The above piece of wisdom is the moral of Othello and many other love stories of this world that died pre-mature deaths .... A wife needs everything that one can provide but most of all the soft caress of care, the soft embrace of trust and the soft touch of understanding - and these are the very things that we men fail to provide our spouses - why, ostensibly because we are too busy earning for them to understand them and understand what they want from us.......
The needle of suspicion is the worst needle that can be placed between those that love and the loss of faith is the worst loss that can be inflicted on one's partner. Othello was a brilliant strategist, a master tactician, a general beyond compare, a warrior beyond compare and yet he was felled not by one more deft than him, but one who could not even have been noticed in the wide shadow that his unmitigated glory provided (Iago). Indeed, many of our more dangerous enemies are the ones we know nothing about........ they are the ones who are considered meek and weak till they prove the power of their venom with our deaths..... What powerful weapon did Iago use that felled a giant like Othello - was it the booming cannon, the dangerous sword or the stealthy dagger - it was none of these... if you wish it know - it was a needle of suspicion of Othello's spouse that he planted in the minds of the powerful but foolish Othello that finally led to his downfall... Such is the power of the soft word, such is the stealth of the false word......
It's not easy to adapt Othello to Indian sensibilities even though the concept of Othello is universal... still my favourite director of today, Vishal Bharadwaj spins a beautiful web that not only stays true and rings true but would also make William Shakespeare proud of the creation.... Omkara is vintage Shakespeare enacted not in the beautiful canals of Venice but in the dust-packed, baked lands of the Indian hinterland.... and the transformation is Magical!
Ajay Devgan as Omkara is cold and ruthless and exudes the raw passion and power of the protagonist. He's the strongman on whose martial prowess and power does the unholy empire of the dreaded Don, Bhaisaab (Naseeruddin Shah, in a powerful cameo role) stand. He's confident, he's capable and he's cool..... enemies dread him, friends walk in awe of him, others steer clear of him, his wife worships him and then.... a snake bites him and the great hero falls, toppled by his own sense of insecurity and suspicion.... Ajay yet once again demonstrates that he is no small fry in the world of acting, even though he may not have had the kind of support and roles and directors that could get him a stand under the sun for his talents and capabilities. Othello, any Shakespearean will tell you is not an easy role, nor is it one that gives an actor instant gratification..... it requires realms and realms of depth and musings before you can even attempt a parody of the role but Ajay does it all with an attitude that symbolizes power and exudes charisma.
Kareena Kapoor as Dolly is innocence and sweetness personified. She is the Indian Desdemona with a heart of gold, a love that's pure and true, one who hero-worships her husband and abides by his will, one who cannot see beyond the smiles of people and takes everything at face value...... such paragons of innocence often fall prey to the wily and cunning nature of fellow-humans... many a wily opponent are cold enough to use their guile and innocence against them and to their disadvantage..... Kareena does not have much to perform in this movie but the little that she gets, she does her valiant best to prove herself worthy of the role...... It's early times to state whether Kareeena as an actress will be as popular as the other illustrious members of the first family of Hindi Cinema or whether she will shine away and then dull away like some other members of her family..... As far as Omkara is concerned, she is competent enough to deliver a naunched performance that may be considered as adequate.
Vivek Oberoi plays the role of Keshu (Cassio) to an admirable degree. Here is an actor that I felt had the energy and the stamina to stand tall and become a legend in Indian Cinema - here is an actor whom I believed to be the rightful heir of the actor's garb and to become another sensation in the history of Cinema - such was his debut that even today Company ranks among one of my favourite movies but sadly the fire did not burn the fireplace, it burnt down the house.... I hope this movie becomes the much-needed turning point in the history of this brilliant performer and he learns his lessons and does what he was born to do ........ act! Vivek plays the role of a bumbling and arrogant but immature Keshu with an earnestness that makes the character exceedingly lovable..... he has a temper that he can't control, a trust that he cannot let go of and a heart that's singularly incapable of duplicity.... he makes Cassio both likeable and adorable..........
Konkana Sen Sharma is what I would call a magic stick... I am just impressed with her talents and capabilities.... Every time I dare to think I have seen the best of this brilliant performer of our times, she smiles that dimpled smile of hers and comes up with something I could never have expected this Bengali tigress to accomplish... but this girl is awesome.... She is so natural and so positive in all her scenes that one would be foolish to bet that this woman actually is not a rural buxom belle but a femme fatale from the gorgeous metropolis of Calcutta.... she is as rustic as rustic can be, as natural as natural can be, as brilliant as brilliant can be.....
Deepak Dobriyal is another actor that catches your eye with a performance that is both natural and refined..... in rural India, a bridegroom who has been spurned is a laughing stock for the world.... in a land where male ego is at a premium, a man unable to hold on to his wife is considered an abject failure..... the scare of anger and hatred that hang from the sleeves of a man can only be imagined but never understood by one who has never been in such male-dominatd landscapes..... Deepak not only manages to capture the essence of a man from the hinterland faced with an emasculative experience such as the one detailed but also manages to add his own interpretation to the role. An awesome characterization.
Naseeruddin Shah in a a cameo performance plays the role of a rustic leader to the hilt. He's as fiery and as quicksilver as always and one can not but marvel at the actor and his maturity. Kamal Tiwari in a small role as a father who has been betrayed and shamed by his own daughter puts in a mature and confident performance. Bipasha Basu sizzles in her two-bit role as a Nautanki dancer. Not only does she get her naunces right, she also is able to get the rustic charm that the dancers exude.
But the film belongs to Saif Ali Khan... In Othello, the most difficult and powerful character is not Othello but Iago...... many of the greatest actors of World Cinema have cut their teeth on this most difficult of roles and only few have ever been able to stand tall in this role.... No wonder, Iago is among the strongest villains on World Literature ever. Saif knew what he was getting into when he signed on for this role and it's to his credit and appreciation that Langda Tyagi not only works but works brilliantly........ had he failed, he would have failed miserably but the Chote Nawab is made of sterner stuff.... he brings Iago to the rural, ruthless landscape of UP and Bihar and makes it Iago's own backyard. He's revengeful like a snake but does not snarl like a dog, instead he looks like a dove and talks like a parrot till the time comes and when it comes, he strikes like a tiger, intent and focused on his kill.... He uses innuendos in everyday speech and still manages to portray eagerness... Who could have thought Saif would be so powerful in a role that's so much diametrically opposite his own place.... But he does and does well.... marking his name on Langda Tyagi alias Iago for a long time to come........
Music by Vishal is as expected rustic and awesome. Gulzar captures the essence of the movie well... every song is different and a sight to behold and a melody to hearken to ........ the title song by Sukhvinder Singh, sung with a different kind of style establishes the movie well and every song thereafter builds up to a crescendo....... Beedi Jalaiyle sung by Sunidhi Chauhan and Namak Issak Ka sung by Rekha Bharadwaj transport you to the world of guns and power. O Saathi Re by Shreya Ghosal on the other hand is soft and puts words to the character of Desdemona.
Vishal is becoming a sort of a legend as times go by.... Watch Omkara because there are very makers today who can make you taste 'Namak Issak Ka' and trust me, it taste it so well.........
