Watch Bismil: Angsty Shahid and Arabic music make this Haider song a treat

A new song from Vishal Bharadwaj’s Haider, “Bismil”, has been released and it is a delight to not just hear, but also in terms of how it’s been shot. Watch the song here:

Gulzar’s lyric, richly embellished with tantalising symbols and innuendo, reflect the story of Haider (which is an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Hamlet). The song seems to be Bharadwaj’s interpretation of the famous play within the play in the original Hamlet. It marks the point at which Hamlet, and perhaps Haider, transforms from being conflicted and undecided to committed to the idea of avenging the injustice meted out to his father. At the crux of Hamlet is a young prince grappling with the knowledge that his uncle and mother have conspired to kill his father. In the song, Gulzar’s lyrics, (Ik joda tha nar-maada ka,  Bholi thi bulbul, nar saada tha) recreate some of Shakespeare’s most memorable lines from the play and show how Haider sees his uncle (played by KK Menon). [caption id=“attachment_1675083” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  Courtesy: Youtube[/caption] Cinematically, the song is very different from the regular song-and-dance routine. The choreography is more like performance art than a dance number, and Shahid Kapoor nails it with his angsty expressions and graceful staccato dance steps. “It was very essential that Haider (my character) does not dance like Shahid (me).” said Kapoor, talking about his performance. " He had to have his own body language. His dance and acting had to be different from my usual style. So we had choreographer, Sudesh, who has done an opera with Vishal (Bhardwaj) sir and he is from Norway." With the use of violins and oud, Bharadwaj’s tune is infused with Middle Eastern influences while retaining a folksy sound. The song has been shot in the snow-capped Sun Temple, near Anantnag in Kashmir. Over 6,000 locals gathered to watch Kapoor perform and from the way  these kids sing the song, the live audience clearly enjoyed themselves.

  Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, Haider is scheduled to release on 2nd October.