How “Omkara” Was Made
Omkara just got released on July 28, 2006 across theaters in India. Viewers and critics alike are going gaga over this adaptation from William Shakespeare’s Othello. Vishal Bharadwaj’s Omkara took four months in the making and was picturized across diverse locales like Lucknow, Lonavala, Allahabad, Mumbai, and Wai.
A village set was constructed near a small town, Wai, in north Maharashtra. The location was carefully selected between a lake and mountains. The set was constructed facing east, so that sunlight was available since early morning for shooting purposes. The set represents a small village in UP, which looks pretty authentic with details well looked into. The entire set is believed to cost two crores, which was constructed from scratch on a patch of vacant land. The shooting attracted many curious onlookers from neighboring villages, who appeared bemused over the architectural deviation from a typical Maharashtra village.
Outside Maharashtra, a lot of legwork saw some interesting locales in UP being picked for shooting. A lonely temple outside Allahabad was chosen and the actors were transported in helicopters. Shooting was a tough job with surging crowds barely being managed by the police force. Another tough shooting sequence was enacted at the Lucknow University. The University was covered with posters of Viveik Oberoi, a student leader in the movie. It created a ruckus of sorts with the students union objecting to the posters. Mercifully, the shooting concluded before things took a serious turn.
Shots after the interval are mostly night scenes, which required elaborate soft lighting techniques very ably handled to provide some stunning visuals. In fact, lighting has been used very intelligently to supplement and compliment the story. Costumes were also well thought out to suit the characters. Saif looks great in his short hair and beard, a look accentuated by soorma in the eyes, and blackened teeth. Each character in this Bollywood movie was adorned with costumes that gel well with the character.
Omkara is a well-made movie and is expected to do well at the box office. More about it later.