Rohit Shetty

Starring: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Amol Gupte

My rating: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing – experience

Bajirao Singham is possibly my favourite action masalla hero, but I would have been happier if he had not returned, as the sequel is no patch on the first film. It is much less focused, and there is no engaging storyline, at times it actually felt as if Rohit Shetty just shot for two different films and then he glued parts together. Inconsistent and eventually boring, Singham 2 gets easily short of breath. The character of Bajirao and its portrayal by Ajay Devgn are still as awesome, but the script was really weak, with no meat at all. It doesn´t help that the villain is more comical than scary, and hence there is no tension between Singham and his enemy – which was exactly what made the first film interesting. Finally Kajal Agarwal has been disposed off (her character of Singham´s wife is never even mentioned – here´s to disposal of actresses, right?) and replaced by Kareena Kapoor, who manages to be annoying as hell. This was really not a role for her. Anyone would have been annoying in it, but she was an utter miscast, even if only because she has done the loud-mouthed energetic girl so many times before – and better. No, Singham should not have returned.

Following the release of the testosteron-overalod three “women oriented” films burst onto the cinema screens. After a fairly awesome Mardaani and less awesome and overpraised Mary Kom, Bipasha Basu fell into deeper chasms of “plz stahp” with yet another horror.

Creature

Directed by: Vikram Bhatt

Starring: Bipasha Basu

My rating: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

It is 2014 and yet films like this are being made. Even before the opening titles start you would have already encountered the “creature” and thus taken away the element of surprise and wondering. Then you are thrown into a very basic bunch of people who are as cartoonish as one could imagine. Within twenty minutes you know the reason which makes the “creature” behave the way it is. Why should you even bother watching any more? You should not. And I only went on so I could convince you to spare yourselves. The film boasted of the use of special computer effects, however the creature looks weird, for the lack of better word, and never manages to create an illusion of actually existing. Dialogues are poor, logic took a holiday. People in horror films are generally of low IQ, but yeh log deserved the Darwin Award (“You go find a bullet and I will keep the empty gun so both of us have no weapon!”). Intimate relationships are created within a day, there are stuffed artificial panthers being hunted down, and police distributes heavy weapons among the civilians just like that. Sometimes the creature can smash down the door without problems, other times it is too big of a problem. Sometimes it outruns a speeding car, few minutes later it cannot catch up with two people running. The closer the film gets to the climax, the more boring it becomes. Most importantly there is hardly any story. The plot is simple – a mythical demon kills in the woods so let´s go and kill it. That is it really. If I wanted two hours of shooting and running I would watch the Olympics or something. Performances are wooden and basic, and it seems to me that the lack of good scripts is slowly but surely reducing Bipasha Basu to certain irrelevance. On one hand I am glad she does not depend on big names and labels to do a film, on the other hand she should really think her projects through. Films like Players, Aatma and now Creature do her more harm than good. Which is really sad because I think she is a fairly good actress. BTW nobody had to die if they just brought a flamethrower with them.

Sadly for Bollywood Bipasha is not the only performer who is running short of breath and keeps doing bad films.

Raja Natwarlal

Directed by: Kunal Deshmukh

Starring: Emraan Hashmi, Paresh Rawal, Deepak Tijori, Kay Kay Manon

My rating: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

Emraan Hashmi remains the poor man´s Anil Kapoor, dressed in shirts which are obviously too tight for him. And everyone acts better includuing shot-20-minutes-in Deepak Tijori, criminally underused Paresh Rawal and not at all sexy though she tries soooooo hard newcomer Humaima (then again she has little to work with besides swirling her skirts around a night club to the playback of unremarkable songs). A film about a conman can be both funny or dramatic, but in any case it should be clever. Raja Natwarlal offers neither wit nor brain-stretch. The plot is as thin as a wet paper and everything too easy for everyone. How did the villain know who stole his money? He just did. How did the police find out about Raja and his group? They just did. Everyone knows everything to the point you really wonder why is there any conflict at all. Boring, nonsensical and stale movie. Instead of blood this avenger should sip milk.

I took some delight in Finding Fannyand was genuinely pleased with Daawat-E-Ishq (review coming eventually), and then after Deepika and Parineeti it was Sonam´s turn in trying to charm me.

