SYNOPSICS
Omkara (2006) is a Hindi movie. Vishal Bhardwaj has directed this movie. Ajay Devgn,Kareena Kapoor,Saif Ali Khan,Konkona Sen Sharma are the starring of this movie. It was released in 2006. Omkara (2006) is considered one of the best Action,Crime,Drama,Thriller movie in India and around the world.
Advocate Raghunath Mishra has arranged the marriage of his daughter, Dolly, with Rajan, knowing fully well that Dolly loves Omkara Shukla. Before the marriage could take place, the groom's party is attacked, they flee, and Dolly is reportedly abducted. Raghunath is able to trace Dolly to Omkara, a criminal and hit-man, a verbal confrontation ensues until Politician Bhaisaab telephonically intervenes, and a crestfallen Raghunath faces the reality that Dolly was not abducted but is here with Omkara by her own free will. He warns Omkara, and departs. Shortly thereafter, Bhaisaab is shot at and wounded, announces that Omkara should stand in the next election, and as a result, Omkara appoints one of his lieutenants', Keshav Upadhyay in his place as the 'Bahubali". Omkara realizes that he may have blundered in having Keshav succeed him, as Keshav is unable to control his temper when under the influence of alcohol, which puts him in the bad books of Omkara. Then Omkara suspects that Keshav ...
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Omkara (2006) Reviews
Excellent piece of craftsmanship
I caught the first screening of Omkara, and I must say that I am astounded. Vishal Bharadwaj had previously carved a niche for himself in the industry, with the likes of Makdee and Maqbool, but Omkara puts him in a league of his own. It is an exquisite work of art, with each person putting in their best. Everyone knows Omkara to be an adaptation of Othello, and I frankly expected Omkara to be just that. At best, I thought it would be Vishal's homage to Shakespeare. I was terribly wrong. Omkara is a poem in itself. Every aspect of the movie has the dedication and tenacity of the director stamped on it (considering he has handled direction, dialogues, screenplay, music, and even sung a song). The beauty of Omkara lies not in its portrayal of Othello, but the fact that it uses Othello as a platform to weave an intricate tale of love, obsession, treachery and tragedy. Yes, Omkara is an adaptation of Othello, but that is not the strength of the movie. The real strength of the movie lies in the performances of all the characters, and the gripping narrative. From the word go, Omkara has you by the crotch (pardon the usage), and lets go only after the last credits have rolled off. Vishal's Omkara (Othello) is the chieftain of a band of outlaws in a semi-lawless rural area in Uttar Pradesh. His brother and right hand man is Langda Tyagi (Iago), named so for his limp. Another prominent figure in this gang is Keshu Firangi(Michael Cassio), the only member to have a college education. Omkara is in love with the bewitchingly beautiful Dolly (Desdemona), and she with him. At her behest, he and his gang interrupt her wedding and bring her to his village. In the village, Langda's wife Indu(Emilia) takes Dolly under her wing, becoming companion and friend. When Omkara appoints Keshu as the youth leader of the gang, Langda (who anticipated the post) feels jealous and overlooked, and seeks revenge by convincing Omkara that Dolly is having an affair with Keshu behind his back. For most part the story is the same as that of Othello, with just the background of each character adapted to suit the Indian temperament. Also, the language used a mix of Hindi and Bhojpuri, which adds to the aesthetics of the movie. Ajay Devgan as Omkara ascends to new heights of emoting, using his eyes to convey so much more than he could ever say. The obsessive lover, the ruthless gang leader, a man eaten up by his inferiority complex and the doubts borne thereof, Ajay lives every moment of his character. Viveik Oberoi is seen after a bit of a hiatus, and does considerably well. As the childlike Keshu, with his boyish grin and charm, you can't help liking him, and feeling sorry for him. Kareena Kapoor has always been an actress to reckon with in my books, since her 'Refugee' 'Chameli', and 'Dev' days, and proves her mettle as the devoted and loving Dolly. Quality work from a largely underrated actress, proving that she's a lot more than the glam girl she often portrays. The surprise of the pack was Bipasha, who does a considerably extended 'special' appearance and ample justice to her role as Billo, Keshu's love interest. Neseeruddin Shah as the overlord Bhaisaab, is a treat to watch. To say anything more would take away from the essence of his performance. Konkana Sen-Sharma as the simple, yet shrewd Indu is brilliance personified. With her natural accent and looks, she suits the role to a T. You instantly see in Indu a strong and loving woman. Be it as Dolly's friend, Lagda's wife, or as a bhabhi to the younger members of the gang, Konkana has the role down pat. Particularly endearing is her 'kheiin', akin to an 'arre'. Each of these actors has portrayed their characters faultlessly, and no other actor could have done them better. Yet they all pale in comparison to Saif Ali Khan, as the cunning, devious, and calculating Langda Tyagi. This man is simply too good an actor. Sly and manipulative, his persona exudes pure evil,without even the stereotype evil laugh. His eyes strike a fear that resonates deep in your soul, and even hours after the movie is over,Langda is the character you keep thinking of, and is easily the pick of the lot. If Saif deserved a National Award for HUM TUM, then an award for this is a no-brainer. Hats off to all the cast and crew members of Omkara, and to Vishal Bharadwaj, for creating this masterpiece of contemporary Hindi cinema. PS- Watch out for the expletives used freely in the movie. They are a source of humour in themselves. :)
If you have not seen an Indian movie in a long time, this is the one to break your hiatus with.
