Omkara

Omkara is a good movie. I could not find 'Othello' in 'Omkara' much to Bharadwaj's credit. The movie is perfectly Indianised. Bharadwaj has chosen the modern day era to canvas the 'Othello' theme of centuries ago. It just emphasises the eternal existance of instinctive emotions.

The central character in the movie is jealousy. Crowning of 'Kesu Firangi' as 'Bahubali' ahead of 'Langda Tyagi' sparks it. Vivek (Viveik ?) Oberoi looks his part. He looks an incompetent fool who has tasted success owing to subordinates. Saif on the other hand has the macho looks that when coupled with a crippled leg create a man who has been denied his worth. He sports a practiced crazy laughter & does everything a typical North Indian Testosterone driven man will. Ajay Devgan has a character that fits him to a tee. He has done well to underplay it. Someone like Sunny Deol with his habit of hogging footage would have been a total screw up in his role. Naseer does well as usual, being his composed self. The bald pate & host of ornaments help him look the part. Kareena looks a woman to be utterly & completely possessed by a man. She looks the woman who when seen with another man will invoke jealousy. Her intimate moments with Ajay aid in this portrayal of a woman who more than willingly has sex, even before marriage. Konkona once again proves what a gifted actor she is with her 'dehati boli' & open referrals to sex. The 'kamar bandh' that causes the final twist in the tail is well chosen and plays an important part.

I found the camera work exceptional. The swing movement to expose alternately the bodies of Ajay & Kareena is wonderfully imagined. Saif's limp could have been highlighted a touch but as it is it serves the purpose.

All in all it's a wonderful entertainment package. Except for the first piece of action when Ajay claims to be a 'sher', not a 'ghoda', the sequencing is flawless. The movie sends its strongest message across, althought this message is to be interpreted by each individual watcher. Initially I had thought it to be a testosterone driven male dominance cinema but it turned out to be pleasantly different. There are pro's of seeing every movie without knowing the storyline, even when there's no element of suspense.