Vishal Bharadwaj is fascinated with Shakespearan drama and one of his finest works is his interpretation of Shakespeare's Macbeth – Maqbool. Omkara stays true to the central theme of Othello whilst humanizing Shakespeare's characters with the necessary folklore and ethnic charm that is required for a contemporary Indian story setting.
Set against the milieu of political warfare in the interior of Uttar Pradesh, the film follows one man's descent into sexual jealousy because of his passionate love for his woman and the final destruction of that love at the altar of blind obsession. Love is blind but jealousy is even blinder and that can tear apart even the strongest and bravest of warriors. Omkara (Ajay Devgan) is a gifted chieftain who heads a gang of outlaws, which include the crafty Langda (Saif Ali Khan) and the dynamic Kesu (Vivek Oberoi) amongst his chief cohorts. The story begins when Omi appoints Kesu and not Langda as his chief lieutenant. Langda's pride is slighted and raging with envy he hatches a plot to falsely implicate Omi's beautiful wife Dolly (Kareena Kapoor) in a love affair with Kesu. With the unwitting aid of Indu (Konkana Sen Sharma), Langda's wife, and the willing help of Raju (Naseeruddin Shah), a fellow grouch, Langda's plan takes shape and results in horrific tragedy. Using petty insinuations and lies, Langda keeps poisoning Omi's mind till one day it snaps and Omi goes about tearing up his own safe and secure world.
Eros announced the launch of the movie at a party in recent Cannes Film Festival where the producer, the director and lead actors were all present to promote what should be the first of the Bollywood summer blockbusters. The movie is out in cinemas nationwide on 28th July
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