rubicon
Junior artiste
Posts: 97
Upcoming release you're most excited about: Rangoon, Udta Punjab
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Post by rubicon on Oct 2, 2014 16:55:54 GMT
This is receiving mixed reviews: This is not a simple adaptation, this takes not a simplistic stance; Haider is a remarkable achievement and one of the most powerful political films we've ever made, a bonafide masterpiece that throbs with intensity and purpose. -Raja SenHaider is an unforgettable film that never fumbles, never stumbles, and is so sure of itself that it cannot go wrong. From Shahid to Tabu to Kay Kay to the powerful cameo of Irrfan, everything in the film works. It’s a Guztaq film that audaciously breaks every rule in the book, everything that you could have expected from it and ends up being that edgy watch which you’ll savor, while you watch it from the edge of seats. Haider is Chutzpah and inkeeping with the same vein, I will rate this film the highest I have ever gone with a movie. -Mohar Basu
Hamlet in itself is a beast to be tamed. Vishal and his co-writer, the acclaimed Kashmiri journalist Basharat Peer, transplant the play to Kashmir. It plays out against a socio-political tragedy that has been wrought over six decades and that has a Rashomon-like quality to it — the heroes and villains switch places, depending on the narrator. The result is a film that is problematic and far too long, but also thrillingly ambitious and powerful. -Anupama ChopraVishal had all the ingredients right but is terribly let down by a confused and meandering screenplay... He has always made films that the audience has to play catch up with. In Haider he treats us like fools - over narrates and goes into flashback to explain every little point. Stop dumbing down films, let us do some of the work and trust we are not idiots. We get it. -India Today
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Post by jabimetbollywood on Oct 4, 2014 18:51:01 GMT
I have to respectfully disagree. To me "mixed reviews" means a pretty equal bag of negatives and positives. The majority of Haider's reviews have been very positive, glowing even. A negative viewpoint here or there or a "problematic... but also thrillingly ambitious and powerful" thrown in the works do not make for "mixed reviews." In my opinion. It would be very rare for a movie to have NO negative response, but honestly, Haider's gives the impression of coming pretty near. It's not making money like Bang, Bang, but it's doing all right for itself in that department, too. www.koimoi.com/box-office/haider-picks-up-on-day-2-1st-friday-at-the-box-office/I cannot wait to see this. I have never been sadder about my lack of access to Bollywood on the big screen.
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rubicon
Junior artiste
Posts: 97
Upcoming release you're most excited about: Rangoon, Udta Punjab
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Post by rubicon on Oct 4, 2014 20:07:26 GMT
I have to respectfully disagree. To me "mixed reviews" means a pretty equal bag of negatives and positives. The majority of Haider's reviews have been very positive, glowing even. A negative viewpoint here or there or a "problematic... but also thrillingly ambitious and powerful" thrown in the works do not make for "mixed reviews." In my opinion. It would be very rare for a movie to have NO negative response, but honestly, Haider's gives the impression of coming pretty near. That's fair. My conclusion was based on a cursory look at the earliest reviews. Since more reviews have come out, I would agree that they have been more positive than negative. At any rate, the film is picking up at the box office due to word of mouth which is promising.
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Post by dariya on Oct 5, 2014 0:23:19 GMT
I cannot wait to see this. I have never been sadder about my lack of access to Bollywood on the big screen. Same. Just did a bit of a desperate search but no, the nearest theater showing this is still about 300 miles away for me. We probably won't have to wait that long for the DVD but still, it would be so much more fun to watch in the theater. I've seen a few BW movies on the big screen but it was just what happened to be playing at the time, not anything I was looking forward to or particularly enjoyed.
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poornima
Dancing in the chorus
Posts: 37
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Post by poornima on Oct 5, 2014 7:27:24 GMT
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poornima
Dancing in the chorus
Posts: 37
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Post by poornima on Oct 5, 2014 7:31:08 GMT
This cropped up on my Facebook wall, posted by a friend, equally shrill as the blog about why a patriotic Indian should NOT see the film! indiaopines.com/kashmiri-separatists/I am going for the movie anyway tomorrow (!), to see for myself whether this is an unwarranted rant. Meanwhile keeping fingers crossed this doesn't turn into a nightmare controversy for Vishal Bharadwaj. The interview below, does seem as if Basharat Peer, the film's script writer (at the centre of the controversy)is actively rooting for his state to break free from the Indian Union (though most mainstream critics , even the ones who aren't gushing compliments copiously, don't seem to have noticed any strident, anti-national elements in the film. blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2010/08/11/my-nationality-a-matter-of-dispute-basharat-peer/
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Post by ShantiSal on Oct 5, 2014 11:18:48 GMT
I thought it was terrific with an outstanding cast. Glad I saw it on the big screen.
