20th Annual Screen Awards
Shahid KapoorVarinder Chawla

The trailer and the first-look posters of Shahid Kapoor's much-awaited film, "Haider" have hit the internet.

Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, "Haider" is an adaptation of Shakespeare's "Hamlet." The film will be third project in Bhardwaj's Shakespeare trilogy, after "Maqbool" (Macbeth) and "Omkara" (Othello).

"When I was making "Maqbool", a contemporary adaptation of Macbeth, I didn't know that I would go on to make Omkara (an Indianised version of Othello). It was circumstances, which brought it about," he told the Mumbai Mirror.

Talking about "Haider", an adaptation of "Hamlet", Bhardwaj said, "A lot of filmmakers were also toying with the same subject, but I guess I was destined to make Hamlet."

The director has composed the music for the film as well as co-produced the project with Siddharth Roy Kapur of UTV Motion Pictures and Shahid. The actor will be seen sporting a bald look in one of the scenes in "Haider."

Shraddha Kapoor, who is basking in the success of "Ek Villain", will be seen playing the female lead opposite Shahid. She will be appearing as Arshia in the film, while Shahid will be playing the title role. Tabu, Kay Kay Menon and Irrfan Khan are also part of the film's cast.

Expectations are high for the film as Shahid has teamed up with director Bhardwaj for the second time, post the stupendous success of their 2009-film "Kaminey", in which the actor played a dual role.

The first-look posters and trailer offer a lot of promise and have increased the hype surrounding the big-budget project. It remains to be seen if the actor-director duo will be able to repeat "Kaminey" success with "Haider."

The film, set in Kashmir, is gearing up to release on 2 October this year.