A Film For Today: Riz Ahmed’s Reimagining Of 'Hamlet'
- Sara Miah
- 8 hours ago
- 3 min read
Riz Ahmed stars in a 2025, modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet directed by Aneil Karia, set in economically and politically corrupt London within a British-South Asian family. After the passing of his father, Hamlet returns from the funeral only to find out his paternal uncle, Claudius, has married his mother and taken over their business empire. Soon after, Hamlet’s father's ghost appears and reveals he was murdered by Claudius, urging Hamlet to avenge him. Filled with grief, anger and confusion, Hamlet embarks on a path to set things right, descending into madness along the way.
A refreshing retelling of a classic story, Aneil Karia’s Hamlet reshapes Shakespeare in a way that feels real, relevant and relatable to modern contemporary audiences as he grapples with themes of corruption, powerlessness and injustice that plague the world today.
Film vs Play:
Aneil Karia remains faithful to Shakespeare’s original, preserving the core storyline and themes of betrayal, revenge and madness. However, this film also boldly reinterprets some key elements. The absence of Horatio, Hamlet’s steadfast confidant, is a significant shift. His role is redistributed between Ophelia and Laertes, intensifying the emotional stakes and their dynamic with Hamlet. Their complex nature is enhanced - Ophelia is vulnerable and resilient; Laertes both friend and foe.
The relocation, too, from a Jacobean Danish court to the economically and politically fragile suburbs of 2025 London completely transforms the play’s atmosphere. The setting is marked by corporate corruption, gentrification, and cultural tensions and power struggles within the British Asian community, grounding Hamlet’s personal turmoil in a broader social context. These are only a few of the shifts which not only reflect the fractured loyalties we see today but also make the tragedy feel more immediate than we might think. The use of language switching between English and Hindi bridges the cultural gap and makes us realise Hamlet is not bound to British identity but is universal, inviting us to view Shakespeare in the context of today’s challenges and understand that his work is accessible.
“To Be or Not To Be”:
One of the most iconic soliloquies in literature, Hamlet’s “To Be or Not To Be” speech, receives a completely fresh and powerful take in the film. Screaming at 100mph behind the car wheel, Riz Ahmed, who never seems to disappoint, captures the existential weight, blend of emotions and moral dilemma in his delivery. His range of voice and facial expression is astonishing, switching between fits of anger to vulnerable voice cracks. The creative decisions beautifully complement Ahmed’s performance. The use of intimate close-ups and a shaky camera places us, as the audience, in the position of Hamlet’s mind. We are not simply watching a conflicted man but are the conflict itself. The use of a muted colour palette on a nighttime motorway plunges us straight into the deep end, reflecting Hamlet's inner conflict and isolation.
However, what was most interesting about this performance was the reinterpreted meaning. In an interview with Sky News, 2026 Ahmed explains, “Hamlet’s feeling like the world’s an unfair place, he’s a bit powerless about it, he’s being gaslit about it, he’s complicit in it. A lot of people feel that way”. He challenges the common view that the speech is about giving up on life, instead framing it as a moral conflict: “do we keep our head down and suffer injustice, go along to get along? Or do we fight back, even if that means we’re gonna lose everything? That is the question of our times right now?” (Radio Times, 2026).
This approach not only honours Shakespeare’s poetic language but also enhances it, using filmic techniques to explore the character’s mental state in ways that stage productions might find challenging. The result is a soliloquy that feels timeless and strikingly relevant.
A Film for Today:
Aneil Karia’s Hamlet is more than an adaptation; it is a reinvention that speaks to the complexities of contemporary life. By situating the story within modern-day Britain, the film opens up new conversations about cultural heritage and systemic corruption. It challenges viewers to consider how timeless human struggles of grief, oppression and the quest for justice manifest in today’s world.
This Hamlet is a reflection of our times: a society grappling with fractured communities and moral ambiguity. Yet, amid the darkness, Riz Ahmed’s portrayal offers a deeply human portrait of a young man fighting to reclaim his agency. The film’s relevance lies in its ability to connect Shakespeare’s centuries-old tragedy to modern audiences, making the story not just a relic of the past but a living, breathing narrative that resonates with our own experiences.
Edited by Lara Walsh, Co-Film & TV Editor
