Omkara,Maqbool and the Shakespearean connection – a post mortem
Omkara,Maqbool and the Shakespearean connection – a post mortem
Hey everyone…I’m posting an intresting topic of discussion.. which i had posted in an online community …
This is also because i’ve read both the plays (Macbeth and Othello) and am a die hard Vishaal- Shakespeare fan !!
Additionally these are what I had discussed with my Mausi who happens to be a PHD in english literature and has probably read all of shakespeare’s plays …. and (now) is also a vishaal bhardwaj fan….
These are some of the common themes running through the two films (plays) ….
1.Both the plays/films have an underlying theme of a man in power not appointing his favoured subordinate and not being sensitive to the human tendencies of the subordinates.
EG: saif isnt appointed as bahubali. In maqbool, if everything went fine (if irfan hadnt killed abbaji), guddu (ajay gehl- kaka’s son and abbaji’s ’son in law’) wldve been the new abbaji.
In both films, the powerful central character (ajay and pankaj kapoor) show insensitivity willingly or unwillingly towards their chieftains. after all how long wldve maqbool continued to be a right hand man of abbaji ??? what after abbaji’s death ?? And what shld be the position of saif in omkara ??? will he continue to be ‘apna bhai’ for rest of ajay’s life ???
WE guys get dissapointed after 1-2 yrs of working in a job if we dont get promotion. These guys (irfan and saif) probably havent got promotion for the past 15 yrs of their lives..despite slogging to serve their master.
Irfan’s and saif’s postions are strikingly similar…except that irfan is more passive..and goaded into evil by Nimmi. Saif is in fact the evil himself and perhaps more calculative than him. In fact saif also has a slight amount motivation by Deepak dobriyal (dolly’s ex fiance).
Additionally, I was telling her (my mausi) that Othello is macbeth told from the point of view of banquo. For the non – shakespearan versed people…. what i mean to say is that Omkara is Maqbool told from the point of view of Kaka (piyush mishra). What would have kaka done if he was the devil himself … what if his character rather than being a loyal and trusting aide … had been an evil villan like saif ??? He would’ve tried his best to get maqbool out of his way … and not respond emotionally as he did in the film … and eventually paid the price.
On a sidetrack, Shakespeare’s tragedies are literally ‘obssessed’ with deserving people not getting the their due, and undeserving people taking their places. other EG: Richard 3rd , Hamlet, King Lear, even Julius Ceaser (Ceaser, in the opinion of Brutus and Cassius wasn’t an ideal ruler of Rome…much contrary to the opinion of the masses who adored Ceaser). Here too, the tragic character of Brutus, Ceaser’s loyal aide, is goaded into the killing of Ceaser by Cassius and hence the famous last words by Ceaser “Et tu Brutus”.
2.Rajjo and kaka are what u call ‘foil’ in shakespearean language. They are in contrast to the main character (irfan and saif). They are people who are more or less in a similar position to the characters .. but respond differently.
EG: Kaka isn’t ambitious despite knowing the predictions (unlike Maqbool)…..
Rajjo is helpless and he knows cannot respond in the evil manipulative manner … unlike like Saif. Even though ‘donon ki kismet gadhe ki ling sey likhi gayee hai’.
I must mention that Roderigo (Rajjo in Omkara) isn’t that important a character… nor does he have the ‘comic angle’… This is one liberty that Vishaal took and boy oh boy … wasn’t it worth it !!!
3.Also both films have one character being forced/motivated to drink alcohol against his wishes.Vivek obeoroi (due to peer pressure) and the devout muslim bodyguard of Abbaji (forced by Abbaji himself).
Coming over to Maqbool, Should’nt a master be sensitive to the personal choices of his servant ??? Isn’t there a difference between a slave and a servant ??? Should a master ask his servant to obey him like a slave as per his own whims and fancies ?? Isn’t this the reason why the servant is asked to drink liqour ??? Isn’t this the reason why maqbool is just considered as an ‘adopted son’ for all formalities, but the real crown would’ve gone to Guddu ?? If that isn’t treating a servant as a slave .. then what is ?? Isn’t it servitude taken for granted ??
Shakespeare does raise these questions in the play… although very subtly… and that is if u manage to twist around and put yourself in the shoes of the wronged man.
4.Both have an item number/naachney gaaney waali – Shweta menon and Bipasha basu who are jealous/invite jealousy from the guy whom they’re supposed to be seducing.
