Omkara (2006)

Has it really been more than a year since my last Bollywood viewing? Well, the realization wasn't my reason for breaking the streak. I had hoped to see a Shakespeare-based movie around the 400th anniversary of his death, but Netflix had waits on the ones that interested me. This retelling of Othello just happened to become available last week.

For those who don't remember the gist of Othello, it starts with the Moorish general's interracial elopement to Desdemona against her father's will. When he passes over Iago for an appointed lieutenant of sorts, Iago schemes a vengeful manipulation. Not content to dishonor his replacement, he convinces Othello that Desdemona has been unfaithful. It does not end well for any major character.

Of course, in a movie set in India, even modern India, a black citizen would look rather out of place. Omkara, a.k.a. Omi, is instead a half-caste, which puts him beneath the marital dignity of most devout Hindus. Also, his elopement to Dolly initially came across as an abduction from her intended wedding. But these are not the most important changes....

I was a bit surprised at the cavalier gunfire early in the movie, starting with Iago substitute Langda. It becomes clear that while Omi is called a "general" and in the service of a politician, he's openly a career criminal. That really changes the whole mood of the story, stripping the tragic hero of almost any heroic reverence from the start. But I suppose it may be necessary for many of the actions to make sense in modernity.

Cell phones come into play. Apart from that, it could easily be set in the late 20th century. There isn't a whole lot of spoken English, but Dolly does try to sing "I Just Called to Say I Love You" to Omi. (OK, that's one black guy's influence in India.)

In truth, about half the music choices are pretty curious. A scene of gang violence may sound too relaxed. There is a pretty typical Bollywood song and dance sequence, but it doesn't do much to lighten the mood.

I won't give you the details of the ending, but it seems to change exactly who lives and who dies. Then again, at that point, the grittiness is so thick that it almost doesn't matter.

I respect the production and was OK watching for 150+ minutes, but it doesn't make me want to watch the same director's other Shakespeare adaptations. Even less does it make me want to rent another disc from Eros Entertainment, which presented (1) nine ads up front with no option to go straight to the disc menu or skip the last ad, (2) a faulty subtitle setup menu, and (3) unusually many typos in the subtitles. I think my next flick from India will be one of those streaming comedies on my list.