Omkara : Welcome this Bard-waj
The Don rushes into his house to confront his love. The seeds of suspicion sown in his cold calculating brains, are enough to have him seething with doubts, hurt and anger. He is greeted in the corner of his house by his lady love who plays a guitar and sings Stevie Wonder’s “I just called to say I love you”, a song she’s been practicing the entire day to sing for her love. The prickling doubts melt away as the don moves forward to hold lady love in his arms. Such and many more sensitively laced scenarios clearly show you what the team of Omkara chose before embarking on the journey of making this movie…
Creativity over commercialism. Passion over puking copies. Love over lame story-telling attempts.
Vishal Bhardwaj has talent. He has passion. And there is this clearly distinct earnestness and sincerity in his creations. Be it Makdee, Maqbool and now… Omkara.
But above all, Bhardwaj shows tremendous promise when he betters himself with each new product, be it a unique story or inspirations from Shakespeare-jee. There is no room for any Bollywood chutiya-giri in this one, even though the “c” is used galore in this venture.
Laser sharp defined characters (well atleast most of them), sharp chiseled out precision scenes and a constant desire to pull the viewer into each segment of the story - clearly points to the painstaking hard work and limitless creative stretch that went into building this gem.
Ironically the story in itself loses the much desired impact with so much of energy and focus on the individual segments.
So we have apun ka local don, General Omkara (Ajay Devgan) kickstarting his love life by snagging lady love Dolly (Kareena Kapoor) right on the day she’s supposed to marry someone else. Khullam khulla pyar karenge. Things are all lovey dovey. Gun is mightier than the stupid pickup game. Ha!
His professional life is going great guns too. Being the chief muscle man of local politician Bhaisaab (Naseer, easily breezes through this one), he eliminates Boss-saab’s enemies. Boss-jee wins election and promotes General Omkara to the local political arena. Time for General to put someone new in his place.
Bahubali Bahubali Langda Tyagi Langda Tyagi… the dreamy echoes of these words make Mr. Langda (Saif Ali Khan), a long serving lieutenant, smile. Unfortunately for him, it’s Kesu Firangi (Vivek Oberoi) who gets the General’s seat. Meet the new meanie bunny. It ej not phunny.
Thus starts the journey that Shekhu-bhai (Shakespeare-jee) intended to take us all on, which our own desi Bard-waj earnestly attempts again but falls short of.
Dropping in and out is Mrs. Langda (Konkana Sen Sharma) who oscillates between teasing Omkara boss to consoling Dolly-ben in her down and out sunset moments… besides ofcourse her unbashed brutal knowledge of human psychology. eg.? a man’s hunger is not in his stomach but a few inches below it.
Mr. Langda’s attempts to poison apun ka icy cold calculating General Omkara come out as being too simplistic and childish. Is it this easy to sow doubts in the brains of a man who himself has so cunningly assassinated his enemies? Maybe… perhaps… love does do strange things.
Inspite of the side by side comparisons between the original and the adaptation, being made all over the reviewer land, it is equally important to view this story on its own independent platform. Does it have the impact?
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To an extent, but it falls short. Focusing on Omkara in its own independent entirety makes you realize that the story of power driven hungry crazed people just does not grow up. It fails to reach its intended goals.
Yet, this one is a gift and can’t be and should not be ignored.
Clearly, the movie was designed in a way that it’s broken up into individual segments. Each segment was then microscopically focused on to fish out some of the most beautiful pearls. The segmented pearls though just don’t add up to form a wishful necklace. And pray why the jumps in the climax? If the intention was to create a heart pumping buildup to reach the culmination, the pace on the tension buildup should have been stepped on much before the jumps started.
Tassaduq Hussain is Bhardwaj’s creative visualizer for the big screen here. The cinematographic quality is of highest level. Bhardwaj uses Hussain’s expertise to “visually” convey the motives and messages all throughout the story -
A small marble occupies the entire space of the wide screen. Breathtaking shot? You bet. The camera follows the defeated but putting up a brave front - Langda Tyagi over a hill top, where he announces the next Bahubali to the crowd below. Using a wide bridge to reflect loneliness is so clearly visible when Langda sits on the bridge along with the Dolly’s could-not-become her husband Deepak Dobriyal. Or the creatively underlined fact about Langda lust for power that pushes him to the edge of insanity, when he ties the “waistband” around his head.
The smooth transition from a blurred vision to a sharp focus of the lens is used quite effectively. Same for the way, where more than a few minutes of a romantic song is canned - in a single shot (bhaee wah!), wherein the camera follows the love couple through the entire house. And ofcourse the struggle to find the truth in his doubts of darkness, when Omkara assassinates a political figure in a rainy darkness, with a large locomotive shining its headlight as the backdrop. Amazing!
