Omkara

Can Raw be Gorgeous ? Well here we have for that one rare spectacular treat. Vishal Bhardwaj visualizes and presents a mesmeric manifestation out of rustic, rural, and wild backdrop. Omkara is an adaptation from Othello, one of the four great tragedies written by Shakespeare that includes Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth. Vishal has made all possible efforts to recreate the magic of the powerful script and he has succeeded to a great extent. However he has changed background from one that at royals in Europe to pastoral countryside in western Uttar Pradesh. The movie has an extravagant treatment and every aspect from costumes to sets and dialect to music has been designed to near exactness. The beginning takes you straight into the heartland of India where politics and power equations are bread and butter of the inhabitants. The color of muscle-power, sex, and jealously makes perfect ingredients for a Bollywood potboiler. It surely have been a laudable effort by the filmmaker after depicting his genius with Maqbool in 2003 (another adaptation from Shakespeare's Macbeth).

Omkara stays true to its spirit, (the original word is a spiritual vibration from Sanskrit) it's an impersonal and formless representation of the absolute truth. Ajay Devgan playing the lead gives the right tone and shade to the character. His intense expressive eyes and deep throat say it all. It is indeed a quantum leap over his last negative portrayal in Ram Gopal Verma's "Company". He stays in focus from the first action sequence and the title song gives him a fitting introduction on the canvas. The whole drama revolves around his emotions and his weaknesses. His love interest in the film is played by Kareena Kapoor and to say the least she has been a complete revelation to watch. She looks stunning and emotes with ease in some very delicate parts of the show. Vivek Oberoi tries his hand again on some quality stuff after a string of flops recently but unfortunately he is one of the rare weak parts of this plot. He looked very vulnerable and the character never gave him an opportunity to come to the forefront. Konkona Sen Sharma is always full of surprises and her versatility is her strength. The variety of roles she does will be envy for any actor. She plays with simple elegance for a common house villager and without a doubt impresses one and all. Another high was from Bipasha Basu, playing a sultry siren and absolutely ignites the screen with couple of dance numbers. Apart from illustrating her well toned figure there was not much of performance meat in her presence. However the most sumptuous role was bagged by none other than brilliant Saif Ali Khan. He is the fulcrum for the whole movie and he is one who raises the bar of quality for many others around him. One could essentially feel the frustration and resentment in Saif's depiction. The way he hatches the plot and then makes his wicked moves one by one develops the much needed interest for the viewer. He is very slow to start with by staying in shadows of Devgan but then came the string of frames where he outclassed the former.

Omkara should well be appreciated for its technical brilliance. With bulk of shooting at Wai and Lonavala in Maharashtra, it would have been a real big challenge to structure an authentic North Indian village. The cinematography was sheer pleasure and many shots were so aesthetic that it felt like watching mesmeric work of art in motion. The frames were large and the theme of boisterous merrymaking was captured with meticulous vividness. The script is just right and director do not waste any reels on explaining irrelevant details. Though large hearted shower of local offensive words can get jarring for some audience. Music did not have much to do in this tight screenplay and the director could have done better without couple of songs. Although "Jag Ja Ri Gudia" composition sung by Suresh Wadkar is a pure melody and the veteran made his presence felt in crop of new singers. The song has special relevance with the storyline and thus goes along well.

All accolades to the director for feasting us on an outstanding cinema. He is a showcase of the new genre of Indian film makers and he has all his fundamentals in the right place. The movie leaves us with heavy thoughts and a lot to ponder in the end. It could have been very easy for anyone to go awry with such a radiant cast line but Vishal not only develops the individual characters skillfully but also creates the magic of making Raw look Gorgeous

I took only the masterline from Othello and sketched it from there on my own. I almost felt as if I had written it …only 400 years ago.- Vishal Bharadwaj

Haughty comment of a wannabe or simplistic fascination of an artist? A fairly new and art-house director with a star-cast to challenge any Yash Chopra production and an eight-figure production budget is not just a rarity in Indian cinema, but unheard of. What Vishal ends up delivering is highly-intelligent cinema with all the accessibility of any major commercial release (akin to a Batman Begins as a summer movie). I can't resist quoting from my review of Maqbool: Give Vishal Bharadwaj a solid pat on the back, and sit back waiting for his next movie. This man seethes brilliance in his film-making. His dialogues, his script, his music, and his direction - all are top-notch. This movie proves that Makdee was no fluke.

