Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Vishal Bhardwaj’s Haider: A comparative analysis

Abstract

The element of tragedy in William Shakespeare’s Hamlet inspired Vishal Bhardwaj to come up with Haider. With this film, Bhardwaj completes his trilogy of Shakespearean tragic adaptations. Haider is a commendable fusion of a revenge play, Elizabethan drama and a Bollywood movie. The horrors of Kashmir are reflective of the tragic elements in the original source text. The eternal themes in Hamlet, such as betrayal, corruption, death, love and filial obedience, are beautifully woven with the plot of Haider. However, Bhardwaj has taken certain liberties to mould the story in his own creative style to cater to cinematic and commercial requirements. The present research paper aims to analyze Hamlet and its adaptation in the light of comparative analysis. It opens with a brief introduction on the conception of the idea that brought Haider into existence and moves on to discuss the art of characterization, the political aspects of Kashmir in the adaptation, and the different dramatic devices that are being employed. Finally, the paper presents a detailed comparative analysis between the source text (Hamlet) and the adaptation (Haider) to explore the various points of contact and departure between the two.