Of the cast, surprisingly Kareen Kapoor’s character Dolly is the most underwritten and ill defined. Yet she does convey (with limitations) the innocence of a small town beauty girl who’s in love. Vivek Oberoi rightly holds himself back without letting himself go over the top. Bipasha Basu is in a thankless role here.
Ajay Devgan justifies his selection to play the title role. Yet the emotive delivery in times of doubt leaves you with questions. Could it have been done more effectively? Perhaps.
And please bow and lay out a red carpet for the one and only - Saif Ali Khan. His journey for experimenting and expanding his capabilities as an actor was first noticed in Ek Hasina Thi. Langda Tyagi could as well as be his one role of a lifetime. And he aces it with amazing perfection. Here is one actor who gives movie lovers hope. Hope that there is still passion for creativity in Bollwood.
And even though all eyes were on Saif’s character of Langda Tyagi, the person who slipped through our radar in the pre-release-discussions but stumps us no end, during the movie is - Konkana Sen Sharma. If “being natural” is the epitome of acting then Konkana underlines the meaning over and over again, picking up the challenge and taking the character of Indu, point blank - head on. She may not have more than six scenes in the movie, but each time she walks onto the screen, she brings out this raw rustic appeal in the character, leaving you dazed and begging for more.
Omkara is Vishal Bhardwaj’s sweat and blood. The honesty and sincerity is there so transparent, for all to see. Such attempts need to and should be recognized and commended.
A Minus. Every attempt should be made to go to the theater and enjoy this spectacle. A creative and brilliant endeavor miraculously has found its way to our cine screens, in the dried, parched lands of Bollywood. It’s now your turn to come out and support this outstanding attempt.
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July 30th, 2006 at 11:28 am
Oz, You have summed it up brillianltly. The movie in parts was awesome. As i said especially when Saif ot Konkona or both are on the screen. Not to miss even Dobriyal.. who is this guy? In my opinion the movie lacks in characterization, they were not well etched out. Where the fuck could you find the chemistry between Kareena and Ajay? Do i need a new scientific gadget to find it? How on earth could one believe that Ajay was so much in love withe her that he can go so extreme? the jealousy part of saif was authorative. The songs though brilliant dont seem to come at the right time.. especially O saathi Rei. The cell phone scene was a joke? I was told that Othello was shown really stupid.. so maybe Othello might have fallen for that shit by Langda. But Omkara is shown with a little more brains, so, he shouldnt have fallen for that. If love makes ppl do shit.. i donno.. but if yes.. i cudnt see lov between Ajay and kareena for me to believe he cud go to such an extreme. saif’s character was very well etched out, the way he fucks with the brains of everyone. But the jealousy again lacked a punch. Overall the movie is a definite must watch.. but you come out of the theatre and wonder if more could have been added to it. Bips looked stunningly gorgeous. Nasser was his usual self.. brilliant. Konkona was just amazing.. the ease with which she uses C words is a blower. Ajay could have done much better. For once i liked Viveik’s role. Kareena was average.. but Ms Kareena when next time please try to add some chemistry with you lover. Doriyal is the man to watch. Saif.. My man you surely deserve a national this time.. about last time i donno.. but this time you definitely have a right on it. Kudos to Vishal. Amazing job
July 30th, 2006 at 2:12 pm
hmm for once, your review looks wholesome, it was almost getting laidback and full of quotations by thyself..as for teh movie I owuld like to watch this one jsut for Saif, I am his latest fan..:)
as u say he is getting so polished in every movie and so versatile.., he is just awesome.
July 30th, 2006 at 6:57 pm
Amazing film. Saif has shown amazing prowess…from the decadent chocolate boy of Parineeta (think designer suits and Brylcreemed hair) to the devious thug of Omkara (think sweaty fatigues and yellow teeth), the movie perhaps should have been named ‘Landga Tyagi ko Gussa Kyon Aata Hai’.
Stellar direction!
July 30th, 2006 at 6:58 pm
Also…Ajay Devgan had no real shades to his character. Bipasha added sizzle and Konkana Sen’s performance makes it hard to believe that she is a Bangla Babe!
July 30th, 2006 at 9:29 pm
yeah A- should be apt… though i found the story developement sacrifced for the characters..
July 30th, 2006 at 11:42 pm
The only problem with the film is that it came after maqbool - the near complete and brilliant film. That set up a lot of expectations with omkara too…Although omkara is definitely a brilliant film by bollywood standards…but it isnt brilliant enough by vishaal bhardwaaj’s standards…nevertheless it is a gr8 film. A- is apt.