I took only the masterline from Othello and sketched it from there on my own. I almost felt as if I had written it only 400 years ago.- Vishal Bharadwaj Haughty comment of a wannabe or simplistic fascination of an artist? A fairly new and art-house director with a star-cast to challenge any Yash Chopra production and an eight-figure production budget is not just a rarity in Indian cinema, but unheard of. What Vishal ends up delivering is highly-intelligent cinema with all the accessibility of any major commercial release (akin to a Batman Begins as a summer movie). I can't resist quoting from my review of Maqbool: Give Vishal Bharadwaj a solid pat on the back, and sit back waiting for his next movie. This man seethes brilliance in his film-making. His dialogues, his script, his music, and his direction - all are top-notch. This movie proves that Makdee was no fluke. Omkara (Ajay Devgan) is a gang-leader in the semi-lawless state of UP. Bhaisaab's (Naseer's) election win promotes Omi, leaving his "Youth Leader" seat empty. In a logical political move, Omi selects Kesu Firangi (Vivek Oberoi) as his successor ignoring his loyal right-hand-man Langda Tyagi (Saif). Green with envy, Langda slowly poisons Omkara's mind against Kesu leading him down a path too dark for anyone's good. Kareena, Konkona & Bipasha play Omi, Langda & Kesu's love interests respectively. The movie starts in the middle of an attempted wedding of a girl and carries on until she gets married. The events that transpire inbetween, the turns that different people take to affect her life and the eventual effect is Vishal Bharadwaj's unique Omkara. The title of his second Shakespearean movie went through a few changes before finally resting on his Othello equivalent. But this movie could easily have also been called "Dolly Mishra" or "Langda Tyagi". These three characters equally occupy our minds with their unpredictable fates and yet it is the triumph of Saif Ali Khan's powerfully vile performance that his limp Tyagi towers head and shoulders above anybody around him. Vishal writes the Screenplay & Dialogues, composes music, sings and directs in just his fourth movie yet which only strengthens the silent promise his is making to his fans of greater things to come. Missing are the escapist dream sequences and melodramatic dialogues that Hindi movies are generally associated with. He instead roots the movie in realism with even the song-and-dance sequences being what are existent in a real-world Indian lifestyle. Anyone who has followed Indian cinema since the 70s will note the clear influence in Vishal's work-style from his previous two movies. It does help to have this influence (Gulzar) as the lyricist of the movie and (my guess) a quiet adviser too. The most clear indication of this is in the dialogues and the style of sparsely sprinkled humour. My only gripe with the movie was the language spoken by the characters. It is a mix of Hindi & Bhojpuri - something that is indeed spoken in U.P. But this gripe is more to do with my short-coming in not understanding the language rather than a flaw in the movie. If you have not seen an Indian movie in a long time, this is the one to break your hiatus with. My Rating --> 4 of 5 P.S: Vishal Bharadwaj has directed, in order, Makdee (original story), Maqbool(Shakespeare's Macbeth), Chatri Chor(Ruskin Bond's Blue Umbrella) and Omkara(Shakespeare's Othello). Chatri Chor remains unreleased although it has been shown in a few festivals around Europe.
Can Raw be Gorgeous ?...its Omkara !