Khoobsurat

Directed by: Shashanka

Starring: Sonam Kapoor, Fawad Khan, Ratna Pathak Shah, Kirron Kher

My rating: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

Average entertainment with some bad songs, which just might fit your mood for something light, or it might make you angry with how terribly basic it is. There is absolutely nothing new or fresh neither about the story or Sonam Kapoor in the role of whacky, cutesy, "modern" girl. Impossibly handsome and suave Fawad Khan thus takes the cake as a show-stealer, being very natural and charming. But to give Sonam some credit, she does well with her own limited abilities, and does not annoy. Furthermore she is simply beautiful to look at, no argument there. What a pity these two beautiful people share no chemistry whatsoever. The whole film looks and feels like cotton candy, fortunatelly all the gloss and sweetness lets some nice moments to reach out to the viewer. If I definitely liked something was the fact how Mili managed to make everyone in the royal family realize their lack of communication. That was a lesson few more families, filmi and real, should take.

Bang Bang (review coming eventually), Haider, Happy New Year (review coming eventually) – those were the big releases of the autumn days. I loved none, though Bang Bang entertained me, Haider made an impression and Happy New Year... just happened to be honest. The year ended on a high with PK, but before we could get to it, there was still some suffering in the store.

The Shaukeens

Directed by: Abhishek Sharma

Starring: Anupam Kher, Annu Kapoor, Piyush Sharma, Lisa Haydon, Akshay Kumar

My rating: destroy every copy – horrible– bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

Just when I thought Yaariyan and Humshakals were the sleaziest films of the year, The Shaukeens came and gave those two a tough fight for the spot. Three sex-starved over 60 perverts on the hunt for physical pleasures, oogling over each girl they meet (correction: each girl that fits the standard model type). Their behavior is not really even desperate, it is downright disturbing. There is nothing even remotely funny about situations created for them, and I was left severely repulsed by what I saw. Second half of the movie I have only skimmed through, unable to bear any more. Lisa Haydon crowns the awfulness of the film with her performance, which, I am sorry to say, is simply pathetic. Awful, vulgar, and everyone involved in making it should be ashamed.

Happy Endings

Director: Raj and D.K.

Starring: Saif Ali Khan, Ileana D´Cruz, Ranvir Shorey, Kalki Koechlin, Govinda

My rating: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever– flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

Either Bollywood romantic comedies are loosing breath or Saif Ali Khan is. I think I´d put my money on the latter. The careless player of a lover has been Saif´s most successful domain in the past ten years, but he truly has grown out of the image, but apparently have not noticed. I believe his last successful film of this kind was Cocktail, and that one I do not hesitate to ascribe to Deepika, who shouldered the whole thing. The film gets better in the second half, with Ileana being just lovely, but sharing no chemistry with Saif. The blink and miss cameos by Preity and Kareena showed me Preity in a much better light than her comeback film, and those few minutes of Kareena reminded me that I have missed her on screen (Singham 2 does not count). The film has no plot, no drive and no push, even though there are some cute moments. However, are we not all tired of pathetic middle-age men with commitment-phobia? They have become a trope, and not an endearing one. The film passes by like a breeze on highway ride, without much to be noticed. It is definitely not a cinema piece, felt more appropriate for a DVD watch.

I turned off “Ungli” - another boring Emraan Hashmi film – 20 minutes in, and I refused to watch Action Jackson. And so that really was 2014 Bollywood for me. Maybe one day I will find courage to watch more?

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Mann

Directed by: Indra Kumar

Starring: Aamir Khan, Manisha Koirala, Anil Kapoor, Sharmila Tagore

Released: 1999

My rating: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

I sincerely, honestly believe that the ONLY thing that ever made indra Kumar´s films work was Madhuri Dixit. Apart from Dil, which I consider a good film, even if flawed, Beta and Raja were only bearable because of her awesomeness and talent, and everything after that I have seen of his work just plain sucks. Mann is no different.

I write poetry in my spare time. Love me.