Omkara (Ajay Devgan) is a gang-leader in the semi-lawless state of UP. Bhaisaab's (Naseer's) election win promotes Omi, leaving his "Youth Leader" seat empty. In a logical political move, Omi selects Kesu Firangi (Vivek Oberoi) as his successor ignoring his loyal right-hand-man Langda Tyagi (Saif). Green with envy, Langda slowly poisons Omkara's mind against Kesu leading him down a path too dark for anyone's good. Kareena, Konkona & Bipasha play Omi, Langda & Kesu's love interests respectively.

The movie starts in the middle of an attempted wedding of a girl and carries on until she gets married. The events that transpire inbetween, the turns that different people take to affect her life and the eventual effect is Vishal Bharadwaj's unique Omkara. The title of his second Shakespearean movie went through a few changes before finally resting on his Othello equivalent. But this movie could easily have also been called "Dolly Mishra" or "Langda Tyagi". These three characters equally occupy our minds with their unpredictable fates and yet it is the triumph of Saif Ali Khan's powerfully vile performance that his limp Tyagi towers head and shoulders above anybody around him.

Vishal writes the Screenplay & Dialogues, composes music, sings and directs in just his fourth movie yet which only strengthens the silent promise his is making to his fans of greater things to come. Missing are the escapist dream sequences and melodramatic dialogues that Hindi movies are generally associated with. He instead roots the movie in realism with even the song-and-dance sequences being what are existent in a real-world Indian lifestyle.

Anyone who has followed Indian cinema since the 70s will note the clear influence in Vishal's work-style from his previous two movies. It does help to have this influence (Gulzar) as the lyricist of the movie and (my guess) a quiet adviser too. The most clear indication of this is in the dialogues and the style of sparsely sprinkled humour.

My only gripe with the movie was the language spoken by the characters. It is a mix of Hindi & Bhojpuri - something that is indeed spoken in U.P. But this gripe is more to do with my short-coming in not understanding the language rather than a flaw in the movie.

If you have not seen an Indian movie in a long time, this is the one to break your hiatus with.

My Rating --> 4 of 5

P.S: Vishal Bharadwaj has directed, in order, Makdee (original story), Maqbool(Shakespeare's Macbeth), Chatri Chor(Ruskin Bond's Blue Umbrella) and Omkara(Shakespeare's Othello). Chatri Chor remains unreleased although it has been shown in a few festivals around Europe.

This must be one of the least-expected brilliant movies this year.. The movie-making skills of Vishal Bhardwaj are certainly not poor, but with this film, he surely notches up his ranking in our minds by so much more. The one thing I could notice while seeing the movie was the spellbound effect it had on the hall ... when the audience was ready to leave, there was not a sound.... till all came out and then a few blurted that they did not get the message of the movie.... well, guess what??... the story doesn't exude any message.. all it tries to do is give the "Indian" or better still "rural UP" touch to the Bard's masterpiece... Get awed by Saif' maturity in acting, or Ajay's powerful rendition... this movie deserves as much praise as any other classic this whole decade ! Cheers Vishal...carry on...

One of the questions that the director and the scriptwriter have to deal with when making a film adaptation of a classic is that of balance. One would like to remain true to the original story, yet each medium has its own modes of expression and a literal translation of a story would usually result in a long, incoherent, and ultimately powerless film. "The trick is," as director Trevor Nunn says in an interview about The Merchant of Venice, "to make a completely new piece of work while preserving the original piece of work." And Omkara, Vishal Bharadwaj's adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello is that rare beast. It is stunningly true in details and spirit to the original play (despite the substantial changes necessitated by transferring medieval Europe to modern day Bihar) and also be one of the finest Hindi movies made in recent times.

The reason for Shakespeare's huge popularity and general regard as one of the greatest playwrights ever is the timelessness of his themes- love, relationships, race, class, gender, jealousy, hatred, betrayal and death. He created unforgettable characters who remained people we can relate to. The basic premise of all his plays is usually simple. Shakespeare was a master who wrote for everyone, a fact that is sometimes forgotten by those intimidated by his high-brow reputation. And Omkara stays true to that spirit by making no attempt to intellectualize itself. The characters are crude and their language is coarse, in a way that compliments the feel of the film perfectly. Some of the elements of the film are deliberately over-the-top or violent and the scene in which Omkara smothers Dolly is extremely long and vivid; it is to Bharadwaj's credit that he turns this lack of subtlety into an asset. Indeed Omkara couldn't have been made any other way.

