Omkara- Review by Priyangini Mehta
[ For her own personal reasons, Priyangini stopped writing some time back. The regulars on her blog will recall (with a twinge of nostalgia) her superb writings especially the sweet-n-sour suitor sagas and the mesmerising musical posts.
But I guess you can’t keep a good writer away from penning his or her thoughts. So, Priyangini has also once again picked up the pen. And it is the privilege of Random Expressions to have her here as a guest writer, to write on the most talked about movie this season, Omkara
Over to you, Priyangini]
OTHELLO-BHARTIYA STYLE, By Priyangini Mehta
Then must you speak
Of one that loved not wisely but too well,
Of one not easily jealous but, being wrought,
Perplexed in the extreme; of one whose hand,
Like the base Indian, threw a pearl away
Richer than all his tribe; of one whose subdued eyes,
Albeit unused to the melting mood,
Drop tears as fast as the Arabian trees
Their medicinable gum. Set you down this,
And say besides that in Aleppo once,
Where a malignant and a turbaned Turk
Beat a Venetian and traduced the state,
I took by th’ throat the circumcised dog
And smote him thus. (V.ii.352–365)
These are the final words of Othello just before he stabs himself to death in remorse for his weakness. My mom, an English Literature student told me once that when the recitation of Othello ended in her class, there was a pin-drop silence for almost one full minute.
When Omkara looks into Kesu’s eyes drawing his fierce face near the greiving face of his lieutenant, the camera moves behind Kesu and we cannot see Omkara for a second and in that second we hear a shot, Omkara stumbles, a red spot on his chest and falls to the floor beneath the swing where dressed in red bridal finery lies Dolly, dead at the hands of her husband. A top shot captures the scene and pauses, then the screen goes blank and the credits roll upwards from the base of the screen. The cinema hall is silent and unmoving for almost one full minute.
This is what a good movie or story does, it sucks you into the world of its characters so strongly, that the effect of the end is almost callously paralysing. Not many movies in recent times have done that to me. It happened a long time back in Prahar, then more recently in Maqbool, Black and now in Omkara.
I had high expectations. Maqbool had set a standard and Vishal Bharadwaj had his own tough act to repeat but he has done well. For all those who know Othello, it is a forever story. It probably is not as difficult as Macbeth or Hamlet to adapt mainly because the play is all about the characters and the inherent nature of men which as we all know hasn’t changed much since the seventeenth century. But then again to be able to bring in the Indianness and relevance while keeping the parallels intact must have been a tough task.
Omkara begins with a dialogue that made me cringe. It set the base of what was to follow. The language was atrocious but after a while you realise that this was how they spoke and then you get used to it, the language of outlaws of U.P. a community of merceneries making a living as the henchmen of powerful politicians seems normal.
The story is known so I did not expect any surprises but still it surprised me with the intensity of the performances. Ajay Devgan is an efficient actor and a powerful personality. His physique is lean and muscular just like men of labour. He lived Omkara to the hilt, the feared leader of the outlaws, tough and harsh but with flashes of sensitivity especially for the woman he loved.
Vivek Oberoi is Mr. Nice Guy, he plays the character of Micheal Cassio which in Omkara is named Kesu Firangi, the man who is the reason and subject of Othello’s hatred but ultimately is the story’s only survivor. Vivek is good, his Kesu is subdued and constantly under the awe of Omkara. We all know that it will take much more than breaking up with Ash to get Vivek’s career upward but a couple of movies like this will do the trick I think.
Konkana Sen Sharma plays Indu, a servant and confidante of the leading lady named as Emilia in the original and she delivers. This woman impresses me, as an actor she is so spontaneous and she adapts to the character with every inch of her personality. In Mr. and Mrs. Iyer she played an urban South Indian woman with conviction and with the same conviction she plays the opposite, a rural North Indian woman.
