Othello Vs. Omkara
Eusteen-Em Kayle F. Barte
January 20, 2014
Eng10
Michaela Atienza
Omkara, Bollywood’s Othello
When someone mentions Bollywood, the mind quickly thinks of a film where the plot is based on love triangles and romance which often ends happily ever after. This thought is accompanied with characters singing and dancing in authentic traditional costumes, like the sari (a costume for women), in an attempt to highlight a situation or mood more. Watching Bollywood is like watching recorded cultural dance shows because of how well cultural aspects are embedded in each routine. In Bollywood films, love is usually the driving force of each plot, so it is interesting to watch a film like Vishal Bhardwaj’s Omkara, an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Othello, and see how it uses love of a politician to the love of a military hero.
Omkara sets in a conservative Indian Society which is more contemporary than that of the play Othello which was set in a Venetian society between 1500 and 1750. Even though the settings differ by years and culture, the director of the film, Vishal Bhardwaj, managed to include the backbone of the story. This includes the themes revenge, deception, and love. The only obvious difference between the play and the movie is the characterization of the characters. The major one being Omkara (Othello) not being a moor. Through an analytic comparison between the play and the movie based on the plot and the characterization of Omkara reveals that Omkara successfully transforms a Venetian society-based play into one that an Indian society could enjoy, understand and relate to without removing the essence William Shakespeare.
The beginning of the movie differs greatly from the play. In the play, the plot begins with Iago planning a revenge on Othello for choosing Cassio over Iago for a promotion. On the other hand, the introduction of the movie is stretched and is longer than that of the play where it jumps straight into Iago’s plans. The movie begins
January 20, 2014
Eng10
Michaela Atienza
Omkara, Bollywood’s Othello
When someone mentions Bollywood, the mind quickly thinks of a film where the plot is based on love triangles and romance which often ends happily ever after. This thought is accompanied with characters singing and dancing in authentic traditional costumes, like the sari (a costume for women), in an attempt to highlight a situation or mood more. Watching Bollywood is like watching recorded cultural dance shows because of how well cultural aspects are embedded in each routine. In Bollywood films, love is usually the driving force of each plot, so it is interesting to watch a film like Vishal Bhardwaj’s Omkara, an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Othello, and see how it uses love of a politician to the love of a military hero.
Omkara sets in a conservative Indian Society which is more contemporary than that of the play Othello which was set in a Venetian society between 1500 and 1750. Even though the settings differ by years and culture, the director of the film, Vishal Bhardwaj, managed to include the backbone of the story. This includes the themes revenge, deception, and love. The only obvious difference between the play and the movie is the characterization of the characters. The major one being Omkara (Othello) not being a moor. Through an analytic comparison between the play and the movie based on the plot and the characterization of Omkara reveals that Omkara successfully transforms a Venetian society-based play into one that an Indian society could enjoy, understand and relate to without removing the essence William Shakespeare.
The beginning of the movie differs greatly from the play. In the play, the plot begins with Iago planning a revenge on Othello for choosing Cassio over Iago for a promotion. On the other hand, the introduction of the movie is stretched and is longer than that of the play where it jumps straight into Iago’s plans. The movie begins