Music profile: Vishal Bhardwaj
The Cairo Film Festival has been very meaningful for director - music composer Vishal Bhardwaj. Omkara, his adaptation of Shakespeare's Othello, has won the prestigious Best Artistic Contribution in Cinema of a Director award. After making his mark as a music director, Vishal directed his first feature, Makdee, a children's film, in 2002. His fascination with Shakespeare is not new. His second film, Maqbool, was an adaptation of Shakespeare's Macbeth. Maqbool made waves at the Los Angeles Film Festival and the Indian International Film Festival in Amsterdam. The director is elated after being honored at the Cairo International Festival. Not that awards are new to him but this one was special because it was considered more prestigious than the best director award. By the way, Vishal is the first Indian to win this award. What made it extra special was that veteran actor Omar Sharif gave him the award. Omkara competed in the international section with 17 other films with countries including Italy, Egypt, Spain, Hungary, and Iran. The competition was tough but Omkara could withstand the competition. While the story of Othello is well-known globally, it was Vishal’s treatment of the plot and the way he brought his characters to life that had made the film award-worthy.
Vishal has composed the music for Omkara. Gulzar has written the lyrics with his usual flair. In fact, Gulzar has worked with Vishal in all of his directorial ventures right from Makdee to Omkara. The Beedi jalaai le... number in Omkara has become popular both, for its lyrics and choreography by Ganesh Acharya. Bhushan Lakhandari, the other choreographer, has choreographed the equally popular Namak Ishq Ka... number. The eight-track album has proved a hot seller in the market.  Omkara, adapted to the Indian audience, is set in Uttar Pradesh and follows one man's journey. His journey of jealousy and sexual obsession ends disastrously. His fight between love and jealousy has been artfully portrayed by Vishal. The background of rural Uttar Pradesh provides the director with many opportunities to introduce color into an otherwise dark plot. Vishal excitedly recounts how he spent more than half an hour on stage with Omar Sharif and how the legendary actor spoke to him like a long-lost friend. While the director had been to Cairo for Makdee, which was an entry in the Children’s Film Festival, this award has been a dream come true. He finds it difficult to believe that Omkara has been honored thus. Omkara then bagged three awards at the Sixth Kara Film Festival in Karachi - for best adapted screenplay, best music award for Vishal and best actor award for Saif Ali Khan. A dream come true indeed.
|
|
| |
Hitting High Notes with Omkara
Omakra stars Ajay Devgan, Saif Ali Khan, Vivek Oberoi, Kareena
Kapoor, Bipasha Basu, Naseeruddin Shah, and Konkona Sen Sharma.
Vishal has proved that every actor can contribute something
unique in the hands of a good director. Tassaduq Hussain, the
director of photography, makes his debut in a full-fledged
feature film with Omkara. The visually arresting Omkara proves
that Hussain is one of Bollywood’s discoveries.