Can Raw be Gorgeous ? Well here we have for that one rare spectacular treat. Vishal Bhardwaj visualizes and presents a mesmeric manifestation out of rustic, rural, and wild backdrop. Omkara is an adaptation from Othello, one of the four great tragedies written by Shakespeare that includes Hamlet, King Lear, and Macbeth. Vishal has made all possible efforts to recreate the magic of the powerful script and he has succeeded to a great extent. However he has changed background from one that at royals in Europe to pastoral countryside in western Uttar Pradesh. The movie has an extravagant treatment and every aspect from costumes to sets and dialect to music has been designed to near exactness. The beginning takes you straight into the heartland of India where politics and power equations are bread and butter of the inhabitants. The color of muscle-power, sex, and jealously makes perfect ingredients for a Bollywood potboiler. It surely have been a laudable effort by the filmmaker after depicting his genius with Maqbool in 2003 (another adaptation from Shakespeare's Macbeth). Omkara stays true to its spirit, (the original word is a spiritual vibration from Sanskrit) it's an impersonal and formless representation of the absolute truth. Ajay Devgan playing the lead gives the right tone and shade to the character. His intense expressive eyes and deep throat say it all. It is indeed a quantum leap over his last negative portrayal in Ram Gopal Verma's "Company". He stays in focus from the first action sequence and the title song gives him a fitting introduction on the canvas. The whole drama revolves around his emotions and his weaknesses. His love interest in the film is played by Kareena Kapoor and to say the least she has been a complete revelation to watch. She looks stunning and emotes with ease in some very delicate parts of the show. Vivek Oberoi tries his hand again on some quality stuff after a string of flops recently but unfortunately he is one of the rare weak parts of this plot. He looked very vulnerable and the character never gave him an opportunity to come to the forefront. Konkona Sen Sharma is always full of surprises and her versatility is her strength. The variety of roles she does will be envy for any actor. She plays with simple elegance for a common house villager and without a doubt impresses one and all. Another high was from Bipasha Basu, playing a sultry siren and absolutely ignites the screen with couple of dance numbers. Apart from illustrating her well toned figure there was not much of performance meat in her presence. However the most sumptuous role was bagged by none other than brilliant Saif Ali Khan. He is the fulcrum for the whole movie and he is one who raises the bar of quality for many others around him. One could essentially feel the frustration and resentment in Saif's depiction. The way he hatches the plot and then makes his wicked moves one by one develops the much needed interest for the viewer. He is very slow to start with by staying in shadows of Devgan but then came the string of frames where he outclassed the former. Omkara should well be appreciated for its technical brilliance. With bulk of shooting at Wai and Lonavala in Maharashtra, it would have been a real big challenge to structure an authentic North Indian village. The cinematography was sheer pleasure and many shots were so aesthetic that it felt like watching mesmeric work of art in motion. The frames were large and the theme of boisterous merrymaking was captured with meticulous vividness. The script is just right and director do not waste any reels on explaining irrelevant details. Though large hearted shower of local offensive words can get jarring for some audience. Music did not have much to do in this tight screenplay and the director could have done better without couple of songs. Although "Jag Ja Ri Gudia" composition sung by Suresh Wadkar is a pure melody and the veteran made his presence felt in crop of new singers. The song has special relevance with the storyline and thus goes along well. All accolades to the director for feasting us on an outstanding cinema. He is a showcase of the new genre of Indian film makers and he has all his fundamentals in the right place. The movie leaves us with heavy thoughts and a lot to ponder in the end. It could have been very easy for anyone to go awry with such a radiant cast line but Vishal not only develops the individual characters skillfully but also creates the magic of making Raw look Gorgeous
Omkara: A Classic Of International Standards
Traditionally in Bollywood you narrate fantasy and try to make it an art form, thankfully it doesn't work. Real life is harsh, as a nation we are in the first phase of seeing reality taking art form on screen. It used to happen before but sadly those movies used to get buried under the tag of "art movie". I think as a culture we tend to have a strong disdain for reality and we love flirting with surrealism of lowest standards. Omkara would be a cult classic, like Maqbool, its for people who like to see smart cinema, yes cinema as in international cinema and not films. I don't think Othello is a subject that will go down well with "junta" they like singing, dancing, crying. Omkara has singing, dancing and crying, but it is similar to things in our lives. We don't like it, we like entertainment through escapism, surrealism and at times sadomaschoism. Thats Us, Indias, we are like this. It's not good, it's not bad. After weeks Omkara may not become a successful product, Omkara would be a successful Cinema. The movie is a stand out from a technical point of view, you can count the flaws on two fingers which is exceptional for Bollywood.The creative team has achieved a new high, so congratulations to them.The movie fits well in the location, it has an authentic feel and associates nicely with he play.The rustic and rough feel of the movie nicely captures the ambiance, never for a moment things get too comfortable and I guess if you're surrounded by political mafias there can never be a real sense of ease about any thing. I think acting from Ajay Devgan was a bit disappointing. I am not