Shweta menon seduces abbaji much to the jealosuy of tabu.
Bipasha basu is jealous of the rumor that vivek is sleeping with someone.
Of course the central theme of othello itself is jealousy …
Shweta menon as a character is practically non existent in Macbeth…perhaps Vishal added her to increase the motivation for Tabu and indirectly for Irfan…
Bipasha (Billo in omkara and Bianca) too has a weaker role than in the play. She is simply reffered to in the play as a whore ... and that Cassio doesn’t love her. However Keshu in all probability does indeed love Billo in the film.
5.The last shot/frame of both the films is amazing.
Maqbool – taken through the eyes of Irfaan …
Omkara – Ajay lying static on ground and kareina on the swinging bed (Jhoola). Despite coming so close to one another, they couldn’t meet.
6. There is an underlying theme of superstitions and foreboding (very much ala shakespeare) in both the films ….
The kundali , the ‘kaisi toofaani raat hai’ at the time of abbaji’s killing …. the blood and kaka’s ghost hallucinations…
The snake falling into mehandi…. ajay getting up from the mehendi …
Additionally in the play Othello and Desmodena are married. Whereas in the film, Omkara and Dolly die on their wedding night. This heightens the tragedy, even though they might have had several love filled nights together… still they couldn’t get the stamp and sanctity of marriage. This is also keeping in with the ‘myths and traditions’ associated with the locale.
After all “Shradhon mein shaadi ka saaya nahin padta meri panditayin !!! “. Eventually shaadi main shradh manana pad gaya !!!
7. A central character in both the films is goaded into his devastation. Be it Ajay in omkara (by Saif) or Irffan in Maqbool (by the witches-cops and lady macbeth). The same is true for Macbeth and Othello and Julius Ceaser (Brutus by Cassius). King lear however, is himself his own devil and is slightly different from these tragic plays.
The tragic journey of the protaginist/main character into self destruction due to his own character flaw/ environmental influences is really a nice topic for film making. Was just wondering how many films have been made on that theme ??? Deewar, Satya, Agneepath, Pyaasa, Kaagaz ke phool ??
What next Mr Bhardwaaj … an adaptation of Julius Ceaser ??? Please please please go ahead !!!
Tags: English - Other, Theater
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Kartik, Thats a very good analysis of both the films.
After watching both the films I thought they were very similar. There is an element of human Pyschology involved in both the films. The untrusting/ trusting human mind, manipulative human mind, royalty, relations, love, betrayal etc.
No doubt Omkara is an excellent film. Personally I like the first half:the UP mafia flavour, its very griping.In 2nd half story gets shifted in the romantic set up, which looks dragged.
Maqbool is a great film it doesnt loose its grip till end. Only factor which I felt slightly unconvincing was the locations, characters, costumes dont give a feeling that the story is set up in Mumbai. Its a brilliant film!
manjeet ..
completely agree with u on the locale thingie …
yes the feeling one gets is that it is not mumbai .. in fact the first time i saw the film .. i thought it was based in Madhya Pradesh….
Although the fact that it is mumbai is only established through dialogues…and not through settings.
Now that u’ve said …i relise that the characters too speak ‘chaste urdu’ .. the kind of which is perhaps spoken in the north or the interiors of the country. Even the most traditional muslims in mumbai do have a slightly ‘bombayya’ accent/lingo … and it isn’t completely urdu. And im not just talking about the language .. ven the mannerisms etc …
Even the language spoken in Omkara isn’t completely UP-is … its a mix of UP and haryanvi ….
I guess it is cinematic liberty…
Very valid point manjit… But all said and done .. let’s forgive vishal for this… :-)
However, Maqbool is most powerful movie than Omkara. Each scenes in Maqbool keeps you foused where as in Omakara…Omkara lost the plot since it was ‘commercilized’ to some extent to get accepted by the public.
I also liked Maqbool more than Omkara even though I was finding hard to grasp the language. I still have the ending of Maqbool in my mind. Maqbool is a movie that would haunt you..where as Omkara fizzes out.
(by the way, have you guys seens his Makdee (which also had a dark theme!) and Blue Umbrelea? )
Vishal is offcourse a very talented guy. His kind of Cinema is refreshing, something new to eyes n ears.
No doubt Maqbool is a far better film than Omkara. I would love to see Vishal’s take on UP mafia forgetting Shakespere and dealing with the local entities. Just imagine the fisrt half of Omkara carried through without the romantic stuff!
