nskanyal

Has Kashmir ever looked so beautiful in a movie? probably not! Have 1990's insurgency in the valley felt more real on screen? don't think so! Has there been better adaptation of Shakespeare's Hamlet? I don't know, but this is as good as it gets. Vishal and the whole team has given everything possible to make this master-piece. The story in the fore-front is direct adaptation from tragedy play Hamlet, with son looking for his lost/murdered father, his mother getting in relationship with his uncle, son seeking revenge, and mom & son still longing for each other. The story in the backdrop is from 1995 Kashmir, where young kashmiri lads are pushed onto one side or the other, army/police/state seeking control of the valley, and a few just playing everyone and benefiting from the misfortunes of the others. In the first half, both the stories are competing with each other to get the focal role. Second half is mostly about the main story. First half is the build-up of the plot, characters and their emotions. Second half (immediately after that cameo from my favorite Irrfan Khan) is where it explodes in all directions.

Tabu is amazing and awesome, and even better than she was in Maqbool. Her character is a blend of three different roles - conniving adulteress, a dejected wife, and insanely loving mother. The way she calls her son "Jaanam", the way she parts from Shahid after kissing him thrice, the wedding mehandi on her hands (with Bhardwaj making sure that people notice it) - it was all so touching that you can feel yourself to be a part of the story. Shahid's chocolaty and not-so-kashmiri & never-gonna-be-old face doesn't go well with the role of a tragedy prince hamlet. I might have preferred someone else, but might have very limited options to find somebody young and talented enough to play this role, with a girl like Shraddha Kapoor swooning after him. But, to be fair with Shahid, he was definitely very good, especially after he goes bald and have that touch of insanity. Kay Kay was very good too, but lets agree that he has done better roles. I would have liked to see more of Irrfan Khan. Shraddha Kapoor was convincing in her role of love- smitten young naive girl.

Movie gets A+ on the cinematography - we humans have literally wasted this paradise on earth - Kashmir in its pure raw form hasn't ever looked more beautiful. The camera work and screenplay is amazing, especially in those long mother & son scenes. The background score is so original and refreshing - really liked the parts, where it start playing tunes from some of the yester-year movies. Dialogues are direct adaptation from Hamlet and completely apt in this movie story-line. The "to be or not to be" rendition is simply amazing.

I won't say its a perfect movie - could not understand the relevance of that romantic song; shaved chest of shahid kapoor in 1990's kashmir would be hard to explain; gravediggers' poster looked much better than that scene in the movie; and probably could have leveraged those two salman's even more for few more lighter moments.

Overall, movie is a masterpiece and is a must must watch!