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Shakespeare tale, Hindi style
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Director, music composer and writer Vishal Bharadwaj talks to SREEDHAR PILLAI about his new film "Omkara", which is based on "Othello"
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POWERFUL DRAMA Stills from "Omkar".
Noted writer, director and music director Vishal Bhardwaj has once again drawn inspiration from Shakespeare for his new film Omkara, which is releasing this Friday (July 28). Vishal's first brush with direction was when he made a children's film Makdee, and then followed it with the critically acclaimed Maqbool.
Maqbool was an adaptation of Shakespeare's "Macbeth." It was followed by an adaptation of Ruskin Bond's short story The Blue Umbrella. And now, Vishal is all set to unveil his big budget, a wild-west version of Shakespeare's "Othello". The action revolves around a gang that is operating in western Uttar Pradesh.
The star cast of Omkara is awesome — Ajay Devgan, Saif Ali Khan, Viveik Oberoi, Kareena Kapoor, Konkana Sen, Bipasha Basu and Naseeruddin Shah. The music, screenplay and direction are all by Vishal.
A source of inspiration
"Shakespeare has always been a great source for filmmakers right from the silent era to the present. Besides, "Othello" is one of the playwright's greatest tragedies as it deals with strong human emotions , integral to a drama — love, passion, jealousy, betrayal and crime," says Vishal.
As for the storyline, it goes thus: Omi Shukla or Omkara (Ajay Devgan) is one of the most feared and respected men as he runs a youth force controlled by a shrewd politician Bhaisaab (Naseeruddin Shah).
Omi has two trusted lieutenants — `Langda' Tyagi (Saif Ali Khan) and Kesu Uphadhyay (Viveik Oberoi). He is drawn towards his fiancée Dolly (Kareena Kapoor), who is an incurable romantic. She elopes with Omi, a man who's much older than her.
Meanwhile, a power struggle takes place in the gang as Omi decides to coronate Kesu as the next in command. This hurts the ambitious Langda. Raging with envy, he hatches a sinister plot a la Iago in "Othello", using petty insinuations, which lead to Kesu falling out of favour with Omi. Kesu is banished from the gang and is forced to seek pardon through Dolly, which sets off Langda's plot into motion, by slowly poisoning Omi's mind that Dolly is having an affair with Kesu. And this leads to the final confrontation.
Says Vishal: "Ever since my Maqbool days, I have been fascinated by Shakespearean plays. The power of his narration lies in the fact that his characters are so real and human that they can be made relevant to any time and era."
Vishal, who spent his childhood in a small town Meerut, in Uttar Pradesh, decided to set the story there. The character `Langda' Tyagi is based on a childhood friend who later became a well-known gangster in the area.
Wild West look
Vishal gave the film a `Wild West' look and says: "The mood of the film was deliberately chosen to resemble those dusty Westerns of the 1960s."
The casting for the film was done keeping the characters in mind, such as Ajay Devgan who has a tough-as-a-nail presence, an unspoken authority and righteousness that characterise Othello. Similarly, Saif was chosen to play Iago as his character is chameleon-like and physically tough. In Kareena, Vishal found his Desdemona, a perfect balance between innocence and sensuality.
There have been many adaptations of Shakespeare's "Othello" down the years in Hollywood. India too had its own share of "Othello".
Director Vishal Bharadwaj.
An impressive adaptation was the 1997 Malayalam film Kaliyattom, directed by Jayaraj. It was a brilliant film made against the backdrop of Theyyam, an art form of north Malabar and Suresh Gopi bagged the National Award for the lead role in the film.
Recently, theatre director Roysten Abel presented his "In Othello", a screen adaptation of his staged version.
And now comes Vishal Bharadwaj's "Omkara" with its multi-star cast.
It is likely to take a big opening as it has been made to suit the taste of Bollywood audiences with some haunting folksy melodies.
"Omkara" is also the maiden venture of Eros International, the entertainment company and world largest distributors of Bollywood films, Shemaroo Films, leading home video distributors, and Kumar Mangat, Ajay Devgan's manager for many years.
Will "Omkara" prove to be Vishal Bharadwaj's big ticket to Bollywood commercial cinema?
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