Bollywood actor Shahid Kapoor regaled the hearts of the audience -- first with his dancing prowess and later with his phenomenal acting abilities. Trained under renowned choreographer Shiamak Davar, Shahid has even appeared as background dancer in hit Bollywood films such as Dil To Pagal Hai and Taal. His performances in genre-diverse films like – Jab We Met, Haider, Udta Punjab and Kabir Singh, not only earned him critical acclaim but proved his versatility in essaying varied characters. Now, the actor has added yet another feather in his cap as his film Haider gets featured in the list of Top 10 cinematic Hamlets across the globe along with Mel Gibson and Ethan Hawke.
Popular literary website, LitHub, has included it on the list of the best Hamlet adaptations on screen. Haider is on the 7th spot, ranked above Mel Gibson's Hamlet (1990), Christopher Plummer's Hamlet (1964), and also Charlie Hunnam's Sons of Anarchy. The number 1 spot is by Innokenty Smoktunovsky starrer Russian Hamlet (1964).
The author of the article wrote, "Kapoor is a much less conflicted Hamlet than we’re used to (I suppose the conflicts of the setting are quite enough to be getting on with), he’s radical and compelling enough that I really don’t miss the agonizing. (I couldn’t find a clip with English subtitled, but this version is on Netflix—do yourself a favor and check it out.)"
Haider is a modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet mixed with Basharat Peer’s Curfewed Nights, which focuses on the Kashmir conflicts in 1995 and the civilian disappearances. This one could easily qualify as one of Shahid Kapoor’s best performances of his career. And him receiving both the Filmfare and the IIFA Award for his role in the film is a definite proof of it.