Naseeruddin Shah is faultless as usual; words cannot do justice to this man so I shall leave it at that. A surprise package is Deepak Dobriyal, he is a new actor on the scene. He plays Rajju, an important character throughout the story who provides some comic relief as well. In the original he was Rodrigo, a suitor to Othello’s beloved. This character is nothing to look at, hardly any personality as such and so one wants to laugh at him for wanting to compete with Othello. Deepak performs Rodrigo so well I am sure he is an experienced theatre person.
Then we have Bipasha, as Billo Chamanbahar a nach-gaanewali who is Bianca, a prostitute in Othello, she is required to do two item numbers which she does well. Then she is required to mouth lines like, “Aa gaya tu haramkhor.” and she looks a bit uncomfortable. No doubt she tries but the effort shows, I would have loved Shilpa in that role or better still Sushmita but then again, the role is not very important and Bipasha looks hot enough according to Rishabh*.
I save the last two spots for one actor which I dislike, Kareena and for Saif, the guy who does not cease to surprise me. Desdemona in Othello is an independent woman who has the emotional strength to give up her royalties for a man like Othello. Dolly in Omkara is given the same character but Kareena makes her look pathetic and stupid. She giggles the first half and cries the second. The name also is to blame, Desdemona v/s Dolly, Vishalji what were you thinking? Deepika or Dipti or Damini anything but Dolly. Every time the name is taken, I felt like laughing.
And now for Saif, I bet on him to sweep the critics awards this year. He has yet again proved his prowess in serious acting. He is outstanding as Ishwar Tyagi aka Langda Tyagi the man who twirls the characters around his fingers as Iago does in the original story. He has become Langda Tyagi, right from the tobacco stained teeth to the limp. All I will say for him is that if you miss this movie, you will miss one of the best performances of Saif which I don’t think either Saif himself or any other actor can repeat for a long time to come.
The movie is mainly in shades of brown, just like the posters show, the same background colour flows all though the film with intermittent colours on props and clothes but principally brown. The landscape is wild and barren, almost like Omkara himself. The camera under the efficent hand of Tassaduq Hussain moves slowly, even during the fight sequences but does not seem boring because there is so much to see, for e.g. when Omkara smears Kesu’s forhead with sindoor indicating him to be the successor, the camera captures all the three men, bare-chested, each face clear on the camera with its own expression.
Music is fantastic. Lyrics by Gulzar are sensitive and apt. Songs well placed and each used for the story. Rishabh took a break in one of the songs to beat the crowd just before the interval and missed crucial a moment. Vishal Bhardwaj has done the songs and the background score and since it is his screenplay the score blends in perfectly except at the end when probably as a tribute to the original author, there is a small peice of Engima type chants which actually jar in the scene.
The story has been tweaked quite a bit but all the important and significant aspects remain. To understand the parallels, you must read Othello either before or after you watch the movie, before is better because that is the correct chronology. Omkara has delivered Othello to the Indian audience well but there are flaws, you can overlook them if you want because the powerful performances and screenplay overpower them to a certain extent but still they remain.
First up, many celebrities don’t a good movie make. All these famous actors have histories and because of their celebrity status and past roles, they never become the character for the audience. They always remain the actor. I heard a couple of whispers saying that for Ajay and Vivek it looks like a Company repeat. To that extent it is different from Maqbool and probably that is why Maqbool remains a better movie to watch because none of those actors except maybe Tabu had histories to haunt them. Vishal Bharadwaj could have casted better as we do have a lot of talented male actors who are relatively unknown.
Secondly, the ending of the story has been changed. In the original Emilia dies at Iago’s hands, it is one of the most haunting moments of the play, but in Omkara, this has been changed for something less believable because what Indu does seems uncharacteristic. I won’t reveal it so you can see it for yourself and decide though you must watch out for Konkana and Saif in that scene both are brilliant.
Thirdly, the language is difficult to follow, even if you ignore the abuses that people fling at each other left right and centre, the North Indian accent is indeciperable unless you are from a village in U.P. or Bihar. There is one expression which is used often which I have still not been able to comprehend fully. Of course you get a sense of it but still understanding the dialogues is important to follow the story.
