Haider trailer: Shahid, Tabu, Irrfan in Vishal Bharadwaj's take on Hamlet

Shahid Kapoor with a gun, with a beard, with a bad haircut; rolling his eyes; prancing around with a bird-shaped headgear. This may not be exactly what comes to your mind when you think of William Shakespeare and his play Hamlet, but that's why you're not the one who made Haider.
The trailer for Vishal Bharadwaj's latest adaptation of a Shakespeare classic is out.Haider, Bharadwaj's take on Hamlet, is set in Kashmir, weaving in the politics of that turbulent region into this tragic story of a family torn apart by political intrigue and sexual politics. Winter is coming, to Bollywood.
 
Starring as Haider, the desi version of Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, is Shahid Kapoor. Tabu plays the part of Gertrude, Hamlet's mother, whose decision to marry her husband's brother triggers off the drama in Shakespeare's play. When Haider's father disappears, leaving Haider's mother as a "half widow", she chooses to marry her brother in-law.
Aside from that, the trailer suggests Haider stays quite close to the Shakespeare original. Bharadwaj has set Haider in a grim, icy Kashmir that seems to ignore the natural beauty and focusses instead on the bleak darkness of the area. There are jeeps, people being kidnapped, safehouses and a lot of snow — all of which suggests Kashmir might well be an excellent replacement for medieval Denmark.
Aside from Kapoor and Tabu, the cast includes Irrfan, Kay Kay Menon and Shraddha Kapoor. Menon plays Haider's villainous uncle. Kapoor will be Haider's Ophelia, which means here's yet another film in which Kapoor plays a sweet, young thing who must die a miserable death. Judging from the firelit intimate sequences, it seems she gets a lot more action than Hamlet's Ophelia did.
Don't hold out hope for a happy ending to Haider, but if the film is anything like the trailer, there should be some memorable performances from Tabu and Shahid Kapoor.
Haider will release on 2 October, 2014.