| Overall Grade: |
A |
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| Story: |
A |
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| Acting: |
A+ |
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| Direction: |
A+ |
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| Visuals: |
A- |
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After Macbeth, Bhardwaj remakes Othello
by Narbir (movies profile)
Jan 7, 2007
Vishal Bhardwaj is one of Bollywood's biggest taletns that people are just waking up to. He was a master music composer for many years and after his fairy tale Makdi, he made a splash with his adaption of Macbeth in the form of Maqbool. Omkara is his retelling of another Shakespear classic, Othello, which as been remade in Hollywood several times, but is being remade in Bollywood for the first time.
This film is a little slow at first and the dialect is hard to under stand (poor translation on the subtitles doesn't help), but it's saved by Bhardwaj's excellent direction and camera work. The look of the film is distinct and gritty, but still quite colourful. As a director it's hard to believe that this is Vishal's third film cause he directs with the finesse of someone who has been making movies for decades.
The lead cast all give good performances but some stand out! Saif Ali Khan is amazing as Langda Tyagi...or Iago from Othello. This is a career defining role for him, he has really shown tremendous growth as an actor in the 15 odd years he has been working. He should sweep all the awards for 2006! Ajay Devgun as Omkara (Othello) is also good, but he's such a dependable actor that you don't really expect much less from him anyway. Kokona Sen Sharma (playing Emelia) is also good as Langda's wife. She too is an accomplished actress but to steal the film away from the other ladies in the film is no easy feat, especially when you have such little screen time to begin with. She makes the most of her role.
I've never been too fond of Kareena as an actress, but at least in this film she isn't annoying or over acting. Quite the opposite actually. She's toned down the facial expressions and comes out as a natural for once. If Bhardwaj could pull a performance like this out of her then anything could happen. She plays Desdemona in the film. Vivek Oberoi (playing the role of Cassio) get's lost in the crowd of accomplished actors and leaves no impression what so ever which is sad considering how important his role is to the story. But Vivek has been going downhill since his fist few films anyways. The guy needs to get his act together if he wants his career to flourish.
Bipasha Basu deserves a special mention cause she makes an otherwise serious film fun to watch. Bhardwaj wrote her in for a special appearance in the film (her character Bianca isn't a major role in the play), but it's easy to see why her scenes were extended. Not only does she look amazing, but she performs well in her few scenes. Anyone notice the change in her between the Beedi song and the Namak one? She was obviously working on Dhoom 2 at the same time so when the second song rolls around in the movie she look more in shape and sexy. She was obviously added for sex appeal, but managed to create a major buzz due to her songs in the film (which became a national rage in the summer of 2006.......and rightfully so).
Finally bhardwaj's musical score for the film deserves a mention. Naina and O saathi Re are haunting and Beedi and Namak are fun. The title track is rustic and melodious.......the full soundtrack is amazing and should win Bhardwaj awards this year.
All in all one of 2006's best films along side Rang De Basanti! |
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