Othello/Imkara Comparative analysis/project

Introduction



To Do this is within the compass of man's wit: and therefore I will attempt the doing it.




~Clown






The rights for publishing all the works of Shakespeare in India is with a small publishing house called Rupa publishing. Their main outlet is in the heart of Mumbai, a stone's throw away from Nariman point. Today, this store is all in a tumult A few people file in, responding to a small open invite in the Times of India. I am one of the twenty or so people sitting through a special screening of Omkara. The movie is the only thing in motion… even the staff are silently watching from behind the audience. Vishal Bhardwaj and Shakespeare are sitting side by side in the front row. Shakespeare is watching the movie for the first time. You can see that he is loving it.




After the screening, I buy a copy of a random Shakespearean work just to get his autograph. I go upto him and he points out Vishal Bhardwaj sitting next to him. Bhardwaj is a demure, intelligent man who smiles a little uncomfortably.




This account is fallacious on only a few counts. The author was Ruskin Bond and not Shakespeare. The movie was The blue umbrella based on Bond's The umbrella thief and not Omkara based on Shakespeare's Othello.




Bhardwaj specializes in adaptations, and has already adapted one Ruskin Bond book and two Shakespearean works (the other one being Maqbool, an adaptation of Macbeth). Here is presented, a comparative analysis of Othello and Omkara.






The Idea






I am nothing, if not critical



~Iago






Omkara was a perfect entertainment package. There were concerns about its success and acclaim before its release. I was lucky enough to hear the manager of CineMax Sion talk about the movie before its release. Othello, apparently covered a serious subject, and the people at the theatre had no idea how well it would run. They knew for sure, that a movie like Krrissh would run for sure, and it did, but something like Omkara was given, to be specific a 60-40 chance of success. Shakespeare, unfortunately lacked but one foresight, and that of an anticipation of change in language. When someone interprets, talks about or even refers to Shakespeare, it is deemed a serious subject. Othello is not a serious subject – it is something as simple as jealousy. Neutrino particles or American politics or Mass Extinction, these are the serious subjects. Jealousy is something that is universal. Shakespeare wrote the play so that it could be performed in front of everyone – not only the masses, mind, everyone, and this is the same intention of Bharadwaj while making the movie. This is a theme or a story for everyone… it talks about how humans are undone by things within us… how petty differences result in things that change our lives. It is too early to say if Omkara is a success or not, but if it is not, then it is because of the Shakespeare tag, and if it is, then it is because it tackles the subject effortlessly. Omkara, may on its face seem like Bharadwaj's show, where he has taken nothing but the plot from Othello. This however is not true, not only has Bhardwaj managed to adapt the story effortlessly, but the complex web of meaning and symbolism, all hidden beneath the layers of the original work, have all been brought to the surface – and that is where this movie becomes a masterpiece.






The Title






Can anything be made of this?



~Desdemona






Iago, or Langda Tyagi is undoubtedly the principle character in the story, whether it be the play or the movie. Why then is the play titled Othello, and the movie titled Omkara? It is an unfortunate habit of people to judge books by their covers. Imagine if indeed the play were to be titled Iago, then a lot of weightage would have been removed from the importance of Othello, and there would be no credence to the tragedy of Othello, and 'The Tragedy of Othello' is in fact the name of the play, not just 'Othello'. Titling the play Iago would kill the character of Iago, because everything that he does leads to the undoing of Othello, which is the soul of the play. The movie was titled Omkara because of a poll conducted at an advanced screening… the options being O Saathi Mere, Issack and Omkara. No comments on that one, as democracy is incomprehensible.






Pride, Honor and Jealousy






Dangerous conceits are, in their natures, poisons.



