eBolly's Movie Reviews
OMKARA (OTHELLO) - Realistic, dark but not entertaining
- by Viral Bhayani (eBolly.com)
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Starring:Ajay Devgan, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Konkona Sen Sharma, Vivek Oberoi, Naseeruddin Shah, Bipasha Basu
Directed by:Vishal Bharadwaj
The much awaited Othello remake of Vishal Bharadwaj is finally out. Too much hype and perhaps a great starcast is why everyone is talking about this film. Sadly, the film does not live up to its expectations as the script and screenplay is weak while direction is good. Though Bharadwaj has given a realistic film with A class actors and top rate performances. The pace of the film is slow, language is difficult to understand and the Bihar as background is something which few might find it fascinating. Sometime back Shakti with Karisma Kapoor and Nana Patekar too did not work as the film’s treatment was too rude.
For women Omkara might be a bit too gory and the bad words may be an impediment.
But what rocks is Saif and Konkana. Saif is the man who sails the film to a new heights. Performnace wise Saif takes the gold medal here and fits so well in the character of a rulral man. Konkona is natural and very believable. The action scene between Saif and her is something which only top of the line actresses can perform. She wins applause once again.
Plot:-
The movie is all about Omkara or Omi (Ajay Devgan) who is a gifted tribal chief who heads a gang of outlaws, which include the mean Langda Tyagi (Saif Ali Khan) and the active Kesu (Vivek Oberoi) among his chief partners. The story begins when Omi appoints Kesu and not Langda as his chief substitute. Langda’s pride is insulted and wild with spite he creates a plan to wrongly accuse Omi’s beautiful lover Dolly (Kareena Kapoor), in a love affair with Omi’s “preferred substitute”, Kesu. With the unaware help of Indu (Konkona Sen Sharma), Langda’s wife, and the willing help of Raju, a fellow grouch, Langda’s plan takes shape and results in horrific disaster. Using minor allusion and falsehood, Langda keeps poisoning Omi’s mind till one day it snaps and Omi goes about tearing up his own safe and safe world. By the time he realizes what he has done and the reaction of his actions it is too late.But like all love stories which never really end…out of the ashes of this one too comes a twist. Omkara’s dark love for Dolly, Dolly’s absolute love for Omi, Langda’s twisted truthfulness and envy for Omi, the lively Kesu’s solid loyalty to Omi - all leading up to a dark tragedy where Omi finally realizes what he has done.
Characters:-
§ Omkara - Omkara is a mixture of greatness and weakness. A principled man of action, he doesnt see life in midtones. He sees life either as good or evil. Therein lies Omi’s tragic flaw
§ Langda - The pricipal catalyst in the story, Langda manipulates chaos into an orderly world and coldly invigilates its utter destruction. Tragically, the one person who truly loves him is the one who will have to settle the scores...
§ Kesu - Kesu is a natural charmer. He likes his woman as much as he loves his guns. Inspite of his first skin, he manages to fall in love with Billo, an orchestra party singer. Fearless and loyal to the bone, Kesu’s only chink is his impatience and he pays for it in blood.
§ Dolly - Dolly’s love and trust for Omi remains rock steady till the end. Smitten by him, she believes that the idyllic life of her dreams will begin soon. And it almost does until...
§ Bhaisaab - An influential cog in the Brahmin politics of the region, Bhaisaab is a sophisticated man, which can be misleading at times, given the ruthless nature of his profession. Omi treats him more like a father figure than just a political mentor.
§ Billo - Billo’s wiles and charms has seen the sternest men melt with her desire. Kesu is besotted with her but she just keep him hanging on. A capricous soul, she is easily sucked into Langda’s master plan.
§ Indu - Life with a gangster who had no morals or principals was always going to be tricky but Indu bore it all with stern determination. Fiercely devoted to Langda, she helps her husband in his master plan to destory Omkara. When the truth dawns, she takes up the cudgel and decides to stem the rot...
Interesting facts:
Saif does a hand movement reminiscenet of Dil Chahta Hai dance with Sonali Kulkarni in one scene.
Kareena sings Lionel Richie’s track ‘I just called to say.’ She once sings with her real accent which was a blooper in the film. How did she polish her English so quickly!
Kareena’s make up artist in this film is Dolly Ahluwalia who is also an actress. Dolly is Kareen’s character in this film.
Naseerudin Shah’s look is given like that of Gandhi
eBolly Verdict:
Kareena is beautiful and looks lovely without makeup. Just like the old lady says in the film, “let me check if her skin has chuna on her.” Her fairless skin and beauty has been captured beautiful in this film by the director. Her performance is top rate. But somehow she looks a bit modern at times and does not get well in the rural setup. But overall she is amazing and this film will take her career growth.
Ajay as usual is good and it is tough to find any negative points about his acting ability. Vishal once again also shares the credit for his performance as he lets Ajay enough acting space and the style he enjoys the most.
Nasser is fine but once feels there could be more to him. Also the Gandhi look does not go well with him.
Vivek somehow is the wrong person in this film. Although he is called a firangi, he looks too polished to play the character he dorns. Dicto is for Bipasha, she looks and talks in a very sophisticated manner. Someone like Irfan Kahn in the place of Vivek would have done more justice and convinced the character.
The music is soulful and different from the regular filmy stuff. Made apt for the film, it gels extremely well with the theme of the film. Gulzar’s lyrics too are wonderful.
The first half of the film is a bit boring and even the love making scenes does not make it any interesting. At times you feel it is a commentary on Bihar but the 2nd half is far more believable and on the edge.
The amount of precision and utmost perfection that Bhardwaj has taken in portraying the UP under a microscope is simply astounding.The film has the look and feel of a epic.
Overseas audience might find it difficult to tough to relate to this film but on the other hand they might find it exciting to see what rural Bihar is all about. Wonder how Bihar will react to this film as it does not show the place in a very positive manner.
Watch this film for the new treatment, watch it for Saif ….expect nothing more though.