Omkara
Omkara defines what adaptation of a classic means. I went into the movie hall, fully aware that the movie is based on Shakespeare’s Othello and came out completely awestruck at how Vishal Bharadwaj has managed to make the story completely his own by his creativity. Be it the sets which look like a genuine UP village or Saif Ali Khan’s tinted teeth or Konkona Sen Sharma’s costumes, everything seemed to be fit in so effortlessly. So much that it didnt look like it was “designed”, it looked like thats the way it has been. All the actors, especially Ajay Devgan, Saif Ali Khan, Konkona Sen Sharma and Kareena Kapoor shine all the way through. The best compliment that I have is that it really didnt feel as if they were acting. The dialect, the mannerisms were so perfect. The production team had taken care of minute details like people firing gunshots in the air even in celebrations of a baraat. I remember on my first day of visting Allahabad, I was positively shocked and a little terrorized by common sights of “bandook ki dukaan” and buses carrying painted instructions of “kripaya bhari bandook se savaari na karen”!
I couldnt follow a few dialogues due to usage of thick UP lingo. I am definitely watching Omkara again to listen more carefully. I was okay with the blood-shed in the battles shown in the movie, but the final scene where Omkara strangulates Dolly – that ghastly full minute scene was nauseating to watch.
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