There is so much wrong with the plot! A severely mopy Sati Savitri Manisha falls in love with a cheater and a liar because he loves his grandmom. Because him being able to appreciate the old lady equals, in Manisha´s eyes, to being a good person. In fact, the character played by Aamir Khan is repulsive, unlikeable asshole and womanizer, who enjoys being creepy. The lengths he goes to while „wooing“ women would get him a restraining order in real life. Yet she falls in love with him, is jealous of girls he pays attention to, even though she has rejected him before. By the time the movie reached the interval I was ripping my hair out of frustration and sheer disbelief. Then the asshole-ish hero turns good and full of izzat overnight. How am I supposed to buy that?

"What the..."

"Do I turn you on?"

"Totally!"

In the second half of the film we are served a completely different story. That of selfless love and that you should look around before crossing the road. Manisha´s face is all swollen throughout and her glycerin-tears-stained cheeks can only be equaled by Jaya Bachchan´s from Kabhi Khusi Kabhi Ghum. Because our heroine lost both her legs! From extreme „hilarity“ the movie sinks into extreme depression, and everything is so theatrical you just wonder what has the director do to make all these good actors act so terribly. 

So hot.

I was irked by so many things in the story, but the greatest outrage was perhaps when Manisha admits to the headmistress of the orphanage (where she had grown up) that she doesn´t want to marry the cheerful and genuinely nice Anil Kapoor (whom I did not expect in the least to show up), because she loves the womanizing stalker. She is then lectured on how she has no right whatsoever to follow her heart and be actually honest with her fiancé, because, you know, there is a chance he just might turn into a lunatic and go crazy because of that. And also: certainly, if she dares to refuse him, nobody will ever marry a girl from an orphanage again. Like WTF.

"Was my moustache not pervy enough for you, biatch?"

Aamir Khan is at his annoying worst (I think I read he regretted doing the film? It would definitely make sense.) Manisha looks disturbingly ill, I had to wonder whether she had some issues with her health off screen. Comedy has never been her forte, and her tragedy is too overdone in this. Anil Kapoor comes and goes, with the only sane character to play, but being himself more than anything. Sharmila Tagore cast as Aamir Khan´s grandmother felt so wrong! The fabulous actress, who was in her fifties at the time, is unrecognizable under a deck up of at least 80 year old woman, who appears very briefly only to pile on some more depression by dying in the second half.

"I am a Cinderella waiting for a Prince."

"But when he brings a shoe he won´t recognize you since you have no legs now."

"You lil shit!"

Logic has never really had place in Indra Kumar´s universe, while annoying over the top comedy thrived. Mann, which also stole a song or two from vintage European hits (here is one and here is another) is a confused movie trying to go from comedy into a tragic romance, much like Dil, but comedy is lame and tragic romance frustrating. The first half, made up of every wrong cliché, made me uncomfortable, the second half with its mopier than mopy ridiculousness made me roll my eyes till they almost stuck on the other part of my head.

"Good luck and break a leg, like you broke my heart."

(note on captions: Sorry for lame jokes. I don´t  mind Anil´s stache. The Cinderella comment was indeed made in the film. Except the ending. Of course.)

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Jab Jab Phool Khile

Directed by: Suraj Prakash

Starring: Shashi Kapoor, Nanda

Released: 1965

My rating: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

Clearly the awful Raja Hindustani drew much inspiration from a film lot older, lot sweeter, and less blatantly sexist and prejudiced. Perhaps not as equally successful, but very successful still. Those were my initial thoughts after watching Jab Jab Phool Khile, a picture full of beautiful songs, terribly unrealistic studio sets, sophisticated Lolita-reading Nanda and above all the cutest, handsomest Shashi Kapoor. Perhaps no other actor has had innocence so clearly mirrored on his face. Mr. Shashi is simply adorable as a simple Kashmiri falling in love with a wealthy lady.

For most part Jab Jab Phool Khile is pure joy to watch. The wealthy girl is spoilt, but not rotten spoilt and does not think that poor people stink. She is wearing western clothes, but the traditional Shashi does not tell her off because of it (unlike Aamir in Raja Hindustani). She is, actually, clearly educated, sophisticated and has a strong will and sense of independence. Very early on she makes it clear that she has not yet thought her own life through, so why think of marriage. And she keeps the same attitude until love comes her way. Then too the wedding is not quick affair in a rush of emotions moment. Nanda has been known as the „homely“ heroine with sweet, inoffensive charm, and she essayed the role of Rita perfectly.