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Post by newauntie on Oct 6, 2014 3:25:58 GMT
I can't wait to see it. We went this evening and it was sold out!! There were tons of people behind us talking about it. I hope to be able to catch it later in the week.
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Post by dancelover on Oct 6, 2014 21:54:47 GMT
Please note: this WallStreetJournal interview is from August 2010 - four whole years ago! Plenty of time for a writer to change his opinion.
But those of his friends training in Pakistan for "azeed" might remember that the Pakistanis call the parts of Kashmir now in Pakistan "Azeed Kashmir."
D
[snip - d] The interview below, does seem as if Basharat Peer, the film's script writer (at the centre of the controversy)is actively rooting for his state to break free from the Indian Union (though most mainstream critics , even the ones who aren't gushing compliments copiously, don't seem to have noticed any strident, anti-national elements in the film. blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2010/08/11/my-nationality-a-matter-of-dispute-basharat-peer/
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Post by dancelover on Oct 6, 2014 22:01:56 GMT
BoxOfficeIndia says that Haider is "trending well." It has not been overwhelmed by Bang-Bang (double meaning there!).
Perhaps the director did not make an anti-India movie, despite the screenwriter. Or perhaps the screenwriter changed his opinions, or softened them for the movie.
D
This cropped up on my Facebook wall, posted by a friend, equally shrill as the blog about why a patriotic Indian should NOT see the film! indiaopines.com/kashmiri-separatists/I am going for the movie anyway tomorrow (!), to see for myself whether this is an unwarranted rant. Meanwhile keeping fingers crossed this doesn't turn into a nightmare controversy for Vishal Bharadwaj. [snip - d]
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odadune
Star of the item number
not around much due to stuff in my personal life.
Posts: 1,494
Favorite actor: Currently a certain Kumar, but I like most of them
Favorite actress: whoever's in films I'm interested in this week
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Post by odadune on Oct 7, 2014 0:39:28 GMT
This cropped up on my Facebook wall, posted by a friend, equally shrill as the blog about why a patriotic Indian should NOT see the film! indiaopines.com/kashmiri-separatists/I am going for the movie anyway tomorrow (!), to see for myself whether this is an unwarranted rant. Meanwhile keeping fingers crossed this doesn't turn into a nightmare controversy for Vishal Bharadwaj. The interview below, does seem as if Basharat Peer, the film's script writer (at the centre of the controversy)is actively rooting for his state to break free from the Indian Union (though most mainstream critics , even the ones who aren't gushing compliments copiously, don't seem to have noticed any strident, anti-national elements in the film. blogs.wsj.com/indiarealtime/2010/08/11/my-nationality-a-matter-of-dispute-basharat-peer/ My own impression about the controversy is that a lot of it is a matter of unfortunate timing: there was some serious flooding in Kashmir recently, and the Indian Army apparently did some impressive relief work, cue the feel-good news stories and people feeling proud of the troops. And so there was (some) backlash against the parts of the film dealing with the military "disappearing", torturing, and killing the father.
The thing is, regardless of the scriptwriter's beliefs or the actual situation in Kashmir, there probably isn't a better way to translate the Denmark of Shakespeare's imagination to a modern Indian setting than to use Kashmir: a snowy, mountainous place in conflict (there's a civil war going on in the background of Hamlet) where Urdu would be appropriate, and by extension poetical Urdu translations of Shakespeare would not seem overly out of place.
