Omkara

AV – ****
EV – ***

Macbeth became Maqbool
And Othello became Omkara
Both these movies are oh! so cool
This marks the begining of Vishal’s era
Fortunately, the movie has no similarities with my rhyme!

Omkara is a tragic love story set at the backdrop of political turmoil in the rustic locales of UP (actually shot in Beed, Maharashtra). Omkara Shukla (Ajay “I still cant shake off my brooding image” Devgun) is the main henchman of a political bigwig (Naseeruddin “somebody gimme a meatier role” Shah). Omkara’s trusted sidekicks are Langda Tyagi (Saif “I can do any role” Ali Khan) & Kesu (Vivek “Kisna screwed my career” Oberoi). Dolly (Kareena “Im pretty impressive” Kapoor) is Omi bhaiyya’s love interest but was supposed to marry one Mr. “always in suit, even in the scorching sun” but is kidnapped in the first frame itself by Omi. They stay together, waiting for the auspicious day to get married.
Everything goes fine from then on - the usual politics and the occasional shootouts. Things take a turn for worse when Kesu is named the baahubali in place of Langda
as he is the educated one. Jealousy drives Langda to malign poor Kesu’s image in front of Omkara and that forms the plot of the movie.

Omkara banks on superb performances and a solid screenplay. The proceedings keep to interested, especially whenever Langda is on the screen. The dialogues are witty when required else pretty harsh with all the imaginable profanities thrown in. Moreover every now and then you struggle to keep up with the dialect but then the effect wouldn’t have been the same without it. Music is in sync with the movie and the tracks make for a neat complilation. “Beedi” – the desi dance number with rythm guitars stands out as one of the most innovative songs of the year. Vishal the composer deserves applause here.

Talking about performances, Ajay Devgun gets the role he is used to playing and expectedly he does fine. Kareena gets to display a wide range of emotions are she does a neat job (read: a couple of nominations for sure). Naseeruddin Shah’s role is small, plus he doesn’t get a chance to display his potential. Vivek Oberoi does okay, actually you hardly notice him in the movie. Bipasha (special appearance), leaves her mark with two dance numbers. Kokana Sen does a fantastic job playing Langda’s wife but its Saif who yet again proves that he has got a trick or two up his sleeve. He gets into the skin of Langda Tyaagi and rocks the movie completely and walks away with the best lines. The guy never fails to surprise. Overall, Omkara is pretty dark and it will be remembered as a worthy adaptation of the tragic Shakespearean love story. Hats off to Vishal Bharadwaj for making a genuinely good movie.He wove the political uncertainties and love story neatly without any loose ends showing off.

If you live on a diet of Karan Johar movies, stay away. If you want to spend that idyllic evening with your babe watching Omkara, then fuh-get about it. This is serious gritty stuff – stuff which seperates the boys from the Bard. 

-Arun 
 

Corporate

A.V: ** 1/2

E.V: **

When I went to see this movie with my friends, we expected to be subjected to a class of business strategy and business ethics. Thankfully, it portrays business to be more than just signing deals and boardroom politics, which is what most of the past movies would show. Quite familiar to Page 3 in terms of storyline, Corporate tries to tell us that real cinema does not have to revolve around underworld and the middle class. Because inside those glass tinted buildings, things are not as perfect as they seem to be. This premise is acceptable as business is perceived to be linked to profits and so to exploitation. Is it really so?
As can be made out from the promos, there are two rival companies (Sehgal Group and Marwah Group) engaged in a game of one up-manship. Sanjiv Sehgal (Rajat Kapoor), the shrewd and steely monarch of the Sehgal group is willing to go to any lengths to keep the foreign investors happy and establish himself as a business icon. Ditto for his competitor, Dharmesh Marwah ( Raj Babbar), who is reserved, calculating and as willing to use all available resources to be the number one. Both have a dedicated team of executives aiding them on decisions ranging from strategic acquisitions, product development and of course competitive strategy. The strong and ambitious Nishi (Bipasha Basu) is one of these key members. Putting her past behind, she manages to climb the corporate ladder and commands respect from her colleagues and competitors. At the same time she is not averse to bending the rules a bit to get at her competitors secrets. Ritesh (Kay Kay Menon) is her emotional support and together both of them make a formidable team.
Just as in Page 3, the dark side of corporate politics is made up by dysfunctional characters, corrupt politicians, lecherous executives, power hungry groups and also a few good souls (surprise!). The drivers in Page 3 are substituted by peons here. The storyline is not path breaking but at least well researched. The first half is a narrative while the action picks up in the second half. The movie drags towards the end when there is a high dose of melodrama. Kay Kay Menon does a good job though his character does not have much bearing on the proceedings. Minissha Lamba has a very limited role as the promising business graduate, but her innocence stands out among all the negativity. Rajat Kapoor is a treat to watch and you can see the greed in his eyes and arrogance in his voice all through the movie. The movie however belongs to Bipasha, dignified and underplaying herself here. It is tough to think that this is the same Bipasha who was in No Entry that, I feel it comes down to the director ultimately.
Madhur Bhandarkar has always used women as the protagonist in his films. Here too, he must be commended for showing a woman who had broken the glass ceiling and takes on the world on her terms. It is also good that the men working with her are not insecure about themselves. Nishi could have been an example of a successful woman had she not been forced to become the repressed soul. It seems wasted that a confident person like her would depend on her lover, again reducing her to the typical suffering soul. Which brings us to the age-old question: Do women have to sacrifice their careers ultimately?
A reasonable follow up to Page 3, though if you are someone looking for placements few months from now, it can be depressing to watch. But between the topline and the bottomline, everything is not just black or white.

-Suprateek Sinha