The Bardy Bunch. Review on Omkara

Vishal Bharadwaj is the champion of the second banana. In Maqbool, his version of Macbeth, Duncan (Abbaji) steals the limelight and in Omkara, Iago (Langda Tyagi) walks away with the film. In both movies, the supporting character acts circles around the protagonist, who lumbers along weary and confused. If Irrfan Khan was a druggy-eyed, fish-faced automaton in Maqbool, Ajay Devgan isn't much better here. This is Omkara doing an Ajay Devgan impression, channeling Malik from "Company", with a western UP brogue. One can argue that both Iago and Othello are equally prominent characters in the play, but that does not detract from the fact that Othello is as powerful a Shakespearean protagonist as any. Alas, he comes across as nothing more than a two-bit hood in this movie. We are supposed to believe that Omkara is a peerless leader of men, only because he appears on screen to the sound of gothic chants, and is usually in the centre of the frame. Even his love for Desdomena (Dolly) seems at best insouciant. Shakespeare's Othello is so obsessively in love that his final act of killing his beloved and then himself, as a result of Iago's machinations, seems an inevitability. Omkara, on the other hand seems furious at being cuckolded, not because he perceives it as a betrayal of his love, but perhaps a slight to his masculinity - not exactly what you smother your lady love to death over.

Langda Tyagi's motives and actions appear strange, as well. In the play, Iago is a sadistic, racist rotter who might be jealous of Othello's power, but most of all, simply enjoys playing those around him like fiddles. This is made amply clear in some of his monologues. Iago's brand of villainy is described best by Samuel Coleridge, as "motiveless malignance". Being passed over by his boss in favour of Cassio (Kesu here), is merely a plot device to ensnare others in his web of deception. In the movie however, it appears to be Tyagi's only motivation. He doesn't seem to be disloyal or resentful of Omkara otherwise. If what Tyagi really wants is Kesu's position, surely all a man of his guile needs to do is come up with a cunning scheme to usurp it, once he's engineered Kesu's falling out of favour with Omkara. Instead he proceeds, like the character in the play, to destroy the lives of everyone around him – an act at odds with his initial motivation and personality. The actor is not to fault in any way: Saif Ali Khan is electric in the role. This is clearly his best performance ever and it shouldn't come as a surprise if he wins a National Award, this time deservedly.

Vishal Bharadwaj's grasp of Shakespare appears to be limited to Charles and Mary Lamb. His movies so far have been diet-Shakespeare, Shakespeare-lite at best. Nowhere is this more evident in this film, than in the tedious second act. The third act is taken care of by the bard himself. Unless you have seriously screwed up, the denouement of any Shakespearean drama (even in an unimpressive adaptation) plays itself out effectively. Bharadwaj sets up the first act admirably. The characters and rustic locales are introduced in a way, so as to tantalize the viewer with visions of great things to follow. The cinematography and background score are superb. Unfortunately, that initial promise does not amount to much once the novelty of the bucolic setting and pungent vernacular starts wearing thin. This is usually where Willy Shakes would employ his prodigious talents as a playwright, keeping the viewer's interest from flagging with delightful puns, rhymes and quotable quotes, and powerful soliloquies and dirges. All that Bharadwaj manages are a couple of bump and grind item numbers, an excruciatingly long keep-awake song (which is quite ineffective - it almost put me to sleep) and a few throwaway lines of rustic wisdom, by way of wit. There is not much that happens here in terms of plot advancement, and this long second act is clearly the weakest. What could have been a good movie despite flaws in characterization, sinks into mediocrity.

The Desdemona character has many of her scenes and lines from the play, hacked off. It isn't clear if it's Bharadwaj or the Lambs, who are to blame. Nevertheless, Kareena Kapoor does a good job of silently portraying Dolly's fresh-faced innocence, despite the limitations the screenplay imposes on her character. Konkona Sen Sharma as Indu (Emilia in the play), Tyagi's wife has the best lines of all the women and delivers them with great gusto. She breezes through her role with very little fuss. Viveik Oberoi can rightfully feel hard done by. His character Kesu is almost reduced to being the comic relief in the second half of the movie, as he tries to ingratiate himself to Omkara to get his job back. Cassio in the play was a reckless philanderer, but still a man of some gravitas, and definitely not the wuss that Kesu comes across as. Bipasha Basu gets to go legit, shaking her booty and mouthing a few lines in a serious movie: that, this will give her the licence to crow about her growth as an "actor" for the next five years, is an unfortunate fallout. Naseeruddin Shah as Bhaisaab has an expanded role compared to the Duke of Venice, in the play. His performance is a phone-in for the most part. An honourable mention should be made of Deepak Dobriyal, who plays Raju (Roderigo, in the play). He manages to leave a mark despite the presence of a top-heavy star cast.

In the final analysis Omkara, in spite of its weaknesses, is a definite step forward for Bharadwaj. Maqbool, critical hosannas notwithstanding was, to paraphrase Macbeth, "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing". Omkara is certainly much better. Now if only Bharadwaj, who is definitely a talented film-maker, would partake of not just the veggies but the meat in the great Shakespearean spread, his adaptation of Hamlet (Hameed?), if he ever gets to it, will indeed be very interesting to watch.