As far as the language in Omkara is concerned its similar to the language spoken in eastern UP belt in place like Merut, which is close to Rajasthan/Haryana. Vishal is from that belt and knows the language very well. Western UP would be more of Bhojpuri mix.
I have seen Makdee and its a very good film. Have to see Blue Umbrella.
Tell OZ to bring Vishal on PFC through Anurag;)
Were, Vishaal’s tight and low budget situations, reasons for some lacking in terms of purity in locations and costumes of characters in Maqbool?
Shakespere wrote plays some 400 years ago. If one is making a film completely based on his play than its fine to keep any kind of superstitions he has written in his plays but in adoptations word to word and scene to scene copy of his plays neither is posssible nore relevant.
It will be interesting to know Vishaal’s own take on Maqbool and Omkara, which film he finds more satisfying experience. I wonder what would have been the case if Maqbool was also a commercial success like Omakara?
Omkara: If we watch it carefully when Kareena’s father goes to meet Ajay Devgan under the impression that Ajay has abducted his daughter Dolly(Kareena) then he goes to Tyagi Hostel, which is a place in Meerut, a western UP city near Delhi. Saif’s character is shown belonging to either Meerut, Gaziabad, bijnor or Muzaffarnagar Distt of western UP. Kaptan speaks language of Mujafarnagar Distt. Ajay Devgan and Naseer’s charcters belong to eastern UP, possibly a place near Lucknow or Kanpur but Ajay is shown to live in same village where Saif lives. This can be a flaw in the story as hardly we may find a Shukla or Tiwari living in the western UP’s village. But cinema itself is a false medium where something is visualized to happen in some place. Basically Vishaal has taken clue from the past where we have seen such nexus when a eastern UP based mafia is a powerful politician and he has connections with western UP based warrior mafia. Omkara’s language is completely Western UPian.
Makdee:
Vishaal’s fans will be furious to know that Sai Paranjape(Sparsh, Chashme baddur, Katha, papiha) had cancelled the funds, accepted by NFDC for making Makdee by saying its a bogus story and should not be funded. Do established filmmakers promote other new filmmakers.
Kartik’s reporting from Pune FTII shows how Vishaal was ragged in open by Kundan Shah, Javed Akhtar,Sudheer Mishra etc over the flaws in Omkara. Though storywise they praised Maqbool over Omkara. Thats why I wonder what would have been the reactions of these gentlemen if Maqbool was also equally commercially successful as Omkara is?
Devdas is the First self destructive hero of Indian cinema and Amitabh often played roles inspired by Devdas or say Prakash Mehra gave roles affected by self destructive nature of Devdas to AB in Muqdar ka Sikandar, Sharabi. He played self destructive role in Hrikesh Mukherjee’s Alaap and Mili also.
Dev Anand played a self destructive man in old Jaal. You may recall this film by its sweet song- ye raat ye chnadni phir kahan Sun le dil ke dastan, beautifully sung by Hemant Kumar. Rajesh Khanna played self destructive hero in Prem Nagar and Aap ki kasam. several other examples are there
It seems self destruction is a fascinating role in hindi film industry.
I am sorry I wrote incorrectly. Merut is western UP neighboruing Haryana, Rajasthan. I should have used word western instead of eastern.I remember Vishal saying that the character of Landa Tyagi is actually a real one. One of his school friends droped out anf became a local goon in Merut. Vishal used him to potray Landa Tyagi! The language is western UP particularly Merut belt.
RK: Its not a question of low budget just something which was missed. Does not create a major flaw and OK to accept. Take for eg. ‘The departed’ where it is said that only Mark Whalberg and may be Mat Damon speaks Bostonian ascent as they r from the area. Others speak in diff ascents. In film Ghost n the darkness Michael douglass speaks American ascent.
Manjeet: Budget should affect the costumes and locals to big extent. But some other factors should also be involed behind such limitations opted by a film maker. Some times technical team is also responsible for so many factors. If we watch carefully Gulzar’s films then effect of Bangal is so clear in his films especially decoration of the places where his characters live and costumes they wear. Even in a film like Angoor where story is based in Nasik and near by place, everything in Sanjeev Kumar’s home(one who is married to Mausami Chaterrjee) look like a bangali home. We may call it Rakhee effect on Gulzar or Bimal Roy effect or to the facts that perhaps his technical team was having people mostly from the bangal.
