Just returned from my second viewing of Haider. Im still very taken with it. But this time, I found myself wondering about one of the films choices. Haider/Hamlet abides by Ghazala/Gertrudes admonition against intekaam (revenge) rather than her dead husbands call to vengeance -- a major departure from the play, and one that a lot of audience members applaud. So why, then, does the film feel compelled to transform her into a successful suicide bomber? The film nominally endorses Ghazalas refusal of intekaam, to the point where her (posthumous) words on the matter are in effect the films version of the ghost, haunting her son and reshaping his will. Why does she not abide by her own words? To what extent does Ghazalas makeover as a suicide bomber hint at a secret revenge fantasy targeted at women, one that the film doesnt and cant fully admit to itself?
Posted on: Tue, 21 Oct 2014 18:44:59 +0000