~Iago





Iago's jealousy slowly and steadily poisons Othello's mind, working against him while pretending to be on his side all the time. There is no question about this. However, what led to Othello believing in Iago? How could Othello believe Iago over his own wife that he loved? Why did Othello take steps as drastic as killing his wife? And later on, himself? The answers to the first two questions is undoubtedly, Iago's skills as a manipulative and deceitful individual. The answers to the last two, is however not clear. Critics argue that this is because of Othello's honor, of his intention of protecting his wife's honor till the end. He killed himself probably out of honor as well. He probably did not want the state, which he had served well so far, to compromise on its laws and values because of him. Therefore, he put an end to his own life. In the movie, Omkara, however, these questions are answered in a very direct fashion. Omi easily believes Langda Tyagi, because of his absolute trust in him. Omi kills his wife out of spite and anger… he cannot take the fact that someone he has loved so much could cheat on him… he says as much just before killing her, he wonders what he lacked that she wasn't satisfied by him. And then he kills himself in remorse, because he has killed his wife for no reason. The movie brings across aspects which are really difficult to notice in the play. In the movie, Omi is undone because of Billo/Bianca's pride… she comes to meet Kesufirangi/Cassio not because of jealousy of his other bedmates or for her honor, but because she is proud of her relationship with him, and the fact that he values and esteems her despite her profession. She is hurt by the belief that Kesu has lied to her. Kesu, in turn, is neither proud, nor jealous, but is victimized till almost the end, and emerges as the hero in the story. In the play Roderigo is jealous of Othello, and really lusts for Desdemona, however, in the movie, I believe that Raju's pride and honor is hurt more because Dolly backs out after she is sworn to him. No doubt he too lusts for her, but there is also the baggage of what "the people" will talk because of what happened. How far critics have interpreted this to be hidden beneath the layers in Othello, I do not know.





Othello and Iago





I never found man that knew to love himself


~Iago





Othello/Omkara Shukla: Omkara is a man who is slave to many things, the fancies of a woman he does not dare to love before he learns of her love towards him, the advices and the expectations of his seniors, and most importantly, the lies and deceit of Langda Tyagi. Othello is however, his own master, an unabashed lover, a man in servitude yet the Duke makes it look like Othello is doing him a favor and basically someone who is holding his own as an important figure in society. To bring someone like him down, can only be done from the inside, and the lies of Iago manages to do this. Shakespeare wanted to show how deception can undo the best of men, whereas Bhardwaj probably wanted to show how even those in power are controlled by factors they do not fully understand, or even know about which is particularly true in UP.



Iago/Langda Tyagi: Iago is widely considered to be one of Shakespeare's most sinister characters… everything that malice and deceit stands for. The smallest of his words and actions are cunningly directed towards one goal – to bring down Othello. They could have as easily been directed towards completely disgracing Cassio, without bringing Desdemona or Othello into the picture at all, but he chose to undo everyone, including himself. He was at least an ancient to an important man, which is no mean position. Iago is set on one thing… to bring about a great tragedy to Othello. Langda Tyagi is however, a cynic and an opportunist. In Bharadwaj's movie, the audience gets to view Iago before he has reasons to be jealous of Cassio, or have reasons to injure Othello… he is still a rapscallion, someone ready to go to any lengths to achieve his means, someone, who has the world beneath his feet, as shown in an iconic shot in Bharadwaj's film.





The backdrop



I have well approved it, Sir!


~Cassio





Something that takes the background in the move and the play is the political scenario. A Trukey-Cyprus-Venice setting was skillfully adapted into the political scenario at Uttar Pradesh, the perfect way to Indianise a play like this. The interesting thing to note here is how effortlessly both the playwright and the moviemaker managed to use this merely as an almost inert background for the characters and the plot to progress in. I cannot decide on which of the two was the more difficult thing to pull off… expressing the complexity of the scenario just a few stray lines in the play, or of depicting in visually in the movie, and still managing to give it no more importance than a mere milieu for the people in the movie. Achieving either, I guess deserves considerable praise.





Language





But words are words; I never did hear


That the bruised heart was pierced through the ear


~Brabantio





The first time I saw Omkara was on a pirated CD. Someone had held the camera upto the theatre screen, in the stalls of Eros Cinema, and then made VCDs out of the footage. The pathetic print quality came with the best sound possible, because the camera had recorded the audience response along with the movie. The theatre was in an uproar every time Langda Tyagi (Iago) had a sarcastic line to crack, or with the frustrated abuses of the other characters. Omkara is the first Indian film to be released with uncensored abuses, and there may be many reasons why Bhardwaj has done this. One might argue that it was his intention to take the story of Othello to the masses, or such a language was requisite for an authentic adaptation into such a setting. I suppose the best way to look at it is going back to Shakespeare's original. His plays have endured over the centuries because of their universal nature… there have been innumerable adaptations of his work, and that is why he has become so famous. He has become famous not because of interpretations and analysis of his works can occupy critics for lifetimes, critics can be occupied with a comma, for a lifetime – but because they simply never go out of fashion. As mentioned, Shakespeare wrote for humanity, and the raw, even vulgar language that we see used in Omkara, is really not that different from the language used in the original. Although, Iago is the only character with a prominently rampant tongue, whereas it's the lingo of Omkara. This falls in line with the idea that Bhardwaj, after understanding Shakespeare, has brought to the surface those things that are subdued and hidden beneath the layers of text in the original work.





