Omkara Oscara?. Review on Omkara

The sonorous chant of Sanskrit shlokas in a small hill top temple provides a fitting backdrop for the beginning of the end for Omkara, the brutal yet simple don who is the Indian version of Othello, the most tragic of lovers in Shakespeare's roster of protagonists.

That scene captures at once the raw beauty and simplicity of the landscape and provides the defining metaphor for this story of loyalty, humiliation, revenge and blinding jealousy. The camera zooms in smoothly on the stunned visage of Langda Tyagi (Iago), Omkara's fiercely loyal lieutenant, as Omkara walks past him to crown the surprised and grateful Keshu Firangi (Cassio) as the new bahubali. Then, as the music rises to a crescendo, the camera follows the trembling Langda as he announces the crowning of Keshu to the waiting mass of followers. The act of asking Langda to announce Keshu's crowning is a superb plot device that virtually signs Omkara's and Desdemona aka Dolly's death warrant. Little does Omkara know the monster he has unleashed.

Yet, this scene is not the most crucial moment of the film. That comes a few minutes later as Langda ponders the taunt by Rajju, Dolly's cuckolded husband-that-never-was. As Langda admits his frustration at not being crowned bahubali for the first and only time in the movie, his next action hints at the ruthlessness and cunning that will be unleashed. As Rajju laughs at him and taunts his lack of balls, Langda casually shoves Rajju into the lake, exploiting his inability to swim and leaving him flailing haplessly. The camera cuts away as Langda limps away, and for several minutes afterwards, you are left thinking Langda's devious mind has claimed it's first victim. It's also the moment that Saif Ali Khan, giving undoubtedly his finest performance, cuts loose from the comic persona he has created for himself. Following on from his turn as Cyrus in "Being Cyrus", this is a new Saif. The transformation could be as important as the one we saw in Ajay Devgan after 'Company'.

If you are wondering why I am discussing Langda instead of Omkara, put it down to basic human curiousity about evil personas and a superb turn by Saif. But I would be unjust to Ajay Devgan if I were to ignore yet another strong performance by the actor. His finest moment arrives when he confronts Langda as they wait to ambush a political rival in the driving rain. As Langda wriggles uncomfortably for the first time, you think he's saved by the arrival of the train carrying the rival. Yet Omkara murders his rival coolly, and at last recognizing that Langda is exploiting his possessiveness about Dolly, he asks for proof of her infidelity. This moment of truth is handled superbly, and you are hooked on every sound in the scene, straining to hear Langda's answer in the driving rain and with Omkara's gun rammed into his mouth.

From that moment onwards, however, Langda again takes centerstage. His deviousness, his charm, and his survival instincts, his pure unsullied desire for revenge is uncompromising. Not once does he consider the possibility of anything else but the taste of revenge. From then on, you wait for the tragic finale.

The plot does not disappoint---doing little twists and turns at appropriate moments. The cast of characters is handled brilliantly ,and there is never a moment of incredulity. The dialog, which seems to contain too many frivolous turns of phrase in the beginning, tightens as the plot heads into its climax. The cinematography keeps pace as does the music, written by the film's director Vishal Bhardwaj himself. Another plus for me were Gulzar's lyrics, every song perfect for its place in the plot. The direction is appropriately taut and clearly this is a labor of love for the director. I wonder which Shakespearean tale he will pick next to transform. Yes, Omkara is much more faithful to Othello than Maqbool was to Macbeth, but Vishal Indianizes it superbly, proving yet again the universality of the Bard's stories.

What about the rest of the cast? Kareena is at last making a strong attempt to cut away from the bimbos she has played before. She is best in the tender moments she shares with Devgan and with Konkona's character. Konkona's diction is almost tinny at times, but she does what she can given the constraints of her role.

The disappointments: Naseer does nothing that he hasn't done before, and the shaving scene is an unnecessary hint at the famous scene from "The Untouchables" when De Niro was Al Capone. Also unnecessary were the visual similarities of Naseer's Bhaisaab to the Mahatma. If the idea was to drive home the character's venality and cynicism in choosing to look like the Mahatma, it was a sorry attempt. Also disappointing: Viveik Oberoi and Bipasha. To be fair, neither had a meaty role. Mr Oberoi badly needs a role that allows him to show us what he can do to carry a movie. Ms Basu, it must be said, does an 'item' number that's more watchable than any of the starlets we have seen so far.

Overall, a version of Shakespeare that Bollywood can be proud of. Here's a director that's done justice to every subject he's handled. Go on, Mr Bhardwaj, show us what else you can do.