Same can be true with Vishaal also when he was making Maqbool. Tabu is hyderabadi and perhaps she is shown also a character belonging to hyderabad. I cant recall exactly. In Maqbool, era is not very clear so we cant assume that in that era characters shown in Mumbai should have used such costumes. So here Filmmaker has taken liberty. Moreover this was Vishaal’s first film with adult theme ( Makdee is a children film) and he could have missed so many things.
Regarding real life inspiration for character of Langda Tyagi: When I had seen film first time then first thought occured in my mind was this only that Vishaal has taken real life stories of few people lived in western UP and mixed it with Shakesperean story to put it under that Shakespere umbrella which is widely accepted all over the world. This is a wonderful mixture by him. A praise worthy effort.
hmmmm.. RK: If I am correct Bobby Bedi is the producer. That guy is very professional and does huge films. I doubt that might be the case. But yes shooting in Bombay is expensive. You have to pay ridiculous amount of money. Eg. If shooting at Gateway you could end up paying 1.25 lakhs/day just for location. But again it can be worked out. You can shoot in out skirts where u might even get a free location with same characteristics.
Yes Manjeet, Bobby Bedi is really big producer and this is right that money should not be a problem for his production.
Discussion here is asking me to watch Maqbool again. I saw it once around 15 months ago and perhaps in second watch it reveals more layers.
I have not seen yet ” The Departed”. But discussion abt it also provoking to watch it also.
tabu isnt a hyderabadi in the film … she’s from lucknow Irfan “Tum lucknow waapas kyun nahi jaati chinaal saali !!”
Yeah manjeet … actually the entire ru baru song was shot either in kalyan (maharashtra) or somehwere in bhopal. Either of these two places.
In fact the location of haveli/house of abbaji is in bhopal…
RK !!!!!!!!! U have commited the heinous crime of having seen Maqbool just once !!!!
any fanatic should see the film at least 10 times !! (I have)
It’s like knowing hindi but having seen sholay just once ….
It’s a milestone in screenwriting… as good as sholay/deewar/nayagan ….
Bhailog …. kamaal hai … no one reads shakespeare enough to comment on the comparisons between the two films and other shakespearean tragedies ????
KK: Ok perhaps in Khalid Mohammad’s Silsilay- Tabu is from Hyderabad. I accept my crime to see Maqbool only once. But with blurred memmory I think why Abba ji may not belong to Ghazipur in Eastern UP? But I have corrected my mistake by watching Omkara 4 times.
oho RK .. chill !!!! :-)
The location trivia that u threw about omkara was amazing … western and eastern UP ??? mujhe toh donon ek jaise lagtey hain !!!
KK: hone to dono ek jaise chahiye par hain nahin. Ganga ka paani western UP hota hua baad mein eastern UP pahunchta hai. Haridwar was in western UP and Banaras is in eastern UP. difference between the positions of these two regions is shown by Vishaal also in Omkara.
Incidently Who is The Aunty ji of Naseer in Omkara? any guess!
hmmmm very interestimg….me likes the write up!!!
For Godsake somebody “Digg” THIS!!!!!!!!!
good post namesake! was just thinking about the similarities between these films two days ago.. when i mentioned in one of my comments that langda is the only villain who has stood out in recent times.. and to see a post from you on the same two days later is a bit freaky, but refreshing, to say the least
RK,
If you’re referring to Naseer’s rival in the elections, it was costume designer Dolly Ahluwalia. She reportedly had a bigger part, but what remains in the film is her face on some posters.
Maqbool is Omkara from a different point of view…. Fucking fantastic point..never thought about it that way..makes solid sense now..yeah it really is…there is also a hell lot of common between Tabu and Langda… They both are seducers…Tabu has her ways with her mannerisms and sometimes blatant dialogues like “mere badan pei gyarah till hain..dekhna chahoge kahan kahan?” (english: I have 11 moles on my body..wanna see where all?) and Lagda has his own way of seduing everyone with sweet talk..be it dobriyal.. or the way he talks to Omkara..like: My question has an answer in it..but i will let you find the answer..
Fantastic post KK..you rock Boy!!!
RK:yes Dolly ahluwalia does play auntyji in omkara… thanks Geroge
http://specials.rediff.com/movies/2006/jul/26sld1.htm
striker : it just implies that ‘great minds think alike’ !!!!! :-) < ):)
WRT ur comment ... apart from Langda, there's Gokul (Ashutosh Rana - where are u ??) from Dushman and Ranvijay Singh (Irfan khan) from Haasil that are etched in my memory.
