Namak Ishak ka. Review on Omkara

The very thought of Shakespeare meeting Sergio Leone is mouth watering. Blending it also with UP politics, mafia, item numbers and Gulzar is absolutely out of box thinking. Credit should first go to Vishal Bharadhwaj for just conceiving this tantalizing mix.

The film as we all know is an interpretation of Othello by Vishal Bharadhwaj. The story, which we all are familiar with deals with the curse of jealousy and how it can destroy the strongest of men. Omi Shukla is Othello, the trusted general of Bhai Saab who controls his fiefdom with an iron hand. Desdemona or Dolly Mishra is the fair, sweet and sensous maiden totally besotted with Omi. Cassio and Iago also are there as Keshu Firangi and Langda Tyagi. The real drama unfolds when when Keshu is chosen over Langda as the next student leader. Langda, who is furious and insanely jealous over this decision by Omi hatches a devious plot to take his revenge. He manipulates, pollutes and ultimately controls the mind of Omkara. In the end Omi is convinced that Dolly, the love of his life is unfaithful and engaged in a clandestine affair with Keshu. The climax is bloody and tragic.

So who took the acting honours? Well my vote goes to Ajay Devgan. He just scorches the screen everytime he is in the frame. One of the most memorable moments of the movie would be when he walks the walk after killing one of his enemies amidst dust and the rousing background music. Just notice the body language in that scene and you will know why my vote went to Ajay. Saif also did his bit to bring Langda Tyagi believable and exciting. He had the best dialogues and did complete justice to his role. Eli Wallach might have been his inspiration but the audience will remember Langda Tyagi for sure. However Deepak Dobriyal, who played a fringe character really made us sit up and notice him. Kareena looks young, sensous and innocent. Konkana and Naseeruddin does what is expected from them. Vivek tries hard to get noticed and is sincere in his potrayal of Keshu. Bipasha actually is taken for the two item numbers and she definitely proves her worth in those two songs. I personally liked the Namak Ishq ka number more than the crowd pleaser Beedi.

Music by Vishal is good as it sets the mood of the scene. My favourites remain the title song and Namak Ishq ka.

The movie in totality is definitely a notch above the mediocre stuff being churned out lately. But there seem to be some glitches, which if taken care off could have made this movie a classic. The main problem with the movies of Vishal is the editing. He conceives each scene with lot of care on the dialogues, frames, costumes, lighting and characterization nuances. But when it comes to string all the scenes into a single strand, he fails to do it properly. It is obvious that he is a student of cinema and is extremely creative. Hopefully he will learn from his movies and make his next one more seamless with one scene flowing into another. The jerkiness have to go if he wants better himself.

Omkara did not disappoint but it also did not match the great expectations we have from it. Just imagine, if the stars were not there, would you have liked the movie as much as you liked it now? A loaded question but the answer to it actually defines the real worth of Omkara as a movie. Omkara to me is a good movie which could have been a great movie. Et tu Vishal.