The wait is finally over as Vishal Bharadwajs magnum opus finally makes its way onto our screen. OMKARA is without a doubt one of the years most anticipated films from its mammoth cast, novel story, acclaimed director to the brilliant music. The movie has generated a buzz among movie goers like never before and the hype for the movie was immense. The question on everyones mind-does OMKARA live upto expectations? Personally my expectations were EXTREMELY high for the movie given that MAQBOOL ranks as one of my Top 10 Bollywood films of all time…and folks-though OMKARA doesn’t quiet reach the level of MAQBOOL the movie is no doubt one of the most brilliant films to come out from Bollywood in recent times!
For those who aren’t aware with Shakespeares brilliant fable the movie revolves around Omkara(Othello, Ajay Devgan) who is a dreaded gangster and chief of a band of outlaws who all work for a aspiring and notorious politician Bhaisaab(Duke, Nasserudin Shah). His two most trusted lieutenants in the gang are Langda Tyagi(Iago, Saif Ali Khan) and Kesu Firangi(Cassio, Vivkek Oberoi) who are willing to lay down their lives for Omkara. The three share a tight knit bond of trust and friendship which is unheard of in todays times. When Rajju(Rodriego, Deepak Dobriyal) wants to marry Dolly(Desmonda, Kareena Kapoor) Langda even spoils the marriage party as Dolly is madly in love with Omkara. Dollys father protests as Omkara is a half caste, but Bhaisaab convinces Dollys unwilling father to bless the two lovers. Dollys father warns Omkara on a parting note.. “A daughter that isn’t loyal to her father, can she be loyal to her love”?
When Omi is promoted in the gang he selects Kesu to be his successor Langda is outraged and his pride is hurt, yet he keeps his anger bottled up.Raging with envy, slowly Langda starts plotting Kesus downfall and ultimately Omkaras downfall. He starts planting seeds of doubts in Omkaras mind about Dollys alleged love affair with Kesu. Langda craftily uses everyone around him from his doting wife Indu(Emilia, Konkona Sen Sharma) who steals a special gift given by Omkara to Dolly. Langda gets his hands on the gift…to Kesus love Billo(Bipasha Basu billed as a special appearance) who he ultimately uses to convince Omkara of the affair which is the final nail on the coffin for Omkara on his wedding night…what follows on from here is one of the biggest tragedies in history!
Screenplay writers Vishal Bharadwaj, Robin Bhatt and Abhishek Chaubey have done a remarkable job by bringing Shakespeares story to the rugged heartland of U.P/Bihar. For the most the story is true to the original(as far back as I can remember to my college days). The beauty of Shakespeare is that the setting and background can change but the soul of the movie, the characters and ultimately the larger than life themes of jealous, love, beatrayl, envy are the same. A Shakespeare play on the celluloid can be a rather boring venture but the team of writers have BRILLANTLY merged in the key necessary ingredients of a masala film to make it appealing for the indian movie goer without ever insulting the true works of the original. Excellent work!
Vishal Bharadwaj as the captain of the ship is a MASTERMIND! The director has proved his worth with his debut film MAKDEE and later with the classic MAQBOOL that he is a intelligent and genius film-maker. With OMKARA, Bharadwaj proves that he is one of the BEST story tellers we have in Bollywood today. One must envy him for his vision…bringing something like Shakespeare to a completely new setting yet not letting go of its potential “SOUL” is by no means an easy feat yet Bharadwaj for the most manages to achieve this with success! Right from the look and feel of the movie(Sergio Leone meets Sholay), the poetic visuals, the sun drenched terrains, the sheer ruggedness of Bihar to the charatcerisation to everything else-Bharadwaj is PURE GENIUS. The movie pays a tribute to a number of classic films throughout and it has been a while since one has witnessed such a authentic, raw, rugged yet classy piece of cinema(indeed a novel experience). Although the politics of U.P/Bihar and the gangsters is there-ultimately these things stay in the background as Bharadwaj never loses focuses on the main story of the movie. The lingo used in the movie does take getting used to-but is completely in sync with the movie. Bharadwaj doesn’t shy from using expletives here either. The word “Chutiyaa” is used about 50 times and even “Madar Chod” and “Benchod” makes a welcome appearance. But note he is NOT going for “shock value” but rather portraying things how they are.Dialogues(Bharadwaj again) are excellent and applauseworthy. It has been a while since one has heard some of real clapworthy dialogue-baazi (SHART GHORON PE LAGATE HAI..SHERON PAR NAHIN). One of the main criticisms by some “so-called” big critics with MAQBOOL was that it was too “artsy”-does OMKARA have that problem? Personally I thought the movie is a very commercial film laden with crowd pleasing moments. Saif Ali Khans character itself is something which the audiences loved right from the start to end and having a rocking item number like “BEEDI” in there shows that Bharadwaj is here to ENTERTAIN the viewer but not attacking their intelligence. At this juncture I would like to mention a few scenes which ultimately leave a haunting impression on the viewer..
