Omkara (2006)

"Jo ladki apne baap ko thug sakti hai, woh kisi aur ki sagi kya hogi" 
"The girl who can steal from (betray) her own father, how can she be trusted by anyone else" (Dolly's Father)

First Bollywood film on the blog!!  (Here's hoping to many more.)

Omkara is a Bollywood adaptation of Shakespear's Othello.  Therefore, it should come as no surprise that Omkara is exactly as dark and horrifying as Othello.  Yikes.  

While I was watching, I couldn't help deconstructing the differences I found between this example of Bollywood cinema and my understanding of current Western cinema.  Strangely, seeing this film and many other Bollywood films that by troupe or tradition must include a song and dance item number in addition to a proper theme song, I was reminded of American films from the 50s and 60s that always included a sweeping melody and score that was used in the film as part of its branding.  (The example in my head is "The Days of Wine and Roses".  Which had a better song than movie.)  I'm not sure what happened to Western cinema that it abandon the original song and score in favor of a soundtrack of tracks...but I think I prefer the original song branding methodology. A few days after watching the movie, I heard some Indians singing the theme song to Omkara while drinking.  Musical branding works.
In addition to the musical branding issues within Bollywood, I find the inclusion of dance numbers and song as a strong story telling element in an otherwise dry movie to refreshing and an interesting jolt to my cultural senses.  In the case of Omkara, the musical dance sequence serves to underscore the drunkenness of one of our main characters, foreshadow the method of Langda's betrayal, and introduce additional romantic tension.  Yes, it was strange for song and dance to serve these purposes within a generally dry film, from my perspective, but once I accepted this differing reality of storytelling, much of the movie made more sense.

Finally, I think I should watch Omkara a second time and try to be watchful of the directors use of camera motion and color.  There were several shots in the film that follow the characters through differing levels of a house both inside and out without cutting away.  This not only showcased the level of detail in the set design, but also the technical acumen of the director to move the camera and not :get caught" with unexpected objects or debris in the shot.  Secondly, I thought that the color yellow probably was meant to have some sort of significance in the overall theme of the movie.  I'm sure, I might better understand with a second viewing.

Ratings:

Shakespearians:  See it  

Enforcers:  See it

Newly Weds:  Wait a while before watching it

Cinematographers:  See it

Vengeful?:  See it

On a scale from The Taj Mahal to The planned but never constructed "Black Taj Mahal", I give Omkara 3.75 out of 4 stars.