A few such hiccups aside, Haider is an elegant, thrilling film that casts a brave, unflinching eye on the Kashmir struggle. In deviating from the original ending of Hamlet, it also makes a necessary point about the cyclical nature of revenge and violence.
Its deliberate pacing may not work for all, but this is a solid, well-acted movie that deserves your time.

I doubt if I will be able to forget the stunning visuals which dot the film, but the sum is never more than its terrific parts. The craggy old gravediggers in a scene that soars, and the truest character of the film, Haider’s father ( played by Jha), channel the continuing tragedy that is Kashmir. As do the lovely `kani’ shawls flung over the shoulders of the characters, the wispy steam rising from the `kahwa’ cups, the conflicted tears that flow out of Tabu’s eyes . If only they had a film to match.

Haider is one of the most powerful political films we’ve ever made, a bonafide masterpiece that throbs with intensity and purpose

At the heart of Haider is the love between a passionate, complex woman who seeks a sliver of happiness amidst overwhelming circumstances, and her son, who both loves her with an unnatural intensity and hates her for her betrayal of his father. Vishal handles the Oedipal undertones with exquisite daring and understanding. This relationship powers the film. Haider must be seen for this alone.

Watch the film for Vishal Bhardwaj’s direction, dialogues and touching acting prowess that almost everyone in Haider shows. Skip it if an intense, disturbing film is not your cup of tea or if entertainment is what you seek at movie theatres.

The pace slumps a little in the second half, but the slack is short-lived. By then the director’s craft has hypnotised you enough to overlook the slips. Considering Hamlet, with all its complexity, is certainly not an easy adaptation to venture into — that alone could well make this Vishal’s finest film yet.

Haider is bewitchingly clever…And it will haunt you long after you’ve left the theatre…

With scintillating performances by almost all the actors and music which can give you goosebumps, Vishal Bhardwaj has literally created magic on screen. Shahid Kapoor, Tabu, Kay Kay Menon, Irrfan Khan as well as Narendra Jha have delivered scintillating performances, which keep you hooked to the plot from the word go.

Sometimes, Haider wanders – elaborate background music frames some scenes too richly while the second half could’ve been tighter. But these are tiny ripples on this filmi lake. For the most, Haider is superb, witty, violent, tragic – magic.

To see or not to see is no dilemma here. Don’t miss Haider – he’s got chutzpah like none other.

Haider has a lot of things going for it, but it doesn’t live up to what it could have been. In that way, it’s a little like Hamlet’s description of his his new step-father, the naughty uncle Claudius: “A little more than kin, and less than kind.”

No matter what and how small the faults in the film, it deserves an audience. To experience a film that is so mesmerising that it will stay with you forever, even if it is in bits and pieces.

I will definitely recommend Haider, it’s a sure shot winner! Vishal Bhardwaj impresses once again!

The only problem with Haider is it’s length of 2 hours and 40 minutes, it could have been much shorter with as much impact. Music by Vishal Bhardwaj is right for the film but not great, like it been in the past.

Haider 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.

Haider may seem a bit sluggish in the first half and slightly long. However, it makes up for most of it in the dramatic, intense climax that you are treated to towards the end. Haider is definitely a film you should not miss.

This film is not only a terrible missed opportunity but also an utter waste of heart wrenching performances and a beyond perfect costume and production design.

HAIDER is targeted more at niche multiplex audience and not for the masses, which may work against the film. Add to that, the lesser number of screens available for the film and its release alongside the gigantic competitor film BANG BANG may just see the film struggling at the Box-Office.

Haider is eminently worth a watch. Above everything else, it has the chutzpah.

Haider doesn’t have an ounce of the commercial thrills and spills that entertain the 100-crore masses. But it does have an undeniable dramatic punch. It is one of the best stories you’ll every watch on celluloid. Give this edgy film a chance to entertain you. Because it will do so with aplomb. It’s certainly better than the other chutzpah out there.

Watching Vishal Bharadwaj’s HAIDER is like watching a classical concert on stage with ‘live’ musicians. There’s a Violin, Viola and Cello (all stringed instruments from the same family); all these instruments perform in perfect harmony. A flute renders its soulful melody whilst a piano pitches in perfectly to sync in harmony with the rest of the orchestra.

Haider is an experience which needs to be watched by audiences all over for it’s cinematography, directing, performances and as an accomplished adaptation of a literary classic. Encore team and cast of Haider, Encore!

“Haider” is a well made film complimented with dramatic performances, strong script and fine music. Don’t miss this one.

