Shakespeare still rocks....and in Hindi too!
Last night I went to see Omkara, Vishal Bhardwaj's highly memorable homage to Othello. Not for the faint-Hindi-movie-buff-hearted, everything in this movie reeks of originality (especially considering its source!), from making Wai and Satara look like UP, to the film's often difficult to understand AND digest dialogues (thank god for subtitles AND not living in rural UP!) to characterization, adaptation and costume design, which I found to often be more expressive than the dialogues. And while still talking about dialogue, I couldn't get enough of how wry and humorous they are; crude, therefore effective. I used to think that the massacre of Hindi committed in the metros of India could be termed as slang, but the morbidity that drips from each word in the movie is enough to make metro-speak seem like baby-babble....and make the babblers blush!
The best performer without a doubt was Saif Ali Khan as Langda Tyagi/Iago. I actually found myself liking him more than I could ever hate him simply for his sheer genius in manipulating his situation. Oddly enough, I also found myself sympathizing with him, despite the snake he turns out to be. Mr. Shakespeare, Iago would have to be the highlight of your legacy.
Ajay Devgan as Omkara was an excellent casting choice. His eyes do most of the acting here as the compelling leader of the band of thugs. When I read Othello in high school, I remember thinking how naive and weak he was (kind of like Jude Law in Closer) for buying into everything Iago fed him (of course, he didn't know better).. But Omkara as a character is MUCH stronger in personality, complex, trusting yet intelligent, but sees everything only in black and white (the "haan ke naa" scene on the railway track comes to mind), which ultimately becomes his undoing.
Konkana Sen-Sharma as Tyagi's wife doesn't get a whole lot of footage, but her lines and delivery are some of the most memorable and hilarious in the movie ("The way to a man's heart...") Bipasha as Billo/Bianca doesn't have much to do except shake the midriff to a couple of beautifully composed and choreographed songs, look gorgeous (too many reviewers use ravishing!) and make Kesu lust after her. But she delivers on the one note that her role requires...being strong enough to handle herself well in a (perverted) man's world.
I cringe while writing this, but Kareena Kapoor as Dolly Mishra/Desdemona, was actually decent. She doesn't have much to do (thankfully) and she is blissfully unaware of what's going on around her. But her character is what ultimately drives the story. Though the line her father says to Omkara about any woman who would leave her own father for someone else stung me as badly as as it rooted the distrust in Omkara's mind. How can any man say that about his own flesh and blood? But therein lies the beauty of Omkara, never letting you settle in your chair with the popcorn. It aims to make you squirm, laugh and gasp in a matter of seconds.
If I haven't mentioned Vivek Oberoi's Kesu Firangi/Cassio yet...it's intentional! Anything I write is too much praise for the flattest character and worst actor of the movie. If Vivek Oberoi really was Kesu Firangi, I as Omkara (I love where the press calls him a social worker!) would never ever dream of making him the "Bahubali"/leader of my band of thugs in a million years, simply because he shows none of the traits of a leader (even a bad one!).
This about sums up the main players of the story. Naseeruddin Shah as bhaisaab is pretty straight-forward as the politician wanting to pull Omkara into the political game. Fortunately, he isn't made to do any two-faced antics and he does the needful with conviction. I admit this is a stereotype, but only such a powerful character in the north would ask for a long-distance train to be reversed mid-journey like it was no big deal....and actually have his wish granted!
I admire Bhardwaj's conviction in sticking to the original ending instead of plastering something ridiculous and fake just to please the audiences...commercial considerations notwithstanding. The more I watch it, the more I am convinced that the movie...and the play...could not have ended any other way. If it did, I imagine Mr. Shakespeare would have a profanity or ten to hurl at the director for shattering his legacy and artistic integrity for a few measly hundreds of thousands of bucks!
The best performer without a doubt was Saif Ali Khan as Langda Tyagi/Iago. I actually found myself liking him more than I could ever hate him simply for his sheer genius in manipulating his situation. Oddly enough, I also found myself sympathizing with him, despite the snake he turns out to be. Mr. Shakespeare, Iago would have to be the highlight of your legacy.
Ajay Devgan as Omkara was an excellent casting choice. His eyes do most of the acting here as the compelling leader of the band of thugs. When I read Othello in high school, I remember thinking how naive and weak he was (kind of like Jude Law in Closer) for buying into everything Iago fed him (of course, he didn't know better).. But Omkara as a character is MUCH stronger in personality, complex, trusting yet intelligent, but sees everything only in black and white (the "haan ke naa" scene on the railway track comes to mind), which ultimately becomes his undoing.
Konkana Sen-Sharma as Tyagi's wife doesn't get a whole lot of footage, but her lines and delivery are some of the most memorable and hilarious in the movie ("The way to a man's heart...") Bipasha as Billo/Bianca doesn't have much to do except shake the midriff to a couple of beautifully composed and choreographed songs, look gorgeous (too many reviewers use ravishing!) and make Kesu lust after her. But she delivers on the one note that her role requires...being strong enough to handle herself well in a (perverted) man's world.
I cringe while writing this, but Kareena Kapoor as Dolly Mishra/Desdemona, was actually decent. She doesn't have much to do (thankfully) and she is blissfully unaware of what's going on around her. But her character is what ultimately drives the story. Though the line her father says to Omkara about any woman who would leave her own father for someone else stung me as badly as as it rooted the distrust in Omkara's mind. How can any man say that about his own flesh and blood? But therein lies the beauty of Omkara, never letting you settle in your chair with the popcorn. It aims to make you squirm, laugh and gasp in a matter of seconds.
If I haven't mentioned Vivek Oberoi's Kesu Firangi/Cassio yet...it's intentional! Anything I write is too much praise for the flattest character and worst actor of the movie. If Vivek Oberoi really was Kesu Firangi, I as Omkara (I love where the press calls him a social worker!) would never ever dream of making him the "Bahubali"/leader of my band of thugs in a million years, simply because he shows none of the traits of a leader (even a bad one!).
This about sums up the main players of the story. Naseeruddin Shah as bhaisaab is pretty straight-forward as the politician wanting to pull Omkara into the political game. Fortunately, he isn't made to do any two-faced antics and he does the needful with conviction. I admit this is a stereotype, but only such a powerful character in the north would ask for a long-distance train to be reversed mid-journey like it was no big deal....and actually have his wish granted!
I admire Bhardwaj's conviction in sticking to the original ending instead of plastering something ridiculous and fake just to please the audiences...commercial considerations notwithstanding. The more I watch it, the more I am convinced that the movie...and the play...could not have ended any other way. If it did, I imagine Mr. Shakespeare would have a profanity or ten to hurl at the director for shattering his legacy and artistic integrity for a few measly hundreds of thousands of bucks!
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