Irffan also figures out in the role of a sadistic cop Pandey from a stupid film called Gunaah.
Shit I so want to do a post on Irffan !!!!
OM: WOW ... that's an amazing point ... Tabu and Saif are indeed the common motivators for the lead protaganists (Irfan and Ajay) and lead them astray. Even in the play .. it is Lady Macbeth and Iago ... who are the prime perpetrators of the tragedies.
Shit ... This is a real good point ... never thought about it !!!! =d>
Karthik:One thing is sure you are obsessed by Vishal’s work:d…just kiddin
I haven’t read Shakespear but have seen both the movies by Vishal. They are both very very similar. After watching I got a feeling they r more like a soap with set formula how the conflict would developed and resolved. I dont know if I have that feeling coz of Shakespear’s style of writing or Vishal’s execution.
You might have read other Shakespear plays does any other play resemble a similar setup?
I do not mean to insult anyone here but rather appreciate a certain distinctive style.
For eg. by looking at Van Gogh’s painting one, who has followed his work can say its Van Gogh style of painting.
manjeet i dnt think saying that they are like soap opera is doing justice to both the films … both are similar .. albeit both have their individual flavours .. dialogues … settings .. characetrisations ….
Whatever similarity that i have brought to notice is perhaps because they are already there in the shakespeare’s plays !!!!
Kill bill is different from Pulp fiction is different from Reservior Dogs ..
Seven is quite different than Fight club .. even though they have the same settings/underlying themes …
Roja … Bombay .. and kannathil … all are different …
I’m sure if u look around u will find “simmilar yet different films” … calling them the same would not be fair/discretionary for the director’s efforts.
One word … watch both the films again …. u won’t have noticed the similarities that i have pointed out in the first viewing !!!
Yes im obssessed with vishal … usmein koi shaq nahi !!! :-)
Karthik: Since you have read the plays do u think the difference in characterization, dialogues, etc exists in them? You didn’t answer if u have read other plays of Shakespear which are similar?
A director’s job is to tell a story and not write it. What would be similar would be the style of story telling and not the story.
If you look at Tarantino his style of story telling has traits, which can be seen in all his movies. For eg. the scenes where he shoots legs of the characters, brutal violence and many more.
Mani Ratnam has his own style. The way he directs his characters, a distinct lighting conditions for each of his characters and what not.. When u look at a film you can say this is a particular director’s style even if the story is different.
I really appreciate your efforts of putting the differences in black n white. Most of us would be observing them at a subconcious level but putting them on paper is indeed worth lot of praise!
Hope u keep up the good work ;)
And we will keep bugging u ;)
Karthik – The last of shot of Maqbool that you were writing about is a straight lift from “Leon: The Professional”
didnt know that badri … thanks :-)
actually the same shot was also there in manirathnam’s iruvar … when mohanlal is shot …
I wouldn’t call it a lift out of The Professional. It’s just a simple POV shot that follows the movements of the character. It’s been used many times before in European, indie films. I don’t think any film necessarily owns a type of shot. That’s like saying that just because D.W. Griffith was the first filmmaker to use the close-up shot, or that Orson Welles was the first to use deep-focus, that the rest lift from their films.
Guys, this is the first time i have entered this site, went directly to kartik’s post and with all the comments and analyses happening, it feels like home for a chap with a passion for cinema.
Kartik, kudos on your post. but my faint-voiced opinion in this is: At least once, just try to omit Macbeth and Othello from your mind and then watch Maqbool and Omkara. A rare and distinct style of storytelling comes across to the viewer. The feeling of discovering the drama that unfolds in front of your eyes is so wondrous.
I think that the auto-rickshaw-wallah who has not heard of Shakespeare and still seen these films is enjoying the experience so much more than so many of us who have the epic tragedies in our minds.
Please do not mind this line of thought; I am all for this enlightening discussion. But so much has been said about the comparisons that I begin to wonder whether that really was Vishal’s intent. I am sure he just saw merit in a story, tried to tell it to the best of his abilities and succeeded. I know it is difficult to isolate the plays from the films in discussion, but seriously, Maqbool is not just Macbeth but so much more and Omkaara is not just Othello but so much more. For example, the sensitivity of casting Maqbool in a typically Urdu setting and Omkara in a rustic Hindi one, the efficient use of props (the sugarcane machine or the hand pump, for starters), the casting of characters. Why only Pankaj Kapur for Abbaji? Why Saif for Langda or even Konkona for his wife? I think that the director has exhibited an intense sensibility during pre-production. Both the films are so much more the director’s baby than the writer’s.