The acting throughout the film is splendid. Saif Ali Khan, in particular, is extraordinary as the wily, manipulative Langda Tyagi. Khan is one of the most versatile actors in Bollywood and it hard to believe this is the same guy who so brilliantly played 'Sameer' in 'Dil Chahta Hai'.

And oh, the ambiance! Bharadwaj creates the perfect setting for the film with a combination of great music, wonderful cinematography and a relentlessly dark atmosphere. This is a director who knows what he is doing and is a master at it.

I could go on and on about 'Omkara'…but probably it is best that the reader go and judge for himself. A word of caution though, Omkara is not for the weak-hearted.

Traditionally in Bollywood you narrate fantasy and try to make it an art form, thankfully it doesn't work. Real life is harsh, as a nation we are in the first phase of seeing reality taking art form on screen. It used to happen before but sadly those movies used to get buried under the tag of "art movie". I think as a culture we tend to have a strong disdain for reality and we love flirting with surrealism of lowest standards.

Omkara would be a cult classic, like Maqbool, its for people who like to see smart cinema, yes cinema as in international cinema and not films. I don't think Othello is a subject that will go down well with "junta" they like singing, dancing, crying. Omkara has singing, dancing and crying, but it is similar to things in our lives. We don't like it, we like entertainment through escapism, surrealism and at times sadomaschoism. Thats Us, Indias, we are like this. It's not good, it's not bad. After weeks Omkara may not become a successful product, Omkara would be a successful Cinema.

The movie is a stand out from a technical point of view, you can count the flaws on two fingers which is exceptional for Bollywood.The creative team has achieved a new high, so congratulations to them.The movie fits well in the location, it has an authentic feel and associates nicely with he play.The rustic and rough feel of the movie nicely captures the ambiance, never for a moment things get too comfortable and I guess if you're surrounded by political mafias there can never be a real sense of ease about any thing.

I think acting from Ajay Devgan was a bit disappointing. I am not criticizing him maybe I was expecting too much, but sadly for me, he couldn't deliver anything new. You could always see shades of his character from Yuva and Apaharan. I kept wondering isn't Omi the same guy? I mean same stare, same approach, even the same way looks into the eyes of his lover. Strange. But overall I think in context of the story he has done a wonderful job. He's been solid and that does it for the movie so you cant be critical of him. Kareena Kapoor has been made to look really good, thanks to director. It's good to see she is improving. Konkona Sen, she is a beautiful actor a genuine talent. Sadly she was a bit wasted in a limited screen time but had emphatic presence. Vivek Oberoi, sadly he lost out. He did his usual boy-next-door-charm but you never felt for his character. He looked more idiotic than brave and loyal, not for a moment you could sympathize with him while he was being victimised. Vishal hid him very well in the script. Naseer Sab was good. He is too big now for such roles and he managed to give credibility to this character.

The soul of the movie is Saif Ali Khan. I think since DilChahta Hai he's shown that he is one Indian actor who is ready to imply world standards to his approach and methods. His work ethics have been fantastic. I respect him for that. Personally I think Langda Tyagi is the most inspired performance since Paresh Rawal's Sardar. In between I can't think of any actor getting in the soul of a character like this. He did in this movie what Pankaj Kapoor did in Maqbool with Abba Ji, which is to re-invent how a character is portrayed, it can only be achieved by legends. Langda is a bit of Jack Sparrow and Bill the Butcher at the same time, which means quality. The best thing was, for the entire movie Saif killed himself to become Langda. When he called SMS "assum kar dena" in Car with Omi that sealed it for him.

It wasn't an easy task following Maqbool. Vishal has done an absolutely incredible job in stretching his high standards. He is a certified genius now, a rare breed, a original of the species. His story telling, dialogues, the whole presentation was flawless. I am sure those who are not familiar with Othello will have a different view. But I don't see how could have Othello be re-worked better as a movie. It's a tragedy so the end was glum and depressing. I am impressed and awed by Vishal Bharadwaj's work. He stuck to his beliefs and made a movie that he wanted to make never bothering about crowd, money or critics. It rarely happens in Bollywood. Kumar Mangat should also be thanked for encouraging him and giving him his space. Right now Vishal Bharadwaj is the best, much better than Pretentious Leela Bhansali. Take a bow for giving a Classic of International Standards.