The background of the movie is student politics at the University of Allahabad and the dirty turn it takes. When Anirudh meets Niharika at university, they quickly become romantically involved. Unfortunately, their relationship can't escape the political battles between two rival gangs of students headed by Gaurishankar Pandey and Ranvijay Singh. When Anirudh meets Ranvijay, who has eliminated Gaurishankar Pandey, the former believes that he is merely helping his fellow student.
Anirudh gets involved in violent politics and shoots Niharika's cousin accidentally. Ranvijay Singh helps him escape to Mumbai with the help of his aide. Anirudh later learns the truth about Ranvijay Singh, whose ultimate aim is to marry Niharika.
Badrishankar Pandey, the brother of the slain Gaurishankar Pandey, helps Anirudh kill Ranvijay in order to avenge the loss of his brother. A fierce gun battle takes place at the Kumbh Mela between the gangs of Ranvijay and Badrishankar Pandey before Anirudh kills Ranvijay. The Chief Minister, Kamalnath Tiwari, helps them escape the crime scene and gets Anirudh discharged from all the cases, as Ranvijay also blackmailed him.
The soundtrack features 7 songs composed by Jatin–Lalit, with lyrics from Israr Ansari, Kausar Pandey, Vindo Mahindra, Satyaprakash and Devmani Pandey. The background score of the film was composed by Abhishek Ray.
Kanchana Suggu of Rediff praised the acting performances of Ashutosh Rana, Tinnu Anand, Jimmy Shergill, Hrishita Bhatt and Irrfan Khan and said that, "Haasil is powerful, honest, real; it makes you cringe in your seat."[4] Narendra Kusnur of Mid-Day found the film to have its moments "particularly in the picturisation of violent scenes and description of the vote-getting tactics that student leaders indulge in," and wrote of Irrfan: "His eyes have a certain wickedness and intensity that suit the role. Though he does remind you of Nana Patekar, he’s perfection personified."[5] Taran Adarsh of Bollywood Hungama gave the film a rating of 2 out of 5 saying that, "Though the film has several gripping moments and a power-packed performance by Irfan Khan, the outcome is hampered when the movie drifts into predictable zone, post-interval."[6] Shahid Khan of Planet Bollywood praised the acting performances of all actors and gave the film a rating of 8 out of 10 saying that, "Tigmanshu Dhulia directs the film with great skill. It is admirable the way he handles the scenes of violence. They make you sit up and take notice."[7]
Haasil was featured in Avijit Ghosh's book, 40 Retakes: Bollywood Classics You May Have Missed.