In the very soul of the story, however, is Raju (the most Shashilicious of all the Kapoors), his naive dreams and devoted persistence, which, as should be mentioned, never goes out of control. Far from being a stalker who puts himself in front of every step of the lady he fancies, Shashi loves Nanda from a certain distance. This distance always remains respectful, and for once the hero is not creepy at all. In fact he is completely loveable. Shashi with his gentle eyes and shy smile is forever my crush and whatever damage to his image was done by Satyam Shivam Sundaram, Jab Jab Phool Khile repaired seamlessly. The Kapoor men have always had incredible energy and gusto with hich they performed set them apart from other actors. Shashi´s excitement and unbounded joy as he sings about his hopes are infectious.

The smooth narrative, unfortunately, does have a few dents, most of which one is willing to forgive given the release date of the movie, and the fact the rest of it is so sweet. Still, they did take a away a bit from the viewing experience. The hero tries to fit into an unfamiliar world of his beloved without making it seem like a huge sacrifice of his moral conscience, and unlike in Raja Hindustani he is successful and not ridiculous at all. But just as I was ready to cheer for the movie, the eternal „west is bad“ idea crept into it and ruined the ending. When Shashi and Nanda dance at a party thrown by her parents, she goes on to dance with someone else for a bit. Within seconds the sweet Shashi turns into a lecturer on morality. Because how dare you dance with other men. It basically means you are a used thing with no worth. Naturally Nanda ensures a dramatic finale, during which the imagery is all too clear: Shashi having the moral high ground stands in a moving train, while she trips on down below on the pavement, begging him to take her away from everything what has been her life. I feel like inserting the „you tried“ meme here – for the makers.

Oh – the comedy bits were.... painful.

In the end it should be noted that the only saving grace of Raja Hindustani today is the music. Jab Jab Phool Khile, on the other hand, is still a pleasing cinematic piece. When two do the same, it is not the same.

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PK

Directed by: Rajkumar Hirani

Starring: Aamir Khan, Anushka Sharma, Saurabh Shukla, Boman Irani, Sanjay Dutt

Released: 2014

My rating: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

I love Raju Hirani and his films. They are cheeky, provokative, yet essentially „good at heart“, working with characters that go easily over the top, but still remain believable. Even if they are an alien, and even if the same faces have been used by the same director in his previous ventures, as figures very much unforgettable.

PK share much of its features with both E.T. and OMG Oh My God (starring Paresh Rawal and Akshay Kumar, and which I hear was also a take on some English film), so while this time it is not about being innovative and original, it is still about skillful filmmaking and cinema which can both entertain and educate. Certainly we should be grateful when a film like PK becomes a massive hit, instead of the mindless masala, at least once upon a time. Also thank God (the asli wala) that the film stayed away from much of romantic moping or emotional revelations, which would inevitably slowed the narrative down (It was not about romantic love anyway, so why dilute it.)

Aamir Khan gives a commendable performance, and while the biggest strength of PK is in the way his dialogues have been written more than anything, when his extravagant weirdness stops bothering you after a while, he slips into the role effortlessly. Anushka Sharma is a natural performer and one gets happy just seeing her twinkling eyes. Whatever she has been doing with the lower part of her face is completely her business and I do not judge her for it, but yes, I must admit in some scenes her mouth area was as distracting as Katrina´s lips in Jab Tak Hai Jaan. Saurabh Shukla appears and makes quite an impression as a mean religious leader, while the erst of the cast divide some special appearances. Boman Irani, I felt, got the mean deal. Given he has been such a power in Hirani´s previous movies, here he has nothing to work with at all. Sanjay Dutt is funny, and his shocking demise.... well.... shocking to say the least. The special appearance by Ranbir Kapoor at the end would have been an extremely pleasant surprise, had it not good friend tumblr ruined it for me just days after the film release.

