Omkara

Synopsis: Feature film. A Bollywood re-working of Othello set against a background of political warfare in the state of Uttar Pradesh. Omikara (Devgan) is a half-caste, gifted chieftan leading a gang employed by the corrupt politician (Naseeruddin Shah). Omkara appoints Keshav (Oberoi) above Langda (Saif Ali Khan) as his chief lieutenant. Langda is jealous and begins to implicate Omkara’s beautiful fiancee, Dolly, in an illicit affair with Keshav. The film makes Langda Othello’s brother-in-law, Bianca becomes a nightclub singer to justify two big production numbers, and the film begins with the Roderigo figure, Raju, about to marry Dolly (Desdemona).
Language: Hindi
Country: India
Medium: Film
Technical information: Colour / Sound
Year of release: 2006
Duration: 140 mins

Director

Vishal Bhardwaj

Producer

Kumar Mangat

Cinematographer

Tassaduq Hussain

Screenplay

Abhishek Chaubey; Robin Bhatt; Vishal Bhardwaj

Music

Vishal Bhardwaj

Art Direction

Samir Chanda

Cast

Ajay Devgan	Omkara (Othello)
Kareena Kapoor	Dolly (Desdemona)
Saif Ali Khan	Langda Tyangi (Iago)
Vivek Oberoi	Keshav Upadhyay (Michael Cassio)
Konkona Sen Sharma	Indu (Emilia)
Bipasha Basu	Billo Chamanbahar (Bianca)
Deepak Dobrival	Raju (Roderigo)
Naseeruddin Shah	Bhaisaab (Duke of Venice)

Notes: DVD extras include the making of OMKARA, interviews, deleted scenes, theatrical trailer, TV promos. DVD has subtitles in English, Tamil, Telugu, Bengali, and Malayalam.
General: The director’s name is often cited as Vishal Bharadwaj.
Figures: Opening weekend (UK) £91,294 (IMBd).

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British Universities Film & Video Council