Living in the real world

Ok, so I succumbed to the mixed bag reviews and conflicting feedabck from friends and went to see Omkara.

Friends were divided between ‘rocking movie, hits you in the b***s, kya dhaansu picture hai boss, must watch it…’ to ‘chi chi…kya gandh bhara hai, how did the censors let this pass?, hindi picture mein aisi language…’.

Now that I have seen the movie let me tell you I am firmly on the side of my friends who recommended I watch the movie. To all those who cringed I say ‘grow up guys’

I mean, c’mon, what the heck…we’ve been living in a city like Mumbai, where cuss words are a part of the lexicon. They can be heard almost anywhere unless you travel in you own AC car, work in a place where the colleagues do not have brown pigments in their skin, you only eat in 5 star hotels and you spent your college life in an exclusive room in the hostel.

Mind you these are same guys who would come out of a multiplex after watching ‘Bad Boys’ and would be absolutely cool with Will Smith going muthaf**ka this and muthaf**ka that…why? ’cause it’s Hollywood yaar…they are like this only. Besides this is how Niggers speak don’t they?

Yeah…do they? And how do you think the heartland of India speaks? And that’s where the writer of this story grew up. He has had the guts to come up with a script that is true to the characters of people who live in that place. Vishal Bhardwaj has created a gritty and palpable adaptation of one of the most celebrated pieces of litrature, and that in itself is an accomplishment.

The dialogues have the earthy feel that brings to mind the musty sweet scent of the soil after the first rain. The cinematography has the reality of a grimy western that makes you feel the dust kicked up by the tyres of a truck passing by.

The story is strewn with gems of one liners that come out of nowhere and charm you with the honesty they are spoken with.
Some of my favorites:
- Bewakoof aur Chutiye mein dhaage bhar ke farak howey hai
- Meri dadi kaha karti thi ke aadmi ke dil ka rasta uske pet ke neeche se hokar jaave hai
- Arrey katthor sharat ghodon pe lagaate hain sheron par nahin
- Agar pichhwaadey mein gooda hai to kood madarc**d
- Lagta hai hum dono ki kismat gadhey ke ling se lihki gayi hai
- Hassi bahut mehengi ho rakhi hai duniya mein

Of course most of these line belong to Saif Ali Khan who walks away or rather limps away with the lions share of great lines. In fact the movie is all about his character based on the viliest of villians - Iago. Its heartening to see that someone who is labled as a westernised city bred chocolate hero can get completely into the skin of a rustic character who has no remorse or guilt when it comes to acheiveing his ambitions.
This Khan has finally arrived…and thank God for it.

Violence in the movie is used as a backdrop. The director uses the presence of violence than violent acts to give us a sense of the way the characters think and behave. Some of the scenes like the first fight between Omkara and the ‘Kaptaan’ is shown to depict the mindset of Omkara than to show his physical prowess. Set to the title track this number leaves an indelible impression on your mind.

I agree that some of the women will cringe at the language - even the educated and ‘broadminded’ ones who work and endure the rough edged platitudes that flow with the same ease as the fountain of crimson colored paan laden pichkari from the pallette of chauvinist Indian males. But I am sure a majority of them will enjoy the unabated and unhindered range of explitives in the dark cocooned environs of the movie hall no matter what they say when the lights come up during the intermission. And I think that is what the director is depending on…the undeniable presence of enjoying the forbidden that lies deep in our hearts which is unleashed as soon as the burden of prying eyes and social conformity is lifted.

The fact that the story deals with the basic human traits of love, jealousy and betrayal makes it timeless. The choice of its placement, its characters and the texture makes it contemporary and hence the adaptation delivers. People who believe that movie watching is an effort in escapism should stay away. Vishal has the gift of borrowing from history and placing it in the present while retaining the essence of the original script, making no aplogies of showing us the mirror and making all of us realise that after all we live in a real world.