criticizing him maybe I was expecting too much, but sadly for me, he couldn't deliver anything new. You could always see shades of his character from Yuva and Apaharan. I kept wondering isn't Omi the same guy? I mean same stare, same approach, even the same way looks into the eyes of his lover. Strange. But overall I think in context of the story he has done a wonderful job. He's been solid and that does it for the movie so you cant be critical of him. Kareena Kapoor has been made to look really good, thanks to director. It's good to see she is improving. Konkona Sen, she is a beautiful actor a genuine talent. Sadly she was a bit wasted in a limited screen time but had emphatic presence. Vivek Oberoi, sadly he lost out. He did his usual boy-next-door-charm but you never felt for his character. He looked more idiotic than brave and loyal, not for a moment you could sympathize with him while he was being victimised. Vishal hid him very well in the script. Naseer Sab was good. He is too big now for such roles and he managed to give credibility to this character. The soul of the movie is Saif Ali Khan. I think since DilChahta Hai he's shown that he is one Indian actor who is ready to imply world standards to his approach and methods. His work ethics have been fantastic. I respect him for that. Personally I think Langda Tyagi is the most inspired performance since Paresh Rawal's Sardar. In between I can't think of any actor getting in the soul of a character like this. He did in this movie what Pankaj Kapoor did in Maqbool with Abba Ji, which is to re-invent how a character is portrayed, it can only be achieved by legends. Langda is a bit of Jack Sparrow and Bill the Butcher at the same time, which means quality. The best thing was, for the entire movie Saif killed himself to become Langda. When he called SMS "assum kar dena" in Car with Omi that sealed it for him. It wasn't an easy task following Maqbool. Vishal has done an absolutely incredible job in stretching his high standards. He is a certified genius now, a rare breed, a original of the species. His story telling, dialogues, the whole presentation was flawless. I am sure those who are not familiar with Othello will have a different view. But I don't see how could have Othello be re-worked better as a movie. It's a tragedy so the end was glum and depressing. I am impressed and awed by Vishal Bharadwaj's work. He stuck to his beliefs and made a movie that he wanted to make never bothering about crowd, money or critics. It rarely happens in Bollywood. Kumar Mangat should also be thanked for encouraging him and giving him his space. Right now Vishal Bharadwaj is the best, much better than Pretentious Leela Bhansali. Take a bow for giving a Classic of International Standards.
OMKARA.....A Brilliant movie
When someone makes an adaptation of one of the greatest Shakespearan tragedies, you have to stand up and take notice. And especially Vishal Bhardwaj, someone who had made Maqbool the toast of the festival circuit and on par with some of Kurosawa's best work. Akira Kurosawa, one of the best directors the world has ever seen, has made quite a few Shakespearean stories brilliantly( See Throne of blood, Ran). Vishal Bhardwaj has again changed the setting to the underworld, this time in rural India...more precisely UP. Naseeruddin Shah plays a crooked MP 'Bhaisaab' who employs a local goon 'Omkara' (Ajay Devgan essaying the lead role) to do his evil deeds. Happy with Omkara's work he gives him a ticket to contest in the Assembly. So now a successor to Omkara has to be chosen. There are two main choices, the foreign returned, guitar wielding suave Keshu firangi ( Vivek Oberoi) and the yellow toothed, son of the soil Langda Tyagi ( Saif Ali Khan). Ajay Devgan decides to choose Keshu firangi. Now this is where the real story begins. Langda tyagi obviously gets incensed and decides to get Keshu removed. He craftily builds up an imaginary affair between Dolly, Omkara's soon to be wife ( Kareena Kapoor) and Keshu in Omkara's mind. By the time Omkara realizes this it is too late. Tyagi's wife Indu( Konkona Sen Sharma) unknowingly plays a pawn in her Husband's Plans. The question is, how is Omkara??? Well it's just Brilliant. After seeing Maqbool, i knew that i had seen one of the best Hindi movies ever made. This goes one better. There are some directors like Vishal Bhardwaj which are keeping the bollywood's ( OK, the Indian film industry's) flag flying high. He performs a Multitude of roles - Director, Scriptwriter, Dialogue writer, composer...phew, and he does them all to perfection. Of course it helps when you have people like gulzar assisting you. The stand out part- the direction. The film is very tautly made, its very engrossing. You wont realize that its already two and a half hrs when the movie ends. The script and the dialogues are also top notch. Of course if you have the bard's one of the greatest tragedies as your basis, you cant go wrong. The dialogues are very rustic. Normally this movie's audience would have been restricted to the multiplex going crowd. But by using Hindi as is spoken in UP, with all the profanities that creep up in normal day use, it will ensure that the theaters in the Hindi speaking northern belt will run to packed houses. The songs are quite good too. The title track is extremely good and so is 'Bidi Jaliye le'. It will become the rage among the masses. Performance wise, Ajay Devgan excels again as Omkara delivering a brooding performance he is so adept at delivering. Kareena Kapoor disappoints as usual. Vivek Oberoi is efficient. Konkona Sen sharma is brilliant. She delivers the performance one has come to expect from her. Bipasha as the dancer Billo, had a role of an eye candy and she looks really hot. But the real show stealer is Saif ali Khan, who enacts with panache the Role of Iago( one of the greatest villains in English literature). He is mean, cruel, ingenuous and his performance is truly brilliant. He carries off a negative character quite well in Ek Hasina Thi, but here he excels himself. All in all a must see movie, and especially for people who like dark, intense, dramatic movies.