Omkara (2006)

Shakespeare's masterpiece "Othello" set in modern India. A politically-minded enforcer's misguided trust in his lieutenant leads him to suspect his wife of infidelity.

Director:

Vishal Bhardwaj

Writers:

Vishal Bhardwaj (screenplay), Robin Bhatt (screenplay)

Stars:

Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, Saif Ali Khan

15 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Credited cast:
Ajay Devgn	...	Omkara 'Omi' Shukla
Kareena Kapoor	...	Dolly Mishra
Saif Ali Khan	...	Ishwar 'Langda' Tyagi
Konkona Sen Sharma	...	Indu
Vivek Oberoi	...	Keshav 'Kesu Firangi' Upadhyay (as Viveik Oberoi)
Bipasha Basu	...	Chamanbahar 'Billo'
Naseeruddin Shah	...	Bhaisaab
Deepak Dobriyal	...	Rajoh Tiwari
Manav Kaushik	...	Surendra Kaptaan
Kamal Tiwari	...	Advocate Raghunath Mishra
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Chetana Das
Rahul Kumar	...	Langda Tyagi's Son
Niraj Sah	...	Police Inspector
Pankaj Tripathy	...	Kichlu

Storyline

Advocate Raghunath Mishra has arranged the marriage of his daughter, Dolly, with Rajan, knowing fully well that Dolly loves Omkara Shukla. Before the marriage could take place, the groom's party is attacked, they flee, and Dolly is reportedly abducted. Raghunath is able to trace Dolly to Omkara, a criminal and hit-man, a verbal confrontation ensues until Politician Bhaisaab telephonically intervenes, and a crestfallen Raghunath faces the reality that Dolly was not abducted but is here with Omkara by her own free will. He warns Omkara, and departs. Shortly thereafter, Bhaisaab is shot at and wounded, announces that Omkara should stand in the next election, and as a result, Omkara appoints one of his lieutenants', Keshav Upadhyay in his place as the 'Bahubali". Omkara realizes that he may have blundered in having Keshav succeed him, as Keshav is unable to control his temper when under the influence of alcohol, which puts him in the bad books of Omkara. Then Omkara suspects that Keshav ...

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Plot Keywords:

marriage | jealousy | shakespeare's othello | manipulation | emotional manipulation | 

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Drama | Romance | Thriller

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

India

Language:

Hindi

Release Date:

28 July 2006 (USA)

Also Known As:

Омкара

Filming Locations:

Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh, India

Box Office

Opening Weekend:

£91,294 (UK) (28 July 2006)

Gross:

$789,694 (USA) (4 August 2006)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Big Screen Entertainment, Panorama Studios, Shemaroo Video Pvt. Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

155 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The title of the film, "Omkara", was decided by a contest that was open to the public. Three names were shortlisted for the title and the general public voted in by SMS to choose their favorite. The selected names included "Omkara", "O Saathi Re" and "Issak" (the western UP pronunciation of the word "Ishq"). The public voted overwhelmingly in favor of "Omkara". However, all three of the possible titles are songs on the soundtrack ("Issak" being another name for the song "Namak").

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Goofs

In a scene when Raju comes to meet Omkara to apologize, Langda Tyagi is holding a steel glass in his right hand and in a next shot he is holding it in his left hand.

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Quotes

Langda Tyagi: A thin line separates a fool from a fucker. On one end of the line lies the fool and on the other, the fucker. Snap the line then who's the fool and who's the fucker that's the million dollar question, my friend. Let's just see the pretty groom. I'll be damned. You are a fool, right?
Rajoh Tiwari: [giggling] yes, brother.
Langda Tyagi: yea that's right. a man becomes a fucker when he gets married

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Connections

Version of Othello (1922)

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Soundtracks

Naina
Written by Gulzar
Composed by Vishal Bhardwaj and Niladri Kumar
Performed by Rahat Fateh Ali Khan, Clinton Cerejo and Dominique Cerejo
Courtesy of EROS Music

User Reviews

Omkara, Bhardwaj's victory!

Vishal Bhardwaj's 'Omkara' is a modern-day adaptation of Shakespeare's play 'Othello'. Set in rural Uttar Pradesh, the film deals with everything the original story dealt with, including morality, faith, doubt, love, betrayal and deception. Bhardwaj's direction is marvelous and his portrayal of the rural India is laudable. He skillfully captures the spirit of these wild hinterlands and their effervescent and simple people through his dark narrative style and brilliant writing. The film is very well crafted and is amazingly realistic thanks to the serious proceedings, the authentic dialogues, the simple locations, the lifelike situations and the roundly natural acting. Speaking of acting, I will not stretch it much and will say it straight: Saif Ali Khan did not only outdo everyone in the film, he outdid himself with his performance. As the manipulative Langda (Iago), he is unrecognisable, his dialect and body language are spot-on, and he easily pulls off a role no-one ever expected him to play. Konkona Sen Sharma equals his act totally, and though her part is relatively small, she is absolutely astonishing as the vivacious and sassy Indu (Emilia) and steals every scene she appears in. Again, her dialect and mannerisms were incredible. Kareena Kapoor is very pretty in her deglamorised role of Dolly (Desdemona) and her acting is excellent throughout. Vivek Oberoi is very effective. Ajay Devgan is good as Omkara (Othello) but is very disappointing mainly because though his is the central character, you almost forget about him at the end of the show. Bipasha Basu looks stunning and acts well but she hardly has a role to speak of. Other cast members do a fine job. The film's soundtrack, composed by Bhardwaj himself (another proof to his craftsmanship), is outstanding. My favourite songs include "Beedi", "Namak" and "O Saathi Re". The film's climax is thrilling and the ending is bittersweet, very tragic and sad but still conveys the irony and provides the much-needed catharsis. 'Omkara' is an interesting and artistic movie and truly a gem where Hindi cinema is concerned. I recommend.