Mola_Ram, I misunderstood your take on Chatruvedi. I don't think he's a great cameraman at all and I'll stick to that. I hope Bharadwaj opts for a different camerman this time around.

I don't think Robin will have that much of an input where this film is concerned. Vishal wouldn't have this big of a cast if the screenplay were up in the hands of Ms. Bhatt.

BTW, I wonder who will be playing Cassius' mistress - Bianca in this film. Not a big role at all but it will be interesting to see who bags it. Here's my take on the cast and the roles they will be playing. I like to hear from you guys as well on this matter.


Ajay Devgan as "Othello" - A solid choice as Devgan is known for his dark and brooding presence. I would have went with Irfan Khan but that's just my pick. I doubt Devgan will surpass Suresh Gopi's magnificent work in the Malayalam rendition of "Othello" - "Kaliyattam".

Kareena Kapoor as "Desdemona" - Another noteworthy choice here and it will be interesting to see how her work here brings about Desdemona's complexities in the play.

Saif Ali Khan as "Iago" - Probably the best role in the play and this is going to be one hell of a stretch for Saif to pull off. First of he all, he has to speak with a UP accent as well as getting the look of a rustic villager. Can Mr. Metrosexual pull it off? It will be very interesting to watch.

Vivek Oberoi as "Cassius" - A decent actor who will be able to pull off a decent character.

Konkona Sen Sharma - A fabulous actress in tow here and it will be interesting to see her interactions with Saif. She will be playing Emilia, Iago's wife.

Latest news on the "Othello" front. Nasseruddin Shah is the latest addition to the magnificent cast in Vishal Bharadwaj's rendition of "Othello". He'll be there in a brief role. Such a stunning cast that Vishal Bharadwaj has assembled. The best in recent times. Every actor in this cast is an ACTOR first and then a star unlike Nikhil Advani's next film that boasts of a star bonanza where half the "actors" assembled can't perform. Anyway, the latest addition of Shah is just icing on the cake. I wonder what character he'll play. Here's the info via Kareena's latest interview.


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from dnaindia.com


'I am at peace with whatever roles I have been getting'

Shaikh Ayaz
Monday, December 05, 2005 20:12 IST




Vishal Bharadwaj's preparations for the Othello adaptation have begun in full swing, and no one's as charged up as Kareena Kapoor, who believes that Desdemona's character could well turn out to be one of the best she has ever essayed. But above all, the actor is palpably pleased at the thought of working with Naseeruddin Shah for the first time.

"I have never had the chance of working with him before. I strongly believe that he is one of the finest actors we have. I have been a silent but ardent admirer of his for long, and his association with Othello makes it all the more special," gushes Kapoor.

Shah, who has a brief role in Othello's Hindi version, will be holding a workshop for all the actors. "A film like Othello has to be treated in the best possible manner. So the workshop assumes importance, because we have to learn Bhojpuri, and get the nuances right. I'm sure Naseersaab will give out interesting tips - we definitely stand to learn a lot."

julius caesar possibly next!!!!

this sounds incredible - but I hate the casting (sanjay and irfan)
sanjay is a horrible actor, and could not play caesar for his life
and irfan is a great actor, but he will bring back too many maqbool memories

the cast should be completely new, I would say…

caesar - kamal (vishal originally wanted kamal for pankaj’s part in maqbool, but he would make a great caesar)
mark anthony - randeep
brutus - akshaye khanna


you would you guys cast??



Bhardwaj, on his Shakespearean fix

Subhash K Jha


First Macbeth, now Othello… you seem to be hooked on the Bard.

After Maqbool I wanted to adapt Julius Caesar for producer Bobby Bedi. But then I met Shekhar Kapoor and the idea for Mantra was born. We started working on that project with seven to eight writers for more than six months. Shekhar and I had differences over the final outcome of the script. Then I had this small script called The Blue Umbrella. Everyone wanted me to make it. I shared my problems with Ronnie Screwvala of UTV. He agreed to produce The Blue Umbrella on condition that UTV gets to produce my next film.

...buy one, get one free?

Kind of (laughs). The Blue Umbrella, which I've completed, is a relatively small project. It's the kind of cinema I believe in, but would never get to make without the backing of a big production house. Given the money I'd make this film on the same scale as Othello. If I may say so, I'm very proud of my work in The Blue Umbrella. The film's protagonists are children. But the target audience comprises adults. The leading protagonist is a really talented girl called Shreya Sharma. She's as good as Shweta Prasad in Makdee.

