Film Review: Company Exposes Bhandarkar’s Ignorance

OMKARA MURDERS DOLLY, sit next to her, hum a lyrical ode, and you want Dolly to get up and comfort Omkara! So impressive and amazing! Understanding Shakespeare’s plays can be daunting, and bringing those characters to life is no child’s play. It takes guts and common sense to even think in terms of celluloid. But Vishal Bhardwaj did it! Fresh from the success of his previous Shakespearean adaptation, Macbeth, aka Maqbool, Vishal has once again played with fire. The music composer turned director has brought the characters of Othello to life with his brilliant adaptation.

So what does he do? Indianize the characters, but instead of placing them in urban or metropolitan locations, go for rustic characters and gangsters from Uttar Pradesh. Othello becomes Omkara (Ajay Devgan); Desdemona becomes Dolly (Kareena), Iago is Ishwar Langda Tyagi (Saif Ali) and Cassio is Kesu (Vivek Oberoi). Bharadwaj’s version takes the same players and situations, but sets them in Uttar Pradesh, with a few plot tweaks here and there. Othello is a play about love, hate, jealousy, trust, tragedy and misfortune. These things have been reproduced over and over again on the big screen without authenticity and in typical Bollywood style, which made Shakespeare’s art look pedestrian! However, daring to bring the 400-year-old work to life with modern settings and do it justice is no small achievement.

There are no changes in the structure of the work. Omkara and Dolly are in love with each other. In the original, Othello elopes with the beautiful Desdemona. Omkara is the mafia lord of UP. His skilled lieutenant Ishwar Langda is next to wait. While the lively Kesu is third in rank, but much to Langda’s astonishment, Kesu is appointed as Omkara’s top lieutenant. And it is from here that the real story begins. The cunning and ruthless Langda executes a flawless plan. Convinced by ella assistant Langda that Dolly has been having an affair with ella lieutenant Kesu ella, Omkara murders her. Seeing Dolly dead, Langda’s wife reveals that Dolly’s affair was faked; Omkara commits suicide.

Unlike other Bollywood adaptations, this film does not soften the characters. The tragic hero is presented in all shades of gray and villains with just human emotions. Yes, it is the first film where a hero is criticized for his color, quite racist for the Indian public! Vishal has managed to give the film the Indian look without taking anything away from the play. Rustic setting, raunchy music, riveting climax, Omkara is truly head and shoulders above the usual potboilers. The treatment received is original. Omkara’s impotence; Dolly’s innocence; Langda’s jealousy, ambition and greed make you think of how well Shakespeare has woven human emotions.

The film belongs to Saif Ali. He has left Ajay Devgan miles behind, who seems more like second fiddle than the anonymous Khan’s leading man. Saif’s vile manipulations, deep rotten disdain, subtle scheming, maneuvering and coming out unscathed is a joy to watch. Kareena shows the best performance of her till date. Ajay Devgan, for the most part it seems redundant. Vivek is doing well and Konkona Sen Sharma is going to win more fans with this performance.