Half-caste bandit Omkara Shukla abducts his lady love, Dolly Mishra, from her family. Thanks to his cleverness, he gets away with the kidnapping. A conspiracy, however, forms against him when he denies his right-hand man, Langda Tyagi, a promotion. Ultimately, this plot threatens not only his relationship with Dolly, but their lives and those of their associates as well.
You know when you dismiss a film on the grounds of ridiculous assumptions? I'll be honest and say that I did that with Omkara. I just assumed that it, and in honesty, most Bollywood films were narratively driven by terrible songs; and seriously that shouldn't even be a problem, some of my favourite Disney films (basically all of them) have relied, and used musical numbers very effectively.
That's not the sole reason here though; the other being that this is an adaptation of a certain William Shakespeare play, Othello. Was I expecting some Bollywood dancing fused with a bit of Shakespeare?
Well, this is probably why I love watching movies. I started Vishal Bharadwaj's Shakespeare Trilogy from the opposite way, not that it makes any difference. I have fallen head over heels for this guy's work. After watching Haider, I felt this was even better. Fuck why am I even comparing.
Othello might be my favorite Shakespearean play (that I've read). The moment where Othello strangles Desdemona* is one of the most intense moments in fiction, a brutal piece of painful passion that is all the more agonizing because it is entirely from Othello's point of view. It's a sickening fall from grace. The challenge for anyone adapting Shakespeare's work is to capture the beauty and skill of his language. Foreign (to Shakespeare) language adaptations are a bit tricky for someone who doesn't speak the language. It's hard to judge how the poetry of his dialogue has translated when you've only subtitles to judge on--and I will not begrudge a film for my own ignorance.
Esha Deol, who recently celebrated the special mention of her short film Ek Duaa at the 69th National Awards in the Non-Feature Films category, has opened up about some career decisions that she regrets. The actor, who boasts a career spanning more than two decades, is also known for her roles in Dhoom, LOC Kargil, No Entry and many more. During an interview, Esha shared that she regrets turning down roles in two iconic Bollywood movies.
Both Omkara (2006) and Golmaal (2006) turned out to be massive blockbusters. While Omkara earned critical acclaim and performed well at the Indian box office, Golmaal spurred a successful franchise and became one of the biggest hits of 2006.
On the professional front, Esha Deol was last seen in the web series Hunter Tootega Nahi Todega, alongside Suniel Shetty, Barkha Bisht, Karanvir Sharma, and Rahul Dev. The series is currently streaming on Amazon Mini TV.