VISHAL BHARDWAJ hits the bull’s eye once again after MAQBOOL with his latest offering OMKARA. Adapting OTHELLO , a SHAKESPEARE play, he places it perfectly into a terror striking milieu of U.P. [ WAI to be precise ]. immaculate characterisation and a gritting screenplay keep you on the edge of yopur seats throughout.
Vishal is truly a master at portaying human emotions with in the presribed limits of indian mentality. from the very first scene, the film shows what it is all about - raw people, ribaid dialect, wicked ideologies leading to brutal conclusions. kudos to vishal bhardwaj for the treatment he has done to this surreal tale of love, jealosy, gullibility and lethal retribution.
the film has a very in-your-face touch and a hard hitting narration and thats what sets OMKARA a cut above the commonplace. abusive dialogues, witty one-liners and even largely ribaid sequences helpfully doesnt marr the charismatic appeal of the movie.
the photography cant get better than this with a natural lensing style and great shot-taking patterns. not to mention some witty dialogues imparted to all the leading and even the supporting characters for a rustic quality.
the most distinct flavour of the movie is that it successfully moves on two diverse paths simalteneously and successfully. for one, the director beautifully explains the feverish passion of OMI and DOLLY for each other. Secondly, the anguish of LANGDA TYAGI is very lyrical and touches a raw nerve.
The character of LANGDA TYAGI, OMI’s proudy, self-esteemed and agonised man friday is defined to maxim. his unexpected pangs, misused intellect and murky strategy to rule the roost makes one hate the character and thats where SAIF ALI KHAN scores a point or two above the others. AJAY DEVGAN’s restrained portrayal of OMI SHUKLA, the leader [ astrong but naive one ] of a political goon group gets one gut. KAREENA KAPOOR as DOLLY finally gives a performance that will make even her scathiest critics’ jaw drop [ literally ! ].
actually thats the biggest triumph of the diretor. vishal bhardwaj has killed the strars of SAIF ALI KHAN and KAREENA KAPOOR and moulded them into genuine actors. you will not even recognise saif ali khan instantly when he appears on screen.
A bit disappointingly, even with a a somewhat substantial role, VIVEIK OBEROI just manages to makes a mark as KESU FIRANGI [ b’coz of unintentional mileage given to langda tyagi ] . its disappointing b’coz the expections this time from the lovable actor were sky-high [ to put it mildly ].
KONKANA SEN as INDU and NASEERUDDIN SHAH as BHAI SAAB with their rural lingo leave everyone spellbound. konkanareally stood out in the climax. BIPASHA BASU as BILLO CHAMAN BAHAR loos inviting and makes an impact in her minor role.
there are some great scenes [ and moments too ] exuding perfect lyricism on screen. the one for instance is, when DOLLY urges OMI to forgive KESU, and we expectedly notice a latent anger in OMI’s eyes. some other memorable moments are OMI-TYAGI clash on the railway track, OMI unurgedly killing DOLLY and later on himself unapologetically in the climax. that scene had a lot of anguish and was beautifully executed.
having said all this, the film belongs to VISHAL BHARDWAJ. for he as used his music so potently to define OMI’s strength, the intricate passion of OMI and DOLLY, the naughty side of KESU and TYAGI. for he has extrated the best out of his powerful cast of capable actors. for he has used the camera so well to define the human emotions, and atlast for he has moved us with his memorable characters and a dismal climax. OMKARA is definitely one of the best works of the 21st century.