Race





By heaven, I rather would have been his hangman


~Roderigo





Something repeatedly stressed upon in the movie was that Ajay Devgan was half a Brahmin. It was a repetitive allusion, and a confusing one at that. What was Bhardwaj trying to say by making him, in terms of the play, half-black? A possible answer arises out of a debate, that is not raging for four hundred years, but is pretty unsettled for as long. Shakespeare, overlooked making it clear whether Othello the moor was of Arabic Bedouin origin or African black origin – an individual from either race could have been in Othello's position in Venice . Critics have been undecided over this point over the years. Therefore it is unclear whether Othello was from a rich and royal background or not… this is unclear even in the movie, but I believe the reason for Omi to be halves of two races is an allusion to this unsettled debate. The adaptation is marvelous on the count that it portrays authentically what I believe to be the situation in UP, and what I interpret to be the situation in Venice – Cyprus from the play. While people take pride in the purity of race, like does Desdemona/Dolly's father in both the cases, but are not really biased in the lack of it or of a supposedly inferior race, as is the Duke of Venice/Bhaisaheb in both the cases. Another interesting thing to note here is that, in Omkara, while whiteness is appreciated, it is also ridiculed and mocked.



The Story and the Plot





I think this tale would win my daughter too


~Duke of Venice





Langda Tyagi's nature and abilities is not really different from the vamps of the saas-bahu soaps aired on television. There is a primordial fear of being manipulated and without even knowing that we are… this is because the realization that Omkara has near the end of the movie, that it was all a plot by Landa Tyagi is the kind of realization many of us have many times over in our own lives. The theme, on of jealousy, is universal, the concept of an evil manipulator, is universally feared. The story is simple, although the plot is not.



In the movie, Omkara, the people are woven around the plot. They act and behave in accordance with Langda Tyagi's wishes, and he directs them till he is undone by his own wife at the climax. Omkara is all about the unfolding of the story, how Tyagi manages to bring about such a huge tragedy.



In stark contrast, the play, is however about the people. They all have distinct identities and personalities of their own. For example, Bhaisaheb, played by Naseeruddin Shah in the movie, has no role to play except where he steps in to bring about a change in the direction in which the story is going – a twist in the tale, whereas in Othello, the Duke of Venice has a very distinct and important personality. In the play, the plot is just another character, interacting with everyone in the play, with a distinct personality of its own.



Either way, jealousy takes a backseat, although it is the theme of the story. The viewers are not left with questions… they are left with a simple message – all men are weak, and they bring about each other's undoing.



There are many insignificant differences between the movie and the play, Brabantio, or entirely forgives the moor, or at least pretends to do so in front of the Duke of Venice, however Dolly's Father not walks away rudely in front of Omi and Bhaisaheb when he learns of his daughter's affections towards Omi. Roderigo never jumps into the water like Raju does, although he does threaten to. Desdemona is apparently demure and shy and has spurned so many suitors that her father, Brabantio has doubts about her inclination to marry at all – however Dolly is bold and wild spirited and was in fact, engaged to Raju (Roderigo) before she takes up with Omi. There are many more, but these needn't be discussed, the changes in the climax, are however worth discussing.





The climax





O Bloody Period!


~Lodovico





Othello ends with Othello killing Desdemona, and then himself, with Iago under the custody of Cassio thanks to Emelia. However in Omkara, Othello kills Dolly, and then Emelia kills Iago, and Kesu survives to walk upto Omkara, who kills himself.



This change in the story is interesting for one reason. Emilia does not come across as such a strong person in the play, although she literally condemns her husband to death and torture. Here in the movie, Indu loves and dotes on Tyagi as much as Dolly does Omi, and yet kills her own husband when she feels the necessity. Bhardwaj changed the ending probably to highlight on the strength of a character nor fully realized by Shakespeare's audiences.





Conclusion




Nay, it is possible enough to judgement


I do not so secure me in the error,


But the main article I do approve


In fearful sense.


~Duke of Venice





This has been an attempt to analyze and compare two works of art. However a lot of themes, like the sexual connotations (the play did give me the feeling that Iago loved Desdemona), or the references to heaven and hell are not covered. In fact, the areas of overlap between the play and the movie are about the only things taken up in this analysis, the remaining portions of both the play and the movie are ignored. These words might be written with confidence, but it is just my humble opinion, I cannot pretend to comprehend the intentions, hidden or apparent of Shakespeare, or Bhardwaj, if at all one is forced to look at the play or the movie as anything more than entertainment.