If you were to make Julius Caesar, which actors would you have cast as Caesar and Mark Anthony?

Sanjay Dutt and Irrfan were in my mind. Actually, my fascination with Shakespeare has to do with the lack of story-writing talent in Bollywood. A good story works even if badly shot. To find good stories is very difficult. My Makdee was an original. The three-act structure for Ruskin Bond's The Blue Umbrella is hard to come by in the scripts being written today….So yes, I did go back to Shakespeare twice. I'll make a trilogy of Shakespeare films. I don't know which of his stories, and I don't know when. I may adapt a Shakespearean comedy next. I decided to go to Shakespeare after watching Gulzar saab's Angoor, which was an adaptation of A Comedy Of Errors.

Othello's cast is as impressive as the one in Ramesh Sippy's Sholay…

Yes, I've got Ajay Devgan, Saif Ali Khan, Kareena Kapoor, Vivek Oberoi, and probably Bipasha Basu. And one of my favourites, Naseeruddin Shah, plays a cameo. Naseer is such a sweet man. We met at the Goa film festival. I asked him to conduct a workshop for my actors on Othello. He said, ‘I will conduct a workshop if you give me a role.’ These stars help me sell more tickets. But I won't be using them as regular stars. I want to present them as they've never been seen before. Saif in my film isn't going to be cool, but very uncouth....

Where have you located Othello?

It is set in a political mafia in Uttar Pradesh. My characters will speak a fluent UP dialect. But it will easily be understood. We won't shoot it on location in UP. I'll erect a set somewhere in Maharashtra. Right now I'm very scared about how it's going to turn out. I begin working on it from January 13 to March 20. Then the film is done.

wow thanks for the update hal

before I said this is “one of the greatest casts ever assembled”

but now with naseer signed, it is official - this IS the cast ever assembled!!



I agree the cast is filled w/ great actors - ajay, kareena, vivek, saif, naseer

everyone but konkona - I have only seen her in 2 films, mr and mrs iyer and pg 3, and she was horrible in both

I am not sure what vishal was thinking when he signed her

I have to severly disagree with your stance on Konkona Mola_Ram. She is the one of the finest young talents we have today in Hindi cinema. Her national award for Mr. and Mrs. Iyer was well-deserved indeed.

she is no looker but great actress, very natural!

I agree. I've only seen her in that film and in PAGE 3, and thought she was more than convincing in both.

I agree - when she is on-screen it never feels like i am seeing an "actress" , i like her for what she does.

wow I didn’t know I was among the konkona fan club

for me she falls in the category of highly overrated actors…. along w/ tabu and others…

and her national doesn’t impress me at all - all it takes is a famous mother to win the award (I thought saif had already proved that)

Tabu...overrated???? Whoa! That's really going overboard Mola_Ram. Tabu, in my honest opinion, is the best actress working today in India.

Exactly my thoughts!

Go wash your mouth with soap, Mola Ram-ji.

the film finally gets a title…



Director Bharadwaj persists with the original Omkara

Subhash K Jha

Vishal Bharadwaj's penchant for Shakespearean adaptations is as well-known as his bent towards unusual film titles. If his first directorial venture was titled Makdee, his second film adapted from the Shakespearean tragedy Macbeth was called Maqbool. “I had earlier called my Macbeth-inspired film Maqbool Miyan. But people felt that it had a communal tinge to it. So I settled for Maqbool.”

Now Bharadwaj finds himself in another title dilemma. “The title for my Othello is Omkara. That's what Ajay Devgan's character is going to be called. I feel the name suggests both power and spirituality. It's the perfect title.”

Unfortunately, Bharadwaj may not be allowed to go ahead with his 'perfect' title. The producers of the desi Othello are sold on a more conventional title – O Saathi Re.

But Bharadwaj is adamant. “In any case, I don't make conventional films. So I don't have to go with a conventional title so Othello should be called Omkara,” says Bharadwaj who's currently travelling through the interiors of Maharashtra in search of locations for his Othello.

O Saathi Re??? Man, I hope Vishal gets his wish and sticks with the much more original and striking "Omkaara".