Well-made 'Our' Othello. Review on Omkara

Vishal’s Maqbool, an adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, must have been a learning experience for him. Everything about the film was right…….except the star quotient and the marketing. Being an intelligent director Vishal must have realized the value of both soon and got it right with his next and the most ambitious so far, Omkara- a proclaimed adaptation of Othelo by Shakespeare.

It is indeed daring to Indianise an universally acclaimed Shakespearean drama which is most familiar in India in the convent-educated class of the society (Unlike Comedy of Errors which has been made on screen as Angoor by Gulzar)into a full length feature film without compromising the commercial aspect. Vishal incredibly does that with finesse.

The story must have been told here a thousand times. So keeping it as short as possible. Omkara Shukla (Othello in original play, played by Ajay) is the leader of a band of outlaws who work for Bhai Saab (Naseeruddin Shah), the sitting MP of a rural constituency. There are two senior members who are like Omkara’s two hands- Langda Tyagi (Iago, by Saif) and Kesu (Casio, by Viveik). When Omkara is chosen by Bhai Saab to be fielded for an assembly seat, he chooses Kesu his successor. Tyagi is deeply hurt by this turn of events as he had visualized himself to be the next man. He hatches a conspiracy to frame Kesu. Through carefully crafted situations he successfully gets Omkara to believe that his lover Dolly (Desdimona, by Kareena), who he eloped with, is having an affair with Kesu. In rage, Omkara kills Dolly. And then realizes his mistake through a revelation by Indu, Tyagi’s wife. He kills himself to get rid of the guilt he was incapable to live with.

The film is well-made. The storytelling is apt. Casting is brilliant. All the actors more or less look their part and do their job well. But the brightest is easy to pick- Saif Ali Khan. I bet this man has surprised everyone in this film. From changing his look from metrosexual to hardcore rustic (Cutting hair to the shortest and colouring teeth to yellow are the most visible changes) to bringing out a starkly unfamiliar character, he does it all with élan. Never ever he looks struggling. After Ek HaseenaThi he plays a villain again, and pretty convincingly. Saif now is easily one of the finest actors in Mumbai with remarkable screen presence. The second mention deservingly goes to an unlikely name- Konkona. A true-blue Bengali who was familiar with only English apart from her mother language before this film, must have pleasantly surprised many with her mastery of the UP dialect in the brilliant portrayal of Indu. Konkona’s worked hard on the language her character speaks, just as she did for her Tamilian character in Mr and Mrs Iyer who speaks English with a Tamil touch. She looks set for a long innings in meaningful Hindii cinema. Ajay was the perfect choice for this kind of a role and he delivers as usual. So does Kareena. Only Viveik doesn’t impress much. I don’t know if the director wanted it this way, but he never looks having the leadership quality in him which makes him the right choice for Omkara’s successor. Bipasha is good in a small role of Billo Chaman Bahar, a nautankiwho is the girl in Kesu’s life.

I would still like to spare a word for Omkara's characterisation. Tyagi's character looks so author-backed via-a-vis Omkara's that one might get confused who the protagonist is. Vishal should have spent some more time to flesh out Omkara. The way Omkara is presented has limited Ajay's scope of acting brilliance.

The backdrop of UP’s heartland has given the movie a fresh look and feel and debutant Tassaduq Hussain’s camera is excellent in bringing it out lively. The sepia frames and the dialogues (In local dialect with a good dose of expletives which sounded but natural) help that. The setting is quite Texas-style which suits the story just fine while giving the look of the film a raw appeal. Due credit goes to Vishal and team for making Wai and Satara of Maharashtra look like rural UP (You cannot shoot with a star cast like this in rural UP, shares Vishal). Vishal’s Music is situational and blends well with the storytelling.

Vishal has cast Ajay and Kareena keeping in mind the physical traits of Othello and Desdimona (Omkara and Dolly respectively in this story). Othello is describedn as dark, rough and tough and Desdimona extremely fair and gorgeous. The casting is perfect hence, considering both are good actors.

Saif, I learnt, was initially not too keen on cutting his hair so short but Vishal convinced him. Ajay grew a moustache. But ultimately Saif sets an example for everyone in physical preparation for a character. He must have given up on his gym routine to lose his sculpted look and get into a blunt, flabbyish, muscular look just fit for a rural UP goon. In contrast Bipasha looks gym-honed. The same fault is in Ajay’s physical presence too. He bares his body more often which is quite unlike his usual screen presence. And he looks lean and sculpted.

The movie didn’t click with the great Indian family audience mainly because of the dialect and expletives. But I wish Vishal doesn’t take it as his misgiving and continues to make films following his heart.