Arjun V, International Journal of Research in Engineering, IT and Social Sciences, ISSN 2250-0588, Impact Factor: 6.452, Volume 08 Issue 08, August 2018, Page 340-344 A Text on Screen Creates a Carnival of Dreams: Analysis of Hamlet in the Indian Reel of Kashmir Arjun V (Guest Faculty, English, St Cyril’s College Adoor, Kerala University, India) Abstract: Shakespeare’s Hamlet, written around 1600, is one of the most problematic texts in all of literature. With the exception of certain Biblical texts, no other work has produced such a continuing, lively, and contentious debate about how we are supposed to understand it. In fact, one could very easily construct a thorough and intriguing history of modern literary criticism based upon nothing other than various interpretative takes on Hamlet. Haider movie directed by Vishal Bharadwaj is an adaptation of Hamlet and it politicizes the whole context by putting Kashmir instead of Denmark. Adaptations are one of the common techniques employed in literature and cinema and it always give birth to a novel thought and creations. Walter Benjamin in his idea of “after life of a text” talks about the rebirth of the original text in the form of adaptations Keywords: After life of a text, AFSPA, Azadi, Catharsis, Chutzpah, Dream land, Non –violence Walter Benjamin in his famous essay ‘The task of the translator’ (1929) suggests that a translation is part of the ‘afterlife’ of a text and the interpretation of the latter should be informed by a history of reception (which he defines as ‘the age of fame’). As a text in its own right, a translation does not only carry messages; it recreates the value given to the text throughout the ages. Moreover a translation appears as something unique in Benjamin’s words for it has the potential to convey what he calls a ‘pure language’, where the ‘mutually exclusive’ differences among two languages can coexist and where the ‘complementary intentions’ of these languages can be communicated.. To conclude one last point should be made about Benjamin’s analysis of the issues surrounding translation. It is also interesting to observe that for Benjamin, a translation also remains something provisional because ‘in its afterlife the original undergoes a change. Even words with fixed meaning can undergo a maturing process’ and in the meantime ‘the mother tongue of the translator is transformed as well’ so ‘what sounded fresh once may sound hackneyed later.’ Thus a translator should consider the significance of a text in its context and in the light on the changes it has to undergo throughout the ages because this text will not have the same impact today than it had fifty years ago for instance Hamlet is Shakespeare's longest play, and is among the most powerful and influential tragedies in English literature, with a story capable of "seemingly endless retelling and adaptation by others." The play likely was one of Shakespeare's most popular works during his lifetime. The dramatic form of classical tragedy derives from the tragic plays of ancient Athens, which depicted the downfall of a hero or famous character of Greek legend. The hero would struggle against overwhelming fate, and his defeat would be so noble that he wins the moral victory over the forces that destroy him. A tragedy evoked pity and terror in the audience; it was a catharsis, or washing clean of the soul. Shakespearean tragedy is the classification of drama written by William Shakespeare which has a noble protagonist, who is flawed in some way, placed in a stressful heightened situation and ends with a fatal conclusion. The plots of Shakespearean tragedy focus on the reversal of fortune of the central character(s) which leads to their ruin and ultimately, death. Shakespeare wrote several different classifications of plays throughout his career and the labelling of his plays into categories is disputed amongst different sources and scholars. There are 10 Shakespeare plays which are always classified as tragedies and several others which are disputed; there are also Shakespeare plays which fall into the classifications of comedy, history, or romance/tragicomedy that share fundamental attributes of a Shakespeare tragedy but do not wholly fit in to the category. The plays which provide the strongest fundamental examples of the genre of Shakespearean tragedy are Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth and Antony and Cleopatra. A. C. Bradley saw Shakespearean tragedy characterized by the "tragic flaw," the internal imperfection in the hero that brings him down. His downfall becomes his own doing, and he is no longer, as in classical tragedy, the helpless victim of fate. Shakespearean tragedy usually works on a five-part structure, corresponding to the five acts: Part One, the exposition, outlines the situation, introduces the main characters, and begins the action. Part Two, the development, continues the action and introduces complications. Part Three, the crisis (or