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poornima
Dancing in the chorus
Posts: 37
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Post by poornima on Oct 7, 2014 14:05:50 GMT
I watched Haider yesterday to a nearly full theatre (full partly because it was Eid, perhaps?). Starkly beautiful, intense and troubling definitely, but also overly long. I tend to agree with Baradwaj Rangan's query: "Why Hamlet?" Some sequences - the 'Alas, poor Yorick' speech for e.g. or the 'To be or not to be" soliloquy - seem to be tagged on simply to remind the viewer (who knows her Hamlet) about the Shakespeare connection. To the majority of Indians who haven't a clue, these may not add significantly to the screenplay. Personally, I felt they weren't really required because Haider's story could well stand on its own legs, with perhaps just the bare bones plot of Hamlet. Another grumble - the long flashbacks felt ham-handed and interrupted the flow of events. Vishal seems to doubt our capacity to connect the dots. And I couldn't help wondering how Haider, who never does make it sarhad paar (across the border) to a militant training camp is quite the ace sharpshooter when he needs to use a gun (while Hamlet was trained in swordsmanship, Haider was packed off to a college for fear he might turn to jihad.)
Beyond these irritants, Haider is well worth a watch, if you like watching grim stuff, that is. The first half is a leisurely amble, a detailed painting of the political backdrop against which the tragedy unfolds. Definitely, Vishal needed a scriptwriter like Basharat Peer and his connections with the separatist movement to produce such believable sequences. I thought Vishal's handling of the oppressive Indian Army presence in Kashmir at the height of the militancy era is well nuanced. Stories of Army excesses in Kashmir are not unknown to the rest of India; here, they are given a human face as well without diluting the merciless brutality handed out to anyone who is even faintly suspected of having militant connections. Everyone's a victim, soldiers included.
Just when you wonder where the story is heading, the second half finally picks up pace - and the Shakespeare connection. I imagine that for any young actor, it would be well nigh impossible to outshine Tabu's amazing screen presence and that's what happens to Shahid (he does have a couple of great moments). The rest of the cast is very competent, but this is Tabu's movie, all the way. What did she see in that oily brother-in-law anyway? I am guessing her problem of loneliness and endless "waiting" (for a man, a better life, peace, normalcy) echoes the voices of thousands of Kashmiri women. Irrfan, in his handful of scenes manages to steal the male acting honours. I was curious about why Vishal dresses him in all-white. He blends with the snow, of course, as one who must live in the shadows, but the same white marks him out against the browns, blacks and greys favoured by the men around. Hmm.....
Odadune: Vishal acknowledges the Indian Army's sterling rescue efforts during the recent Kashmir floods along with a series of other footnotes at the end of the film. Haider's ultimate choice - to personally kill or not to kill his father's murderer - ends the film on a positive note, though heavily weighted with the death of nearly every one of the main characters.
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odadune
Star of the item number
not around much due to stuff in my personal life.
Posts: 1,494
Favorite actor: Currently a certain Kumar, but I like most of them
Favorite actress: whoever's in films I'm interested in this week
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Post by odadune on Oct 7, 2014 18:22:50 GMT
poornima: thanks for the review, it sounds like Vishal handled the political content with a lot of nuance.
My understanding is that Irrfan's character serves the same function as the Ghost in the original play, so the white clothes could be a reference back to that.
It's interesting how the one criticism (from people of good will, not controversy-mongers) that seems to crop up is the feeling that the story doesn't really get into gear until the protagonist finds out the truth about his father's death, which occurs close to interval. In the original, the Ghost is already in the picture, if not yet seen, from the word go, and by the end of the first act (in a five-act drama) Hamlet is up to speed on his father's fate and been tasked with vengeance.
"Positive note with a high body count" is also a pretty valid interpretation of Hamlet's ending in general, IMO. I've certainly seen versions where I came away feeling like pretty much every dead character with the possible exception of Ophelia had brought this on themselves, and a clean sweep of the royal family and its intimates was not exactly a bad thing.
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Post by dancelover on Oct 8, 2014 16:54:51 GMT
BoxOfficeIndia says that Haider is doing well at the BO, despite competition from Bang-Bang.
In Crore" Thursday 5.25 Friday 6; Sat 5.5; Sun 6.25; Mon 4.25; and Tueday 3. So far over 30, with an Expected Week Total of 35. "Decent, and second week should be healthy."
Dancelover
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Post by dancelover on Oct 14, 2014 17:14:02 GMT
BOI is now calling Haider "Average" with an expected lifetime total of 50 crore. D
BoxOfficeIndia says that Haider is doing well at the BO, despite competition from Bang-Bang.
In Crore" Thursday 5.25 Friday 6; Sat 5.5; Sun 6.25; Mon 4.25; and Tueday 3. So far over 30, with an Expected Week Total of 35. "Decent, and second week should be healthy."
Dancelover
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