Sometimes, it is necessary to enjoy a film just for the film’s sake. Anyway, looking forward to jam again. By the way, is anybody doing a post on how the Matrix philosophy is so akin to what our Hindu religion talks about? Would love to see that unfolding.
Arup: “the Matrix philosophy is so akin to what our Hindu religion talks about”
This one is new to me. I thought I had the Matrix figured inside out but never thought of it this way. You’ve certainly got hold of my interest on this one. Why don’t you do a write-up on it. Looking forward to learning about this parallel.
Aroop … completely second your opinion… when i saw both the films (for the first 3 viewings at least) i didn’t have othello or macbeth in my mind at all !!! And trust me when it comes to defending Vishaal’s oriignality I’m the first one to stand up and shout out in support of him ….
This article was written from a purist english literautre-shakespeare perspective …. a take on maqbool and omkara with the background of the plays…. and more from the writing perspective … as to how vishaal has taken the raw material from shakespeare … thrown away and literally made changes to suit his own style and added his own flavour (ur wonderful input on hand pump and sugar cane… saif’s nail-polish… mehandi etc etc ..) and made two gems !!!
on a sidetrack have u read these articles of min in which i’ve said pretty much what you are saying …
http://passionforcinema.com/rdb-over-omkara-for-oscars/
http://www.desitrain.com/2006/08/23/when-the-gods-of-screenwriting-met-part-1/
and yes matrix is pretty much vedic-hindu philosophy and a lots of greek mythology thrown in ….(just look at the character’s names…. u’ll know how)
I m new to this site but it gives me unmeasureable joy to see worthy comments of dear friends. I dont find omkara a good movie
reasons are
1. its not as good as othello.
2. the film was promoted as story of love,hatred and jealousy but I dont feel these raw emotions.
3.why is bhai saab naseer in the movie.
4. I find vivek instead of cassius.
5.many character lacks reasonable motivation.
and many more I will discuss in my next comment.
thanks
Welcome to PFC Vicky … here are my responses
1. Othello is the weakest play of the bard .. Othello is a fool who simply plays into the long drawn dialogues of Iago. Omkara is ’seduced’ into jealousy and doubt by Langda Tyagi .. who is more calculative and precise with one liners and jabs. Besides, Othello is a play and theatrical language is always different from cinematic language.
2. I could feel the raw emotions … so may be its a case of personal perspective.
3. While i completely agree with ur question .. i think Naseer did it for a personal favour/ goodwill to Vishal. Howvere, I didn’t feel he got a raw deal in the film. Anyways how about asking this question to Naseer wrt Krishh .. or Om puri wrt Don ??
4. Please elaborate .. I didn’t get it …
5. I think every character in the film has a motivation .. In the play however, many characters lack motivation …
Waiting for ur follow up comment .. and thanks for ur observations. I’m always awake to discuss Mr Vishal Bhardwaj :-)
In an interview Naseerudin Shah said that he loved the Omkara script/story and wanted to be a part of it, hence Bhai Saab was born. Is their Bhai Saab in Othello? I don’t think so, right?
HG .. as far as i can recall .. there is a duke of Venice … but he has a small role as compared to naseer sahib. Duke orders othello to the battle fields etc .. and he also acts as the adjudicator between Desmodenia’s father (the lawyer in the film) and Omkara (othello)
my bad.. i misunderstood… he wanted to part be of Omkara and would have done any role for it.
Yeah Omkara was amazing (I’d have liked it more without the item numbers, though, esp the second one). Haven’t seen Maqbool yet, its arrving soon via Netflix.
