have not listened to the album yet, but judging by promos both the title song and beedi are awesome!

mola miyan ! being a huge gulzar fan!! apun ko yeh album kuch jama nai

mugambo khush nahi hua

that is surprising to hear dude, I was sure that the vishal/gulzar combo wld produce a great album…(as they have done in the past). though I am putting off listening to the actual album, I want to watch the film first. but just by the promos I am loving the title track, and I agree w/ your review above, 'beedi' (esp the video) is very 'u.p. bihar lootne'-ish.

also hope to hear some good bgm on the album, as in maqbool. anyone remember the last time vishal did a daaku-drama, vinay shukla’s godmother, it had an awesome score. and if I am not mistaken, I think it won best score also

vishal is talented! but he sticks to pahadi based tunes, that kinda r riminicsnet to each other! bekhudi, satya, hu tu tu, makdi, maacis, u will find a very common element in there!!

I thought his LKKBKG was path breaking for him!!

Maqbool, was excellent, esp qawali, Diler's number! and Gulzar's lyrics!!
Film like Maqbool, does not need hit songs imho! so, Omkara might not!!
Imho, Vishal tried to use happening path with Namak/beedi to mix up, his pahadi element! but this rustic did not give me good feelings! I am surprised my self!

I think his arrangements lack ZING in fast paced songs and in soft/slow paced they lack, creativity/innovation/depth of composition!

Like that So Ja song is a love song composed in lullaby lane!

hmm.. will need to listen to the omkara album in full



agree abt his 'pahadi' style tunes, but I don't see that as a knock towards his music… especially in the case of omkara, where the film calls for a 'pahadi' flavored album. and he has shown versatility with albums like "lklkbk" and "chupke se"… or even an album like "paanch" which was almost like a hybrid rock album

btw, which vishal film is bekhudi?? according to imdb the only bekhudi is the 1992 rahul rawail film



have not heard namak, but I thought beedi was pretty successful as an up-beat item type song(w/ rustic elements) along the lines of say songs like… 'babuji zara dheere chalo' or 'u.p. bihar lootne'

After Rang De Basanti, this is the only soundtrack I've liked this year so far. Bharadwaj seems to have a desirable fascination with every aspect of the filmmaking process, his passion certainly cultivates him.

and how abt omkara it is very reminicent of Lagaan songs!! So I still stay with my first time opinion!!that Vishal is hanging in between SEL and Rehman for this album, not meeting either ways!

While I never felt the same for Maqbool, I adored that album! like I did Rehman's Meenaxi!!

and just to emhasize here!! I am commenting on OMKARA as an INDIVIDUAL album, not on Vishal's potential and talent!!
Even an overtly talented person, may not be able to weave same magic all the time! and on another note!! If I did not like Omkara as much as Maqbool, that does not rule out a different opinion from a different listener!

Arsh, I have to disagree with you. I would have Vishal Bhardwaj's work somewhere in between A.R Rahman and the Tamil great Ilayaraja. Rustic beats mixed with a modern sound. And I believe Vishal is a far, far greater composer than the team of S-E-L. They are relying on the same regurgative tunes now with their latest work in KANK being the prime example. Not one decent track there.

Getting back to "Omkara", I think Vishal has outdone himself from his previous outing, "Maqbool". Nearly every song (with "Namak" being the weakest track but even this number is better than 90% of the trash being composed these days) is a treat for the ears.

Yaar!! You guys are off track here!!

I did say KANK was REHASHED KHNH earlier..period!!

I am again saying that OMKARA is NOT AS GOOD AS MAQBOOL was! that is my bottom line!

If you have like OMKARA better than MAQBOOL or the same then we are talkin on same line otherwise we are talking about different issues here!

DVD_C.. I will second you on that... Awesome soundtrack...the Beedi song.. blows you away !....definately the 3rd best soundtrack of the year...(RDB and Fanaa being the other two)

I am beginning to wonder how much of this film will resemble vinay shukla’s godmother(which vishal did the music for). I was reading a vishal interview the other day and he said something along the lines of how he shot omkara/the u.p. landscape in the style of leone. vinay shukla had said the same thing about godmother. and both films have the political mafia/rural setting thing going for it. not to mention, the character of bhaisaab(naseer) sounds a lot like the character of kesubhai(govind namdeo) from godmother… and how they both become political mentors for up-and-coming gang leaders(ajay in omkara/milind gunaji in godmother). will be interesting to find out…

Does anyone have an idea what certificate/rating Omkara is likely to get to the UK release? Nothing appeared on the BBFC site as yet and it opens this Friday

Ali

Isn't this being released by Eros? do they ever certify their films in advance?!?!

interesting saif interview... agree if he had not cut his hair he wld have definitely looked liked nirmal...



