Shakespeare’s tragic hero Hamlet comes home to Kashmir to haunt, and be haunted, with the painful reminder of his existential crisis – to be or not to be. Haider (Shahid Kapoor), a young Kashmiri student, comes home from Aligarh only to find a missing father and a mother broken by overwhelming events. Determined not to give up on finding his father, he emerges as Kashmir’s voice in the midst of personal chaos.

He is sure his uncle Khurram has a hand in his father’s disappearance and his fears are substantiated when one of his father’s cell mates confirms them but, at the same time, he also knows that his mother is in love with his uncle. Confused between responding to his father’s call for revenge and accepting his mother’s new lover, Haider learns the loss of family, love, sanity — and eventually himself.

Bhardwaj is no stranger to Shakespeare. When the plot is familiar, the execution becomes the real task. Instead of experimenting with the plot, he sticks to the base while playing around only where necessary. Apart from some clumsy dance moves and Bollywood kitsch comic relief, justice is done, thanks to great cinematography and solid performances.

Fewer actors in Indian cinema have a screen presence more powerful than Tabu. Her version of Gertrude is as passionate a mother as she is a lover. Alongside her, Menon as the treacherous uncle is another force to reckon with. Together the two make a power couple on screen, leaving Shahid Kapoor fighting for attention. Attention he receives, but he is no Lawrence Olivier. Tainted by his popular Bollywood appeal, he falls a tad short of fulfillment in serious cinema. Shraddha Kapoor comes out a surprising success, though.

The awkward ‘moments of truth’ – that led to a ban on the film in Pakistan – are not forced and, unlike popular perception, are devoid of any alleged anti-Pakistan bias. Anything remotely related to Kashmir would have had similar fate, especially when it talks about militancy from across the border. With the necessary nip and tuck, however, Haider could have been released in Pakistan as it also highlights the Indian army’s blatant human rights abuses in Kashmir. But, then again, maybe not.

Haider’s courageous subject matter will come close to that of Omkara, Bhardwaj’s 2006 adaptation of Othello. Very close, indeed. And the alchemy of Shakesperean tragedy with that of Kashmir makes it only bigger and better.

What is more is his experimentation with the gory which is more Tarantino in flavour than Scorsese and, hence, a leap for Indian cinema. It is time someone called a spade a spade and made Kashmir look gory and unpleasant rather than romantic. For Bhardwaj and his team that should be a non-issue as Haider is proof of how good cinema can be meaningful and entertaining at the same time.