PK, unfortunately, does not reach the higher than high standards set by Hirani himself with his previous films (namely 3 Idiots and above all Munnabhai MBBS). Half-an-hour-too-long, while it carries a fantastic message, it lacks any true drama to drive the plot. One feels for PK, but there is not a single moment when one would not expect him to return home eventually. Finally, the last twenty minutes seem sloppy. The whole explanation of „how maybe Sarfaraaz probably did not ditch you ever thought of that“ felt forced and over-constructed (does this word even exist?). Also, if you have a huge lasting fight over religion on national TV, there should be a grand conclusion, but the viewer is robbed of the experience, as the climax remains underplayed and underwhelming. Few times I also had to remind myself to be tolerant when it came to a fine line between humour and crude humour, without which Hirani seemingly cannot do (though I admit the dancing car was funny). The movie lacks memorable soundtrack.

When it comes of the specific theme of religion and how it became a big money spinning business, Rawal´s OMG remains superior. PK is more cute, with a hero and heroine more to the mainstream tastes, and on a grander scale. It carries the Raju Hirani signature: it is light-hearted, funny yet touching, all that just somehow little less than usual.

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Haider

Directed by: Vishal Bhardwaj

Starring: Shahid Kapoor, Tabu, Shraddha Kapoor, Kay Kay Menon, Irrfan Khan

Released: 2014

My rating: destroy every copy – horrible – bad – whatever – flawed but enjoyable - good – great – amazing

What to say? Everybody loved Haider. Or not? Everybody praised it. Or not? Perhaps there is still hope that others, just like me, ended up confused and uncomfortable as the closing titles rolled and Rekha Bhardwaj sang. Few things which distinctly stuck in my mind were the way pain and innocence on Shahid Kapoor´s handsome face transforming into insanity, the song picturized on the undertakers and then also the pristine, elf-like beauty which seems to radiate from Shraddha Kapoor´s very being. Then I also recall being grossed out at unnecessary gore and blood, and how I hate open endings.

Haider was probably the MOST universally praised movie of 2014, but somehow failed to click with me as a viewer. I am therefore unsure of even how to rate it. On one hand one has to admit this was something very unusual and as such a risk for a prolific Bollywood filmmaker, no matter what his previous track record. It also cannot be denied that the movie is extremely well acted, is well crafted. And finally this is what a good adaptation should look like – taking the essentials, directly referring to the original inspiration through the dialogues and even imagery, but still adding different background, contemporary touch and even its own twist. Oh - the two Salmans and their version of Mere Rang Mein was funny.

Yet for all this I could not bring myself to like the film. It disturbed me, but not moved me. I tried hard to immerse into the world of the characters, but for all my good will I remained a detached viewer. Part of it, at least in the beginning, probably has to do with me not having enough knowledge on the situation in Kashmir during the 90s. I felt it all a bit hazy as the bearded men wielding firearms kept running across the screen. Tabu´s large tragic eyes were completely believable, but for all her sadness I shed not a single tear for Ghazala (and I am a total crybaby. Like seriously, sometimes a simple happy hug on screen can turn me into a sobbing mess). Perhaps the realistic approach went against the film in the end, making it so credible I started longing for at least a bit of the damned escapist cinema. The songs were unnecessary (and quite forgettable), except for the theatrical Bismil, a take on the staged play from the original. Bhardwaj did better job as a composer this very year with Dedh Ishqiya. I also felt the movie was dragging, especially in the first half, and I made more than five breaks meanwhile.

What makes the experience worth it is without a doubt Haider himself – Shahid Kapoor in his best form post Kaminey. He becomes the character, leaving no trace of his stardom anywhere, not even as he dances with extreme energy and grace to „Bismil“. I do not think any other actor could match up to his standard in the scene when we for the first time see him „loosing his mind“, with a noose around his neck. Tabu and Irrfan Khan are both very good, though I perhaps expected something more from the former, given the amount of praise. Me and Tabu still have a long way to go, this being the first film where she actually does some acting. Kay Kay Menon is excellent. Shraddha Kapoor seems bit of a lost baby among others, but does a decent job, even though her character is only needed as a source of plot triggers (which do not even concern her).

I suppose that when asked, I am going to say that Haider is a good film. Just not really what I would watch repeatedly. Among Vishal Bhardwaj films I very much prefer his other Shakespearean venture in the form of Omkara, and at the cost of comitting a sacrilege, I would even give more points to his (often condemned) 7 Khoon Maaf.  

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