Omkara - Movie Review

Published: October 27, 2009

By JENNIFER HOPFINGER

Starring Ajay Devgan, Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma, Vivek Oberoi, Bipasha Basu

As was the case with director Vishal Bhardwaj’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Maqbool (2004), gushing praise of his version of Othello is also unavoidable. He electrifies this classic tale of jealousy, setting it in mob-infested rural India, which is more like the American Wild West than Elizabethan England.

Both Omkara and Maqbool take place in the criminal underworld of the present day—a logical contemporary backdrop given that the mob is one of the last feudal hierarchies left in the modern world, and its leaders are among the few who still have the absolute power of kings, ruling through fear and openly killing their opponents.

The members of the film’s all-star cast give some of the best performances of their careers. Ajay Devgan smolders as Omkara (Othello), a local mob boss, who’s capable and confident on the surface but deeply insecure about his dark skin and low-caste mother, and he doesn’t feel worthy of his beautiful bride-to-be. Kareena Kapoor plays Dolly (Desdemona), Omkara’s fiancé, who is as pure of heart as she is fair of face. Dolly defies her father and refuses the husband he has picked for her and elopes with Omkara, whom she pursued, much to his surprise. Although Omkara—for whom Dolly has given up everything—comes to question her love and innocence, Kapoor makes sure the audience never does.

Saif Ali Khan is the twisted Langda (Iago), who’s devastated when Omkara overlooks him and promotes another, Kesu (Cassio), to the position of general. Langda retaliates by planting seeds of doubt in Omkara’s mind about Kesu’s friendship with Dolly, and he nurtures the weed of mistrust that takes root until it chokes them all. The role of Langda is a departure for Khan, who rarely plays such dark characters, but he adeptly slithers like an insidious snake.

Kesu is played by Vivek Oberoi, who’s perfectly cast as the college-educated lover boy who becomes Langda’s victim. Kesu isn’t much of a challenge for Oberoi, who’s capable of inhabiting much more complicated characters, but he occupies the role with ease. Bipasha Basu plays Billo (Bianca), a sexy entertainer, which is no stretch for Basu, given that that’s what she is. Although Billu is a worldly woman who should know better, she nonetheless falls for Kesu’s Casanova charm. Konkona Sen Sharma portrays Indu (Emilia)—Omkara’s sister and Langda’s wife—as a smart, sassy feminist in an uber-macho world.

Shakespeare would have been lucky to have had these performers on his stage.

Omkara is rated Must See.

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