Like we all know, Omkara is based on Shakespeare’s play Othello. How much scope did you see for yourself, when you were offered this role?

I think the fact that this film is based on a famous play by William Shakespeare, is what sets it apart. It’s not only an adaptation but very true to the original. It was one of the few formats that were suited to Indian sensibilities. Shakespeare used to write for the front benchers. The most attractive part of this project is that it is based on something special.

You’ve surprised everyone with your new look in the film. Tell us something about that

Well, Langda Tyagi is a political mafia thug in Western Bihar. When I was offered the role, a lot of changes were required in my look. I had long hair at that time. However, after Nirmal Pandey’s role in Bandit Queen, long hair would have no longer been original for a rural Bihar setting. We worked on the character’s look from head to toe. We started with a crew cut, put scars on the face along with the yellow teeth and earrings. There was a limp of course because the character’s name is Langda. So all this required quite a lot of preparation

It is said that the greatest evil is born out of the greatest love. How true do you think that is?

I think Othello is an extremely powerful play. Omkara is very true to that. It is not exactly a feel good movie and that is the USP of the film. The story is satisfying but it dwells on the darker emotions of human beings. A lot of people know what its like to be jealous. Unfortunately, a lot of people also know what its like to suspect your partner cheating on you. It is extremely disturbing and you do crazy things. It makes you do things that you wish you hadn’t done. Most of the aspects of the original play have been retained in the movie. Omkara is as true to Othello as Maqbool was to Macbeth.

The music of the film has a lot of latkas and jhatkas. How much did you enjoy that?

I think one of the biggest advantages of the film is that our director, Vishal Bharadwaj is also the music director. It’s a sort of one man army. His sense of background music and film music is tremendous. Ganesh Acharya has choreographed ‘Beedi Jalayle’ with the kind of abandon and jhatkas that only a Hindi film set in a rural area can have. It is so expressive. It was a joy to watch what Vivek and Bipasha have done and also what they made me do as Langda Tyagi

You kind of bailed Bipasha out, during the shooting of the song. Apparently she was terrified of the dancers.

No I did not! I think it was such an authentic setting. I don’t think those men in the video have seen a beautiful woman in the last 50 years. So you have 500 frustrated and desperate men leering! I think Bipasha was a little uncomfortable. But they were all good boys.

How was it to work with the other co-stars?

Well Ajay Devgan is always fun to work with. He gives me a lot of space to perform. I think he has done a fantastic job in this film. It is as if he was born to play Omkara. It is a very controlled lion like performance. The energy of the two characters is very interesting to watch. Konkana Sen is a sparkling actress and she is so natural. She actually brightens up the screen. I think Kareena has also done something really fantastic. She is a commercially successful actress. Yet she was so at home playing something so earthy. It is not something you would expect from her. But she has taken it up and delivered really well. Vivek Oberoi has been cast very well. He has acted well. It’s a well cast movie. Naseer saab of course is great as always. Even the character actors in the film are phenomenal.

Did you have any tough experiences on the set?

There were quite a few, actually. When the beedi song started, the choreographer told me to start moving to the music. I kind of started shaking my head. He told me that it’s not a trance party or a western song. The village guy will dance differently. So that was quite funny. There were no bad experiences. There was this shot where I am in the shadows, looking at a mirror. My director suggested that it would be very artistic and beautiful if I did it naked. I said that I am prepared to do that as long as he directs me naked. He said he wouldn’t so that didn’t happen. It was funny.

Weren’t you nervous about the new look? How did Vishal Bharadwaj convince you?

That was not such big deal. The big deal was learning the lines and getting an authentic accent and body language. The look wasn’t exactly unique. A lot of people look like that. My effort was just to try and look authentic. Cutting your hair is no big deal, really. The media makes it sound like it’s the biggest thing. It’s really not. It’s just a hair cut.

What was your first reaction when you heard the script?

I just thought ‘wow’! Its going to be a mind-blowing western mafia meets Shakespearean love story. It’s a little like the old Italian western films where you see sweaty characters and can actually smell them! Vishal is good as a film director, music director and writer.

really!