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Trailer Review: Vishal Bhardwaj returns with Shahid as his Hamlet

Raja Sen reviews Haider trailer.

Deep at the heart of this first incendiary glimpse of Haider -- the third of Vishal Bhardwaj’s Shakespeare adapted dramas, his Hamlet after Omkara (Othello) and Maqbool (Macbeth) -- lies a bassline thudding with menace.

We see Shahid Kapoor, bearded and out for vengeance.

We see Tabu, intense, ethereal and basking in the glory of her part.

We see Kashmir, striking and vaguely unfamiliar.

We see Shradha Kapoor as Ophelia, fumbling with her English but with eyes afire.

We see familiar scenes staged in odd environments.

And we see -- as the visuals are cut faster and the words are thrown at us with increasing violence -- wrapped in that ominous bassline, the promise of doom.

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Trailer Review: Vishal Bhardwaj returns with Shahid as his Hamlet

Bhardwaj has always handled the Bard with masterful flair, and, at first glance, you’d be forgiven for bouncing with joy.

Things seem very intriguing indeed, with a slew of Bhardwaj regulars rubbing shoulders with new, character-filled faces.

Shahid -- his face streaked with black and red paint like a Germany-supporter -- hasn’t looked this convincing since, well, his career-best in Bhardwaj’s Kaminey.

The highlight, however, looks to be Tabu: intense and impossible to look away from.

Haider hits theatres October 2.

To see or not to see? With Bhardwaj at the helm, that was never in question.