Vishal Bharadwaj’s Indian adaptation of Shakespeare’s "Othello" is one of the very few movies churned out in the hindi film industry which can be termed as a "classic". It is one and there are many reasons for it. The director had earlier done justice to Maqbool (which was adapted from "Macbeth") and this time, he goes notches higher.
The performances are very strong and apart from Vivek Oberoi’s average act, all the others put up performances that definitely bring the house down. I’d like to say here that the movie has been misnamed. It should have been called "Langra Tyagi" because Saif does a brilliant job here, once again proving his versatility as an actor. Ajay as "Omkara" pales infront of him (he is a good actor too). Saif has a juicier role compared to the others and he utilises the opportunity so well that we get to see one of the best negative roles ever. You actually enjoy the obscenities too (however, you cannot watch it with your family. The abuses are too raw!). Ajay is okay here. He was better in "Company", "Deewangee" and "The legend of Bhagat Singh". Kareena is good and her performance is as good as the ones she did in "Dev" and "Chameli".
Konkona is fantastic in a supporting role. Her’s is the second best performance in the movie. She rightly deserved all the awards for the "best supporting role" categories just like Saif deserved (and got) all the awards for the "best negative role". Vivek is average. He really can’t act and his bravura act in "Company" was a mere fluke. Bipasha doesn’t get much scope to act. However, the item numbers picturised on her (especially "beeri") are worth a mention. Naseeruddin is good in a cameo. The music is average. One song stands apart - "Beeri". The direction and cinematography are first-rate.