“Zeher khubsoorat hain aap (You are intoxicatingly beautiful),” says Shahid Kapoor’s Haider to Tabu’s Ghazala at one level in Vishal Bhardwaj’s acclaimed function Haider (2014). And that line encapsulates each the actor Tabu, and her magnificence (she is ageing backwards). In a profession spanning over 30 years, Tabu has executed a wide range of roles. From her earlier ‘masala films’ to her second innings as an artiste with unimaginable potential, Tabu has been there and executed that. The main girl, the one-off comedic function, the numerous intense character-driven performances — Tabu is likely one of the most full actors to have graced the screens of Indian cinema. Her collaboration with musician-filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj has been particularly fruitful, which has given them two profitable tasks in Maqbool (2003) and later, Haider.
Tabu’s efficiency in Haider was one of many highlights of the film. (Photo: UTV Motion Pictures)
Both the aforementioned motion pictures are part of Vishal’s Shakespeare trilogy — Maqbool (adaptation of Macbeth), Omkara (adaptation of Othello) and Haider (Bhardwaj’s interpretation of the Bard’s Hamlet). If Shakespeare was one entity (many academicians have claimed him to be a mixture of a number of authors) and if he have been alive, he would have most likely mentioned Hamlet was one among his most dense, complete and complicated performs. Bhardwaj not solely set it up in an Indian context of the perpetually politically charged Kashmir, he introduced up a superb solid on board to finish his formidable dream.
Enter Tabu (and naturally, a bunch of different gifted performers together with Shahid Kapoor, Kay Kay Menon and Irrfan Khan). But Haider, for me, was a mother-son story. A love story, nearly blasphemous as it might sound on the floor. It was about Haider’s troublesome relationship along with his mom Ghazala, who typically smothered him with insufferable love, after which did dangerously poisonous issues (like threatening to take her personal life) to seemingly get him ‘out of harm’s manner.’ In the unique textual content too, Hamlet was mentioned to own an almost unnatural sort of love for his mom, which students have since then termed as ‘Oedipus Complex.’ According to this Freudian time period, a son basically needs to develop into his father a lot that he even harbours the considered at some point killing him to take his place.
Tabu shares a superb chemistry with Shahid within the movie, the stress between their characters is electrical. Their relationship nearly appears tangible, too actual, regardless of its apparent flaws (and due to them as nicely). While there are numerous memorable sequences that includes Tabu in Haider, one which finest highlights her place within the narrative is apparently the one the place we hardly hear her converse. The actor is sitting immobile in entrance of a big mirror, Haider comes and applies somewhat scent on the aspect of her neck and gently kisses her, complimenting her magnificence. Then it’s talked about how he would develop into jealous as a toddler if Haider’s father touched Ghazala even somewhat. Haider makes the viewers’s discomfort extra pronounced when he says, ”Ab to unke bhai aapko chhoote hai, ab kya karun essential?’ (My uncle touches you, what do I do now?).” The entire act says plenty of issues in regards to the uncomfortable, irregular dynamic the 2 share. Tabu’s expression is of an individual who’s shocked at this close to revelation of her son’s emotions for her however is making an attempt her finest to maintain a lid on it. She stares into the mirror blankly as Haider kisses her on the neck, conscious but in addition barely nonplussed in regards to the scenario.
Tabu had accepted this frisson in an interview to Indian Express. “He (Vishal Bhardwaj) cast me as Shahid’s mother because he wanted the oddity of the relationship to come out which wouldn’t have come across with a regular aged mother and son combination. Haider shares a love/hate relationship with Ghazala but it’s a very passionate emotion. You almost feel odd that these two are mom and son. Haider’s predicament is that he doesn’t know what to do with his mother—whether to love her, hate her, believe her or kill her,” she mentioned. She additionally described the function ‘to die for’.
Shahid Kapoor had as soon as mentioned throughout an interview with Film Companion that nobody may do what Tabu did in Haider. “It’s about people recognising who she is and giving her opportunities, and cinema reaching a stage where it deserves her. When people think who can do this, it is only her. She is the only one who can do stuff like this.” And isn’t that the reality? Because even right now, seven years later, it’s troublesome to think about who else would have slot in Ghazala’s sneakers as simply, as gracefully as Tabu did.
You can watch Haider on Netflix.