On a related note, has anybody seen the Mallu adaptation of Othello? Its by a dir’ called Jayaraj, the name of the film is Kaliyattom. Its placed against the backdrop of an ancient artform called Koodiyattom – its a pretty fab’ film too. I’d rate the performances higher in the Mallu version, in fact (with the honorable exceptions of Saif & Konkona); guy who played Othello – Suresh Gopi – even won the National Award that year.
hi
kartik,glad to read ur response.fair enough. first we talk about motivation. please tell what motivates langda tyagi to drive the so called character ajji haan. in othello iago regularly takes money and jewels from that character.second i think its not a good excuse that the play has some weak points so the movie must have. third what I mentioned that it seems vivek played vivek not cassiou,if u find it personl point of view plz let me know why the character not liked by people even not talked. ok I share my one more complaint who drives the action in the film iago or othello or both? my question is, did vishal bhardwaj aware who would be the cenral character? by the way I like ur views
bye
kool vicky ..anytime for discussion
Langda tyagi uses Rajjo (Roderigo)… he knows Rajjo looks upto Langda as an idol, for support and motivation. He knows Rajjo will do as Langda says.. the fact that Langda is closest to him of all the other people (omi, Keshu, Indu, Bhaisahib etc) is evident by the fact that Rajjo shares his lament with him of loosing Dolly. Rajjo also is vicariously jubilant at the thought of Langda becoming Bahubali. Langda also tells him in the first scene that the wedding will not happen. In a sense he is to Omkara’s side but he also enjoys fooling around with Rajjo. He is the ‘driver’ in their relationship. For him Rajjo is nothing but a mere pawn… The fact that he throws him into the river without bothering to jump back is proof. He jumps for the first time …not out friendship…but out of concern…’Abey kahin woh mar na jaye’ types…
All I’m saying is .. the play has many weak points and Othello as such has no brain of his own… but Omkara has fewer weak points than the
play.
Why Emilia picks up the handkerchief is not even explained coherently in the play… She does it just to satisfy her husband’s (Iago’s) whim (she says My husband hath of late pestered me to pick it up) Whereas there is a subtle reason as to why Indu picks up the Qamarband ….. She does it so that she can seduce Saif …and make him love just like Omkara does to Dolly… That’s why in that O Saathi Re song ..she sees the couple romancing and she steals the Qamarband .. thinking this would help attract Langda ..
Vivek might’ve played Vivek in Omkara (he also did the same in Yuva) but he looks convincing … as an upstart ‘bacchcha’ who has been given lot of power suddenly and a bit early in his life perhaps. As far as I’m concerned…he convinced me. (I didn’t get your Q on “why the character not liked by people even not talked” ) pls elaborate on it …
The action is clearly and clearly driven by Langda… but the film is also about Omkara’s downfall … he is more the ‘reactive’ sort of person…who gets ‘acted upon’. For eg: In satya clearly Bhiku mhatre drives the action …but the reactive person is Satya …. It is Satya’s story in totality…. even though Bhiku has a stronger role.
Yes Langda has a stronge role .. but the central character is Omkara !!! It’s just that we are so awed by Saif ..that we forget that the the protaginist is Omkarta….
@Kartik: Great discussion…yes, Omkara is the central character, but he just doesn’t feel so in the film. Ajay as Omkara was the weakest link in the movie for me – he’s done this kind of role several times before, and the nobility associated with Othello never came through for me…due to which I never could empathize with his eventual ‘fall’. Langda as a character worked far better for me.
hi
well kartik.I agree to some extent.I am still on my point. as u see what ranjeet said that he was not linked with omkara what I said earlier where the emotion are in the movie. we r supposed to have pity and fear in tragedy.and pity 4 the protagoinist if i m not wrong. point is what i want to say vishal did not take omkara so high not morally or not in any manner so like a tragic hero when he falls from prosperity to adversity he may gain pity from audiance. as you see inspite of being an antagonist Saddam, yes saddam president of iraq(what he thought)while dying gained public sympathy. i think the reason is he fell from prosperity to adversity,many died in the war but they didnt gain the same sympathy as they were not enjoying good power.thats why fall down of omkara didnt create sympathy for him.
kartik
apart from discussion,I want a favour from you and anyone my friends here.kartik plz explain to me in the detailed antagonist term with some examples. I m always confused about the term.I have many questions about it,I am waiting to share with you after your reply. meet at guru.bye
“antagonist is anyone/thing who opposes stands in way of the protaganist and his goal ” that might be the screenwriters’ definition …
it can be a person (villan) .. it can be a thing (nature) or it can be a tragic flaw in the protaginist’s nature itself (meaning the protaginist himself)
thoda google karo .. u may get more clear meanings
kartik thats where I m confused. as per ur def.(above)antagonist is who stops protagonist to get his goal. cool. this is ravi not dabar who tries to stop vijay in classic deewar.who should be the antagonist. in kabhi alvida naa kehna preeti and abhishek are directly in way of lead pair sharukh and raani who are antagonist and many more movies I find difficulty to find the antagonist.
