Haz Devkar

Hari 'Haz' Devkar is a fictional character from the Australian television soap opera Neighbours, played by Shiv Palekar. He made his first appearance as Haz during the episode broadcast on 18 September 2023. Palekar's casting and Haz's character details were publicised on 7 June 2023. Haz was one of the show's new characters introduced following the show's cancelation and return, following its acquisition by Amazon Freevee. Haz is introduced into the series as the manager of Harold's Café. He lives in a house share concept with Mackenzie Hargreaves (Georgie Stone) and Byron Stone (Xavier Molyneux). They are depicted as good friends and writers made Mackenzie his love interest. Haz also shares screen time with Trevor (Bodhi), a pet Groodle that writers included in many of Haz's initial episodes. Haz is characterised as "a real community person" who values "honesty and justice".

Writers explored romance for Haz via relationships with Billie Alessio (Georgia Walters) and Holly Hoyland (Lucinda Armstrong Hall), the latter forming a love-triangle plot with the involvement of Mackenzie. In 2024, writers united Haz and Mackenzie and explored their relationship. Haz was initially portrayed as a friendly café owner but created a problematic past featuring cyber crime, which was fully utilised in his later story. It explored the impact hacking, AI attacks and deepfakes being inflicted upon his friends and neighbours. Producers introduced Wade Fernsby (Stephen Phillips) as a nemesis for Haz; a former victim of his crimes, Wade seeks revenge and begins a spate of cyber crimes to ruin Haz's life. The plot culminated in a car accident plot, with Mackenzie running him over and Haz being comatose. His sister, Amira Devkar (Maria Thattil), was introduced into the series and scenes explored their problematic relationship. Haz also featured in a series of episodes set in the Australian outback.

Palekar left Neighbours after one year and Haz was written out of the series with Mackenzie. Writers created a wedding storyline for the duo prior to their departure. After marrying, Haz and Mackenzie leave Erinsborough and move to Paris. Palekar believed that Haz proved that redemption is possible despite its challenges, applauding the character for remaining "true to himself". He made his final appearance as Haz during the episode broadcast on 17 September 2024. Neighbours writer Shane Isheev stated that Haz had "untapped potential" and wished the character had remained in the show longer. Haz has received a positive reception from critics of the genre. They commented on Haz's friendly and nice guy persona, with others favouring his backstory and the cyber crime stories.