Lastly, its a tad bit long. At one point you feel like, “Yeah, get on with it.” This is mainly because you kind of get tired of the language and want to return to understandable Hindi and also because if you know the story, you know what is going to happen and want it to reach the climax fast. Though the editing is taut most of the time, there is a bit of confusion near the climax and a little more chopping by Meghna Manchanda could have helped.
Overall Omkara is a must watch. But do not expect entertainment, it is a serious movie, deals with a sensitive subject and delivers a drastically different fare than what we are used to. Watch it if you are in the mood of good cinema but forget it if you want to have fun. Someone told me it is going black for 700 bucks in multiplexes, if that is true looks like Vishal Bharadwaj has found the equation that clicks both in big bucks and critical acclaim which again sets him up for a tougher act to follow.
[*For those who do not know, Rishabh is Priyangini’s would-be-better-half!]
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August 3rd, 2006 at 9:13 am
Hey me first Pri on your first post since your hibernation…
August 3rd, 2006 at 9:21 am
superb review Pri… I have missed Omkara, guess must see it now!! and REQUEST you to come back to blogging
August 3rd, 2006 at 10:09 am
hi sirji, thanks so much for the good words. But I am no writer, just someone excited by having her expectations met by a good movie and wanting to express it. btw how did you do yesday?
Jay - good to see you here and thanks for liking the review. Do see the movie and abt the request, we will see.
August 3rd, 2006 at 10:33 am
Just saw the movie and got back. Liked it!
August 3rd, 2006 at 3:55 pm
Hi Priyangini. Nice review! I watched this movie on Sunday and liked it really. Very true Priyangini, one must read Othello before watching this movie. I didnt read full Othello but was aggressive about reading at least synopsis to get acquainted with characters and the story, before stepping out, And yes, this film is definitely not for those who seek entertainment. I wonder amongst the audience how many people knew about Othello and Shakespeare. Many of them had come just because of ‘A’ stamp I think. Felt pity about their knowledge when they used to whistle and laugh at ‘those’ dialogues.
I had come across Ur blog through RE, liked the way U write. Have read few of Ur posts and liked Suitor Saga, Memories and My Best Friend’s Wedding. Also Ur posts on Music are superb and informative. Keep writing!
August 3rd, 2006 at 6:58 pm
Jay - Waise toh ‘me first’ since i read it the first
ha ha
Pri - Then u hvnt judged ur own writing’s worth properly
See Madhu’s note below, for one…
ALL - For comments pertaining to the post, I will allow Pri only to reply them
August 3rd, 2006 at 7:45 pm
I have niether seen the movie, nor read Othello but I stuck to your review from the beginning till the end - thats what a good writer does to a subject.
Its pity that some of the best bloggers around lack time to take up blogging as a regular activity - but one feels greatly quenched of the thrist for good literature while reading the bit of it (I dare call a review literature because of its quality).
Another great feature of a good critique is that it never gives away the story; avoids spoilers of all kinds - and your review lives upto that feature.
I visit your old blog many times for repeat reads … it was a great experience reading a new post !! Way to go …
August 3rd, 2006 at 10:13 pm
Ditto Nikhil, Pri! I have neither seen the movie, nor read Othello but I stuck to your review too! and you did not give th story away! At the risk of sounding redundant, another great feature of this review is that you do not give the story away! Nothing new I can say here except that you need to come back to writing full time! This review was a great read and I hope to watch the movie soon!
Do start writing again lady!
August 4th, 2006 at 10:25 am
hey sirji, you could have replied to the comments, after all it is your blog, i am just a guest here.
Apoorva - good to know you share my view.
Madhu - Many thanks for the good words about life as it goes, it was a great experience while it lasted. But I cannot find time to continue it further. and I am happy you liked the movie too.
Nikhil - its good to see you again, yes I have spotted you once or twice at life as it goes but you were always relatively silent. I am glad you liked the review, I thought it was a bit too long and had asked deepak to edit it but he seems to have kept it as it is.