•When Kareenas father warns Omkara right at the start after they go to get his blessings •Ajay choosing Viviek as his lieutenant and the consequent scenes that follow with Saif •The numerous conversations with Saif and Deepak Dobriyal. The scene where he pushes him into the river for good and walks off is just chilling •Ajay asking Kareena to search for his gift •The BEEDI item number •The numerous sequences between Saif and Ajay with Ajay poisoning his mind-special mention to the “HAAN YA NAA” at the railway station. •The entire climax sequence.
There are also m any small nuances like the manner in which Saif is portrayed to the audience(either a side view or from the back) which are just wicked. The scene in the hospital where we see Saif walk down the long hospital corridor limping has an rather eerie affect and the cinema burst into whistles and claps.
So it the movie perfect? No-I do well Vishal Bharadwaj fell short in the climax a little. The climax is no doubt the movie important part of OMKARA and even the climax can be broken down into a two parts 1) before Omkara finds out the truth and 2) after Omkara finds out the truth. I won’t reveal the climax but the scenes that happen before Omkara find out the truth are just emmaculate and surreal-but what follows after Omkara finds out the truth I found rushed! There were never going to be any happy endings-but the culminated of Langdas character should’ve been canned properly and for some reason I felt the credits rolled to quickly(it could be the mere fact I was completely absorbed and engulfed by what was unfolding in front of me that I was disappointed that the movie had finally finished) ..only time will tell with repeated viewings.
Technically the movie is award worthy. Firstly I would like to welcome Tassaduq Hussain to Bollywood. This is his first film as a cameraman and the director does a spellbinding job. One can say he captures the entire movie on celluloid flawlessley like one big beautiful painting. Never before have the rugged terrains of U.P/Bihar looked so beautiful and the film has the look/feel of a true blue yesteryear Western which itself is quiet a nostalgic throwback! Editing by Meghna Manchanda is noteworthy. The screen cuts in the movie are wickedly done and make the narrative more compelling. Jai Singhs action scenes are tightly canned and exciting. Specially the one at the start and in the train. Ganesh Acharyas dance moves are bound to get the viewer shaking in their seats in BEEDI-rugged and raw..as Saif said in his interview..”you can smell the sweat”!
Musically the movie is a masterpiece and after the watching the movie one appreciates the soundtrack much more. Alongside Rehmans RDB and Strings ZINDA this ranks as the best soundtrack of the year. Whats brilliant is that for the most Bharadwaj merges the story/narrative in with the songs so the songs never act like the speedbreaker as they are always progressing the story. The title track booms as Ajay Devgans character fights-a ace touch! Lakkad, Namak and O Saathi Re too are superlative but the master stroke is no doubt BEEDI! The song perfectly conveys the lawlessness in the state of U.P/Bihar and despite being a rural dance number the song has universal that just clicks with the viewer. The song excudes RAW energy which is just blistering on-screen. Prior to its release I was comparing BEEDI to last years KAJRA RE , while KAJRA RE is more a classy item number-BEEDI falls more into the U.P-BIHAR song from SHOOL. It would be unfair to say the song is one of the movies U.S.P’s but BEEDI does add that added punch to OMKARA. The song is bound to be a cult classic in the coming weeks! Lyrics: I won’t say anything further than Gulzar is a legend?! “Aise..Zaalim Ka Jor De Makaan Jor De Re Billo”!! The background score in the movie is captivating and elevates most of the scenes to a completely different level. The dark brooding TRAGEDY OF OMKARA plays everytime a rather “evil” side of Saif comes on-screen and it really does add to the affect.
Now to the performances..
Ajay Devgan as Omkara delivers yet another astounding performance! There is a constant argument amongst some of my fellow colleagues that 1) These kinda roles come naturally to Ajay or 2) He is just as a brilliant actor. I would stick to the latter! No doubt serious, brooding, dark and intense roles are Ajay Devans forte and his portrayl of OMKARA here is part Malikbhai from COMPANY with shades from other films like APAHARAN and LAJJA! But Ajay manages to portray a new dimension to each portrayl he gives and with Omkara he once again does precisely that. His delivert is astounding and his dialogues are ones that evoke claps from the audience. He completely looks the part he plays and the dramatic and emotional sequences strikes the perfect chord. His portrayl of a main consumed by doubt, uncertainty, jealousy and rage is ultimately haunting. OMKARA ranks in Ajay Devgans prolific resume as one of his best performances in his career! Also those who had any doubts about Ajay Devgans versatility…2 weeks back he starred in the rather fun comedy GOLMAAL which was pure Salman Khan territory and the film has managed to become a reasonable success and this week he stars in OMKARA..hats off to one of Bollywoods finest actors!