Memorable scenes…
Saif: WOW….all his scenes…the scene in the temple when Ajay applys tikka to vivek oberoi…saif’s expression is amazing… tears… shallow happiness..anger..
The dam scen with Deepak debroiyal (watever)
The sex scene with konkana sen…when he does all the animal expressions…The tubewell scene “na kamarband key uppar kuch raha…aur na neechey”… the marble game scene in first half….brilliant…simply brilliant
Ajay and kareena are apt…the entire o saathi re is one amazingly captured 2 minute long master shot (no cuts)….the encounter with ‘Captain’ and the mms…kareena looked really refreshing in the rendition of “I just called to say I love you”.. the manner in which she conveys her love to ajay ..(by putting the engagement ring in ajay’s cup of tea)…
Just couldnt understand the namak song… wat happens after that ??? they kill the person…ajay sees vivek oberoi eye to eye… wat was the subtext there ????
Konkona: WOW…have fallen in love with her… she is PROBABLY THE BEST actress in recent times…forget all the scenes…her scene with kareena.. her sex scene with saif…the scene where she wakes him up …the scene where she talks to ajay… her rendition of the ch**ya word. just look at her expressions when in the wedding ajay puts the sindoor on kareena’s forehead… just watch her in that scene…the focus isnt even on her…amazing …
All in all a great film….Gotta go for my third viewing of omkara soon ….Believe me…u cannot grasp the film completely when u see it for the first time…u gotta watch it for minimum 4 - 5 times…(have seen maqbool umpteen number of times)
July 31st, 2006 at 11:07 am
My cousin checked out this flick at Omkara and liked it,but said that it’s better to watch it on a DVD with subtitles coz it’s difficult to understand the dialogues because they are laced with authentic UP lingo
July 31st, 2006 at 1:49 pm
WOW.. am really looking forward to this now!!
btw..whts the runtime for this movie?
My local AMC is playing this movie at 7 and 10pm..cant make it to the show at 7 due to work so was wondering how late it would be if I attended the last show.
August 1st, 2006 at 6:49 am
[...] Resident expert Desitrain gives this movie a thumbs and calls it a creative and brilliant effort: A Minus. Every attempt should be made to go to the theater and enjoy this spectacle. A creative and brilliant endeavor miraculously has found its way to our cine screens, in the dried, parched lands of Bollywood. It’s now your turn to come out and support this outstanding attempt. [...]
August 6th, 2006 at 12:09 am
Omkara - India’s Othello…
I have been waiting for this movie for a while now. Vishal Bhardwaj’s Omkara - a take on Shakespeare’s Othello has Ajay Devgan (Othello), Vivek Oberoi (Cassio), Saif Ali Khan (Iago), Konkona Sen (Emilia), Kareena Kapoor (Desdemona), Deepak …
August 11th, 2006 at 6:45 am
Omkara was a good movie but once u out of theater u start thinking actually what happened in last 3 hours and u started brooding over the whle story no character comes inside you and speak for example when comes out of theater after watching rand de….. u feel Dj or some other character walking in you ur steps moves like Dj use to walk in the movie.
yes it was a brilliant cinematography but vishal has to polish his writing skills although he was inspired by Othello( i didn’t read it, thats y icant compare it) but some how it fails to knock out the audience and the worst thing about movie was the language used in the film it was total khichde some words from urban hindi some words from harayanvi some from rajasthani i was damn confused what these characters are speaking:-?
songs were nice but i dont know y the bipashas moves are not matching with the music? as we have seen Shilpa Shetty in Shool dancing foe me aye hu dilli bihar lutne.
Kareena was good better then Ajay devgun she brilliantly essayed the role of a small town girl trying to show her feelings to her lover. a inoccent girl mostly confiend in her house oblivious to raw and diplomatic surrounding and her eyes speaks lot in the movie.
well Saif was at his best.
i even liked the costumes it gives very close feeling of a rural mix Urban culture.
movie was good with its new story line but hardly keep itself in ur mind for 15 minutes.
August 12th, 2006 at 1:26 am
yeah hitz …the dialogues are indeed haryanvi …. coz if u take the actual dialect spoken by UP people ….. u wont be able to understand it all !!!
Haryanvi and punjabi have a slight rude touch in them (No offence meant people) …and it was looking pretty realistic …
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:17 am
Without the sex scenes and swearing, I honestly think it is one of the best Bollywood films made in recent years. The acting by the entire cast was superb. The fact that it is the adaptation of a western classic already makes it a winner. The songs were wonderful as well.
June 23rd, 2008 at 9:18 am
Any Indian film with sex scenes is shit for me…