As you watch the beauty of the valley wide-eyed, you can almost smell the Gulmohar in the air and touch the icy waters of Jhelum.The second half dips a bit before it picks up again with an unforgettable climax. Please watch this film. It has chutzpah (Haider’s favourite word for obvious reasons) and a lot of soul too.

Vishal Bhardawaj’s third Shakespearean sojourn is his best yet.Haider is like a painting viewed from the road inside an art gallery…distant yet vivid,unforgettable layered lifelike and yet exquisitely poetic.

If we get a movie better than Haider in the remainder of 2014, let’s count this as a really good year. At this point, the chances of that happening don’t seem likely.

Haider is a moving film that tells the story of not just a character or a family, but of Kashmir itself. …It may ultimately leave you dissatisfied and heartbroken, but just for the first half, Haider is worth watching again and again.

Haider is a class-appealing fare which will do well in premium multiplexes and high-end single-screen cinemas of the big cities mainly. It will be enjoyed by the classes but it will not be liked by the masses. Business in lesser multiplexes and lesser single-screen cinemas as also in ‘B’ and ‘C’ class centres will be rather dull. Overall, average.

It isn’t everyone’s cup of tea. The body count is extremely high (there are more corpses above ground than there are buried below it) and the film is dark and edgy to the point of excluding people. It is, after all, a Shakespearean tragedy. If this doesn’t interest you, you might want to look elsewhere for a “Bang” for your buck. On the other hand, if this is your kind of cinema, you won’t find a better way to spend 3 hours of your life.

If you are amongst those cinema fans, who wait for a good movie, and typical Bollywood masala is not your cup of tea, then Haider is the film for you. It is cinema on canvas.

What you’re left with then are a series of scenes stretching the film to almost 3 hours (without even a fulsome soundtrack) that tries to fit the original Hamlet—singing gravediggers, play within the play etc—into a movie with a hole. Eventually you start feeling vaguely distant and cold. I don’t know about you, but I’m sorry—I was kinda bored.

After watching ‘Haider’, all that can be said is that — It is a perfect example of how many have suffered in the Valley and are just left with the question— ‘To be or not to be’!

Haider is packed with memorable scenes and an underlying message, which stays with you long after you have left the cinema hall. The director treats the topic of political unrest in Kashmir nicely, and tries not to take sides. Yet the movie is not overtly sentimental and delves into the psyche of the characters and the effect the war has on them. This movie has a few minor pitfalls here and there, but otherwise it is a wonderful effort by Bhardwaj, and deserves to be watched.

‘Haider’ is in a strange bracket it’s not at all mass friendly and its not rare piece of cinema like ‘Kaminey’ either. Falling in between ‘Haider’ is still is not a bad film, it’s a disappointment by the standards set by Bhardwaj in his earlier adaptations. ‘Haider’ narration, style and technique will initially attract the high end niche audience for whom any form of sensationalisms with or without conviction is artistic intelligence.

Haider is not just another movie but a brilliant cinematic experience that is beyond melodrama and unrealistic fantasies and typical Bollywood cliches. If you have an appetite for tragedy and revenge dramas, this one cannot be skipped.

Haider is an immensely effective reimagination of Shakespeare—and the film’s biggest triumph is that the provincial, in this case Kashmir and the characters defined by its reality, shine in a universal and timeless tragedy.

Bhardwaj and co-writer Basharat Peer (who authored the book Curfewed Night based on the Kashmir conflict) give us a film that leaves you in its spell long after. And if you can overlook certain blemishes, you’ll be happy to be mesmerized!

After having seen films week-after-week and knowing there are so many more to be seen out there, very few inspire you to watch it again. And even fewer because each department played its role very close to perfection. Vishal Bharadwaj’s Haider is one of those rare ones. Yes, I will certainly watch this one again. Soon.

A more loosely based version might have provided a better structure and unpredictability to Haider’s psychological battle. Even though the film’s flaws are largely down to the nature of work it chooses to adapt, the universe it functions in is occasionally at odds with the characters.

An absolutely delightful and lyrical adaptation of Hamlet that takes some liberties, for Kashmir’s sake…

Helmed by the brilliant story teller Vishal Bharadwaj, ‘Haider’ comes with an unforgettable climax.

Haider is a classic creation minus Bollywood’s cliché elements. It needs patience and your devotion.

A truly touching story that en-captures the saga of Hamlet in the best way possible. The climax is one of the best in Bollywood and the movie should not be missed for it has a soul that will touch you deep.