Kaushie - thanks for the good words but, I wonder why you ask me to start writing again when you have disappeared from blogging yourself huh???
How have you been? any progress on the home front? miss your utterances a lot.
August 4th, 2006 at 10:35 am
Oh wow DJ! would you believe it that I thought of Priyangini this morning!!!???!!! and then you post this review by her… talk abt co-incidence… now let me talk to her…
first of all priyangini, how are you doing? this review is super and taking the risk of soundin redundant, it does not contain spoilers for those who still haven’t seen the film… and reading this, I just realised that i’ve been missing your writing…
August 4th, 2006 at 10:40 am
hey anki, feels like the good old days - oh ok not so old but definately good days of blogging.
glad to know that you are thinking of me. I look fwd to reading your story of the rains btw. Thanks for liking the review, I wanted to put in a couple of more smartass comments in it but then the movie is a serious one so did not want to spoil the mood.
August 4th, 2006 at 3:42 pm
arrre Pri…good writers like you are missed when they don’t write. Mine is toh just “utterances” I will be back though
Madness has kept me busy but once the busy wave goes, I will be back 
August 4th, 2006 at 7:01 pm
Pri - Arre nahin, this once its your show…enjoy it and reply to the comments…
Of course, I meant to give my own as well, but couldnt do it yesterday. I devoured the review in one large gulp the first time, and enjoyed it thoroughly. Later, while putting it up and formatting it for the blog, I read it again slowly this time. I think Nikhil/Madhu/Kaush et al have already pointed it out, and even at the cost of repetition, I feel its a great review that captures every aspect of a film, be it performances, cinematography, music etc.
Actually, Life As It Goes should be revived, and in any new avtar or format will do … I m sure you will hv enough musical knowledge to share. And there is always Mumbai Masala that you can keep feeding us. With some nuggets from your own life… Do think about it…
August 5th, 2006 at 4:04 pm
i second DJ
August 6th, 2006 at 3:31 pm
::)Happy Friendship Day(::..
August 7th, 2006 at 9:53 pm
Hi,Deepak,nice review from Priyangini. Each of the characters is nicely covered,and,the last lines said it all’Watch it if you are in the mood of good cinema but forget it if you want to have fun.’…Now,I must watch it,if only to see the last scene,which is not described in the review.Albeit,I’m not looking forward to listening to the roughneck dialogues.
August 8th, 2006 at 10:45 pm
Very nice review. But, I usually try not to see the movies which have been made from novels, because they almost always do a great blunder - for e.g. - The Jackal. But, I havn’t read Othello so I think I’ll watch Omkara.
Anway, review is very nicely written.
August 8th, 2006 at 11:44 pm
Navjot … Which shouldnt be an issue with Omkara’s adaptation, since Othello is originally a ‘play’ and was meant to be watched, and not read!
August 9th, 2006 at 3:01 pm
sirji, sorry for the delay in replying to the comments, dad is not well, am in ahmedabad for his treatment. your suggestion of reviving life as it goes is being considered but don’t know when I will be able to do it.
Kaush - looking forward to your utterances. hope the madness has kept you sane enough.
Anki - your opinion is taken on record as well.
Chandanjali - same to you.
Amit - though your comment is addressed to deepak, i will take the liberty of replying, so thank you for your good words. the dialogues will stop mattering once you are involved in the story.
Navjot - deepak is right, Othello is a play though you can read it in the novel format in modern english text but the real impact can only be as a play.
August 9th, 2006 at 5:27 pm
Wow! Nice review Priyangini…. Will have to watch it now!
August 11th, 2006 at 10:18 am
hey sum - thanks. do watch it.
sirji - kahan ho? pagalkhane? updates ka time ho gaya hai.
August 12th, 2006 at 10:24 am
Here after a long long time..Infact to anyblog after a long gap! Havent been to mine either! And the surprise!! Priyangini managed to come out of self imposed hibernation and wrote this beautiful review..Brilliant…I loved the movie too..so much that i have already watched it twice! But yes..Maqbool will remain the best..
