Omkara was a movie I wanted to see because I had a gut feeling it would be good and finally I did see the DVD version courtesy a friend .
Shakespeares Othello dealing with a very human emotion of jealousy has always attracted Indian film makers ,Jeyaraj had made a very good one in Malayalam with Suresh Gopi in the lead role of Othello character called Kaliyattam.
Vishal Baradwaj who is known for his interpretation of classics ( Macbeth ,
Ruskin bonds story ,etc ) is the creator ,he also wears the hat of the music director and does an excellent job of both with soulful lyrics from the one and only Gulzarsaab.
The uttar pradesh scenario and slang in the mileu of mafia gangdom and political dadaism has been brilliantly etched out .Some of the qoute are vulgar and colourful but so is it in reality and one cannot expect films to be dressed up for appearances .
Ajay Devgan has always been a favourite actor of mine ,the man with intense looks and smoldering eyes he silently steals our hearts with his acting acumen,
he is Omi the local mafia boss and protector to Tiwarisaab the big political leader etched with the natural talent of an actor of calibre of Nasserudin Shah ,Kareena Kapoor as Dolly Omis love and later wife was a surprise as she looked etheral and innocent and earned our sympathy in no time ,Kesu the debonair Vivek Oberoi who is falsely implicated of an affair with Dolly by a scheming Langda the villain of the piece .
None other than Saif ali Khan with a brilliant ancestry could have done justice to this dark role ,the animal in him which he talks of in one scene to the perky konkona Sen his wife is shown peeping at us often .
The tragic end as fruits of jealousy and misunderstanding brought about by succesful plotting by Langda against Kesu who had superseded him by being selected as Omi s lietunant makes Omi shoot himself in the heart and falling below the smothered body of his lovely Dolly with langda being axed by his own wife in disgust .
gruesome and macabre but then so is Othello .
A dark movie has to be taken with finesse ,this is a good example of that
3 comments:
ajay devgan’s rise from a mediocre actor who could excel only in action scenes to a real artist who can enact the roles of both commercial and offbeat themes to perfection has been laudable indeed!He didn’t have the natural inputs in abundance;rather he relied on hard work and improvisation;take his first ten movies including phool aur kaante, jigar,platform,sangram,divya shakti and dil hai betaab, as an actor he was so naïve to emotions then, all these movies except his debut phool aur kaante were box office disasters;yet he survived as one of the frontrunners in the industry which is reigned by the image conscious khans!
yup - had seen the movie some time back - enjoyed watching saif ali actually!! see what i wrote about it way back in July 06.
http://maddy06.blogspot.com/2006/07/week-end-so-far.html
Omkara is truly a good adaptation of Othello, though i prefer malayalam adaptation - Kaliyattom better.
The music of Omkara is exceptional, unfortunately most of the songs didnt gain much popularity. Though 'Beedi' song is the most popular, the melodious song 'O saathi re' is truly a masterpiece. 'Naina thag lenge' song with its rustic tunes is haunting. Vishal Bharadwaj has scored well in both the roles of the director & music director.
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