Saif Ali Khan delivers a BREATHTHROUGH performance as Langda Tyagi! The actor completely puts to rest any claims about “he can only play prettyboy metrosexual roles etc” by delivering one of the most powerful performances in his career or for that matter one of the new Millenium!It would be unfair to call this a “once-in-a-lifetime” performance as Saif has proven time and time again that he is able to re-invent himself and bowl the viewers over. Roles like DIL CHAHTA HAI, KAL HO NA HO, HUM TUM he perfected to a hilt and showed that when it came to rom-coms he was a champion. Around that time he also delivered a path-breaking performance as the smoth, suave and slimey villan in EK HASINA THI and at that point critics lauded that Saif has delivered his best, then came VVC’s poignant love story PARINEETA and critics again claimed that Saif has outdone himself…and now comes OMKARA where Saif has again outdone himself with his best performance to date! Right from the crew-cut hairstyle, the “paan” stained teeth, the constant swearing, the constant spitting, the “limp” in his leg to his maniacal eye movements Saif Ali Khan MESMERISES the viewer with his act. The get-up is an obvious throwback to Gabbar Singh and like Gabbar, Langda is ultimately a crowd pleasing character despite being the films villan. Langda is a character which you like at the start, then feel sorry for as he hasn’t been chosen…and ultimately feel sorry for him for being so downright pathetic. Langda(Iago) never does any physical harm to Omkara, it’s the manner in which he manipulates and cons others around him to get what he wants done. His blistering screen presence dominates every screen he is in and his toothy grin is infectious. Saifs use of his body language and eyes is outstanding here….the manner in which his anger is always brimming at the top but never explodes…the manner in which his ENVY and JEALOUSY just oozes from his face only to be covered up with a smile which says “everythings fine”! The scene when Kesu is made lieutenant or when he pushes Rajju off into the river are two prime examples. Langa Tyagi ranks alongside Bhikhu Mhatre and Lallan Singh as one BRILLIANT performance…..LANGDA TYAGI IS IMMORTA and a standing ovation to Saif Ali Khan!
There has been a fair amount of criticism about Viviek Oberoi that he disappoints with a flat performance, but I found Viviek reasonably good in his part. Kesu may not be as powerful as Omi or Langda but he is the fine balance between the two. There is a certain amount of earnestness that goes into portraying the loyalty of Kesu and Viviek does that well. Given that he has a full platform to perform one would’ve thought Viviek would’ve given the movie his heart and soul-and its evident he hasn’t done that. Nevertheless this is one of Viviek Oberois more likeable and noteworthy performances.
Kareena Kapoor as Dolly is great!(not excellent) Completely deglamourised in her looks she plays her character with complete understanding and once again proves after CHAMELI, YUVA and DEV she is supremely talented. I did feel that her footage was rather limited and ultimately I don’t feel her performance is Worthy of an award by any means.
Konkona Sen Sharma on the other hand delivers a towering performance and one that is truly award worthy! The actress is a chameleon right from MR AND MRS IYER to 15 PARK AVENUE, PAGE 3 to MIXED DOUBLE. The manner in which she completely BECOMES the character she is playing is fantastic and as Indu she perfectly masters the lingo and look of her character. One of the best actresses we have in Bollywood today!
Bipasha Basu has limited footage as far as acting is concerned but she is just too BLOODY GORGEOUS! Her latkas and jhatkas in NAMAK and BEEDI are brilliant and one can’t help but drool over her!
Nasserudin Shah is reliable as ever in a Supoorting role but a Jehangir Khan from MAQBOOL this is not!
From the supporting cast Deepak Dobriyal as Rajju is brilliant and definetly an actor to watch out for.
I would also like to add that the casting of this movie is just PERFECT! Each and every character looks their part and plays it with genuine passion. The chemistry shared between them too is brilliant and Ajay shares a excellent rapport with both Saif(KACHCHE DHAAGE) and Viviek(COMPANY, KAAL, YUVA).
All up where does that leave OMKARA? Well folks…..in my humble opinion OMKARA is one brilliant film that is indeed a must-see! Some will like it more than others no doubt, but the movie is one of the most satisfying movie experiences I have had since RANG DE BASANTI and ranks in my list of “Best films of the Millenium”… A MUST SEE!
Final Rating: * * * * ¼