climax), brings everything to a head. In this part, a change of direction occurs or understanding is precipitated. Part Four http://indusedu.org Page 340 This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License Arjun V, International Journal of Research in Engineering, IT and Social Sciences, ISSN 2250-0588, Impact Factor: 6.452, Volume 08 Issue 08, August 2018, Page 340-344 includes further developments leading inevitably to Part Five, in which the final crisis of action or revelation and resolution are explained. The primary characters in a Shakespearean tragedy are of high status, either by class like King Lear and Hamlet or by military rank like Othello and Macbeth. The main character(s) in a Shakespearean tragedy further the central conflict of the play to the point that their lives, families, and/or socio-political structures are destroyed. The title character(s) along with many other characters in Shakespeare's tragedies die as part of the story of the play. Many of Shakespeare's history plays share the qualifiers of a Shakespearean tragedy, but because they are based on real figures throughout the History of England, they were classified as 'histories' in the First Folio. The Roman tragedies — Julius Ceasar, Antony and Cleopatra and Coriolanus — are also based on historical figures, but because their source stories were foreign and ancient they are almost always classified as tragedies rather than histories. Shakespeare's romances or tragicomic plays were written late in his career and published originally under either tragedy or comedy share some elements of tragedy featuring a high status central character but end happily like Shakespearean comedies. Several hundred years after Shakespeare's death, scholar F.S. Boas also coined a fifth category, Shakespearean problem play, for plays that don't fit neatly into a single classification because of their subject matter, setting, or ending. The classifications of certain Shakespeare plays are still debated among scholars. If one of the really important functions of great literature is to stimulate thought-provoking conversations which force us to come to grips with many things about the text and about ourselves, then Hamlet is a particularly valuable work. There is so much ambiguity and uncertainly about many key elements, Hamlet offers a director a great deal of creative scope, and hence the variety in productions of this play is unmatched in all of Shakespeare, perhaps in all tragic drama. Over fifty films of William Shakespeare's Hamlet have been made since 1900.[1] Seven post-war Hamlet films have had a theatrical release: Laurence Olivier's Hamlet of 1948; Grigori Kozintsev's 1964 Russian adaptation; a film of the John Gielgud-directed 1964 Broadway production, Richard Burton's Hamlet, which played limited engagements that same year; Tony Richardson's 1969 version (the first in color) featuring Nicol Williamson as Hamlet and Anthony Hopkins as Claudius; Franco Zeffirelli's 1990 version starring Mel Gibson; Kenneth Branagh's full-text 1996 version; and Michael Almereyda's 2000 modernisation, starring Ethan Hawke. Haider is a 2014 Bollywood film directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, and written by Basharat Peer and Bhardwaj. It is an adaptation of Hamlet, and is set in Kashmir. It is a common trend in the history of Bollywood cinema to adapt stories of popular novel and dramas into films and so Shakespearean dramas are spare from this. Haider is a 2014 Indian crime drama film directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, and co-written by Basharat Peer and Bhardwaj. It stars Shahid Kapoor as the titular protagonist, and co-stars Tabu, Shraddha Kapoor and Kay Kay Menon. Irrfan Khan appears in an extended special appearance. The film is a modern-day adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet, set amidst the insurgency-hit Kashmir conflicts of 1995 and civilian disappearances. Haider an adaptation of Shakespearean Hamlet which is considered as “one of the most important movie of the year 2014.” It is based in the Indian-administered Kashmir in the 1990’s, a time when militancy was at its peak. Shahid Kapoor, playing the role of Prince Hamlet is named as Haider Mir, who is a student and a poet, comes back to Sri Nagar after his father’s death. Shraddha Kapoor is playing the part of Hamlet’s beloved Ophelia named as Arshia in the film; Tabu playing the role of Hamlet’s mother Gertrude called Ghazala and Kay Kay Menon as Hamlet’s Uncle, Claudius. Set in the backdrop of Kashmir in the times of turbulence, movie has successfully adapted the play’s well-known twists and turns into the lives of the characters in the movie. After his father disappearance, in order to search for him, Haider leaves his studies and comes back to Kashmir. It was the time when insurgency was at height, his father, who was a doctor by profession was found guilty of helping militants and was carried away by the armed forces.