The only point where i beg to differ with u is Kareena Issue..I mean i second ur opinion that she is a pathetic actress, but i guess she was pretty OK in this movie..afterall she didnt have much to do in the movie apart from ” giggling in the first half and crying in the second” which, i think she did pretty well! I mean u cannot compare her with the goddess Konkana!
August 16th, 2006 at 8:37 pm
have to watch this movie…probably this weekend.
Saw KANK yday.
n Sir update karo
August 17th, 2006 at 3:21 pm
Hi Priyangini , though I have a slightly different take on the movie, but review is excellent. Definitely, movie is not a patch on Maqbool.
The only problem I found was that you also fell prey to stereotypes. First of all, UP and Bihar are not siamese twins so please treat them differently. I will tell you why.
The dialect(not language) in the movie would be as difficult to comprehend to a Bihari, a central/eastern UPite as to you, or for that matter any Hindi knowing(MP/Rajasthan etc) person in India.
Bihari speak Bhopuri and Maithli dialect. Urban UPites speak Khadi Boli - the Hindi in the text books. Rural UPites speak Awadhi, Bhojpuri and Bundelkhandi.
But the dialect used in the movie is used in Harayana, Western Uttar Pradesh, Northern Madhya Pradesh, and Rajasthan.
So no Bihari would understand, not many UPites would understand. But yes, whole of Haryana, Westen UP, Rajasthan would understand it properly.
August 18th, 2006 at 11:39 am
Very true Manish…
Am from Northern MP and i was able to comprehend the dialect totally!
August 18th, 2006 at 3:19 pm
A very good read. Priyangini is right when she says Maqbool had set very high standard…right, Omkara lacked Maqbool’s pathos and intensity. Thanks, Deepak…for you effort…
August 22nd, 2006 at 10:02 am
hey gaurav, long time, kahan rehete ho? You can disagree abt Kareena but have you read Othello? If you have you will know the intensity of Desdemona’s character. She is a complicated woman sometimes negating her own positive and vica versa, I could not see any of that in Kareena not that I had expected to see it but I had hoped that Vishal Bhardwaj would be able to bring something out of her. btw thanks for liking the review.
August 22nd, 2006 at 10:03 am
hi Mahek, hope you have seen omkara by now. and how did you like KANK?
August 22nd, 2006 at 10:18 am
hi manishbhai, point taken but to my defence I will say the following, firstly I think sterotyping is a harsh word, you can call it generalising but to say that I fall prey to sterotypes is unfair. When I bunch up UP/ Bihar I am guilty of a common error which we all make. I don’t know the languages or the dialects of the state of UP or Bihar or MP, I am not supposed to because I am a gujju in the same way as you are not supposed to know the difference between surti, kathiawadi, kutchi or Mumbaiya gujju.
Whenever you see a gujju character in a movie you generalise its behaviour and language because that is what believe gujjus to be. similarly there is a certain type of dialects which may differ from each other but for people like me and many other Bengalis, south Indian, punjabis who are not from that particular state would bunch it up as North Indian or UP/ Bihar.
I did the review as a layperson and for a layperson thats what the language seems like.
November 17th, 2006 at 12:26 am
Hi there, i must say that the views given by you were extremely helpful. It must be mentioned without fail that this film tends to raise semiotic meanings which are lying deep. The conotations and the denotations offered by Vishal Bharadwaj give an insight of the humans. Though Omkaara is just a work of fiction, still it makes us draw and identify to the characters. The similarities and differences can be realised by a simple fact that how simple integrities are reflected in the film in the most subtle manner.
Your review has helped me in a great deal as I have taken up to do a semiotic analysis of Omkara for academic purposes.
August 14th, 2007 at 6:53 pm
I couldn’t understand some parts of this article Omkara- Review by Priyangini Mehta, but I guess I just need to check some more resources regarding this, because it sounds interesting.