Sarkailo Shakespeare

Cool-‘n’-casual: Strumming a guitar, she’s learning the lyrics of the pop ballad I just called to say I love you. So what if her guy can’t tell the difference between Stevie Wonder and Bori Bunder? Heart-bracingly, there are several such engaging moments. Maan gaye ustad.

Indeed Vishal Bhardwaj’s Omkara is outstandingly crafted, embellished by top calibre performances. And it expertly recreates the ambience of a lawless township in Uttar Pradesh.

The script zeroes in on the dramatis personae of Othello – which has spawned over 30 film versions right from the silent era. Intermittently, Bhardwaj catches the fatalism of Shakespeare’s tragedy, like the time a vulture drops an asp almost into a bride’s lap. Gasp.