Omkara

Othello's principal characters Iago, Othello, Desdemona and Cassio are enacted by Omi Shukla (Othello), lead henchman to a politician Bhaisaab; Langda Thyagi (Iago) the scheming and bitter lieutenant of Omkara while the delicate and beautiful Desdemona is Dolly. And the unfortunate Cassio appears as Kesu Firangi.Set in the rural settings of Uttar Pradesh where law and order goes for a toss, Omkara is the sad love story of Omi (Ajay Devgan) and Dolly (Kareena Kapoor). The story takes shape as Omi's boss Bhaisaab (Naseeruddin Shah) decides to contest for the Parliamentary seat, his State Assembly seat is offered to Omi. Omi then decides to offer his job to the outsider Kesu (Vivek Oberoi), ignoring Langda's earlier efforts and supportBut this is one part of the movie that doesn't come anywhere close to Othello. In Othello, Iago comes close to but can't match his boss Othello's thunder. Such was the power and character of Othello. In Omkara, cunning Langda Thyagi easily steals effete Omi Shukla's thunder.

Hinting false tales, Langda keeps poisoning Omi's mind till one day it snaps and Omi goes about tearing up his own safe and secure world. Omkara's love for Dolly, Dolly's complete devotion and love for Omi, Langda's twisted loyalty and jealousy for Omi, Kesu's unswerving devotion to Omi -- all lead up to a dark tragedy where Omi finally realizes what he has done.However, Ajay Devgan's silent and lusterless performance doesn't bring much of applause. Kareena Kapoor has done a good job and she looks gorgeous even without makeup. Vivek Oberoi is alright; he doesn't really get much scope. Konkona Sen Sharma is outstanding. She makes a great impact every time she appears on screen.

But the best performance no doubt is from Saif Ali Khan (Langda). His looks, his mannerisms, his body language, his overall behavioral pattern, takes one completely by surprise. Surely he deserves distinction marks for portraying the role with such realism. After a point you really start hating him.As far as the music of Omkara is concerned, to put it simple, it is different. Emphasis is given to the lyrics rather than music and there is a proper synchronisation of the lyrics with the movie. The music is very rustic and its rural personified sound gells well with the characters and the setting of the film. The best one remains the title song 'Omkara', potraying Omkara as a fearless man. The UP/Bihar accent in the song makes it all the more appealing . People going with the expectations for dance numbers and catchy tunes will be disappointed. But for those who have an ear for distinct lyrics and classical strains is in for a fine surprise

The movie has some drawbacks as well. The slow pacing, the lingo spoken by the characters and the U.P. setting has its limitations.Though the demand of the story, those who are unaware of the ending of Othello they are surely going to be disturbed by the ending.

On the whole, OMKARA is a good movie from the point of view of making but then it is not everyone's cup of coffee.