waiting for ur reply.
i am western up jat
khari boli what you all think is different from hindi .one who donot belong to haryana and western up cannot easily speak and understand well
the language used in omkara is of western up khariboli which is almost similiar to harayanvi
the third person who donott belong to these area west up and haryana canoot distinguish khari boli and haryanvi
i think this website is nice conglomeration of guys passionate for 24fps ..it is even nicer to see pfc merchandise being sold(pun intended)…but i doubt about the intentions of people behind this site…u guys are just another manohar kahaniyaan or satyakatha tryin to make a hill out of a mole…indian commercial mainstream is toooo big for a bunch of indie guys like you who just cant stop blabbering about themselves or the scene of indie cinema…
if u guys are so passionate about cinema why not mortgage ur belongings(this is for those who have quite a lot of them) and make a great film and sell it in this age of bheja fry”s and omlette pav”s
ak who loves to piss off the so called greats of indian cinema to glory should also think that if he is so upset about shakalaka fuck fuck he should have kicked out a commercial mainstream guy like suneel darshan when he was asked to pen it…how old are you ak? I am all for indie films but not at the cost of harping my own sax…pfc is because of the mainstream cinema our generations have grown up watching so called masala films and it hurts when u guys write unnecessary things about it…AK if yrf gives u a budget of 20 crores will u deny it?…i agree they are commercial but they also have a kabul express once in a while…if our bigwigs earn am sure they will be more than happy to support indie cinema..I am of the frim opinion that pfc should restrict to healthy blogging rather than questioning others credentials…Black friday had a big afternoon tabloid(aaj tak kinda LOL) behind it…
I appreciate more people like nishikant kamat who actually after years of struggle and true passion made it to the indie film scene…can keep writin and writin and ak no offences meant..
anyways keep shootin with your camera as a great filmmaker once said”CINEMA IS A MILITARY ART”
By the way in a recent interview to NDTV’s Bombay Talkies, Vishal said that the role of Abbaji (Maqbool) was offerd to Naseer. Naseer sat on that role and even grew his beard as part of the preparation for the role. After 3-4 months Naseer called up Vishal and informed him that the role does not inspire him. The reason he gave was that he has done quiet a few ‘mafia don’ roles in the past. He said that the role of the witches excites him more and it would be interesting if he and Om would get to enact the witches.
Thats the way how Naseer got away from Abbaji and into the cop (witches) role. and i am thankful to god for it to happen as i would have missed watching pankaj kapoor play one of the best performance in the rcent past.
By the Vishal Vishal mentioned that he and naseer and tom alter are part of a cricket team and they play cricket regularly and with lots of gallis and fight.
Watch the video of Vishals interview on the www.ndtv.com site under videos.
I know I am a bit late in visiting this thread. I maybe off the track but still wanted to add my 2 cents. Somehow I never got the chance to watch Maqbool all these years and happened to watch it on TV just last week and since then must have seen it atleast 15 times online. I am one of those hardcore Mainstream Hindi Cinema fans but after watching this movie I am obsessed with Shakespere’s way of narrating a Lovestory. I was wondering as to how someone could interpret Shakesperean theme into the underworld activities of Mumbai but Vishal has done it and with so much brilliance. I am neither into English literature and have not read Macbeth but now I want to read it and have become a huge fan of Vishal Bharadwaj. Have always liked his work especially his association with Gulzarsaab but this movie he has completely left me asking for more. I have always been a fan of Irfan Khan since Banegi apni baat but after this have become a huge fan of his. Tabu is as always Brilliant and offcourse Pankaj Kapoor. But the romance and chemistry b/w Tabu and Irfan was like fire…simply magic. sigh…Wish in real life too we lived in a dreamland like this. I remember Irfan had once written that he was completely smitten by Tabu and which man would not fall for such a lady..when she turns and looks at him he fell in love all over again..sigh..we women are such suckers for romance…..but the end really disturbed me and i read Irfan it seems brokedown and even after Tabu’s death scene was shot he could not stop himself….thats what natural actors are made of.Maqbool is a must watch movie. Sorry can’t speak about Omkara as have not seen the movie and also not all that interested in watching as I don’t like Saif.Thanks Kartik for creating this thread and others so that i could also put my feelings in writing.