Art & Culture

Literature is represented through various ways like paintings, films, theatre and much more. Today we find that film adaptation has gained much prominence in this. Film adaptation is a dialogic process though often considered as a derivative work type. It is the transference of a written work, in whole or in part, to a feature film. In a media context, it can be defined as: “An altered or amended version of a text, musical composition, and one adapted for filming, broadcasting or production on the stage from a novel or similar literary sources.” The process of casting one genre to another generic mode often includes trimming and pruning. But at the same time it can be taken as a process of expansion, addition and interpolation. In this context the writings of William Shakespeare have been one of the potential sources of adaptation. According to studies the dramatic adaptations of Shakespearean play texts started as early as the Restoration period. Other genres like poetry, novels and films have engaged themselves with Shakespeare too. The themes of Shakespearean plays are so universal that even the dream world of children could not remain unaffected by them for long. Disney the fantasy genre of children has made several movies based on Shakespearean plays. The Lion King borrows its plot from Hamlet, turning the protagonists into lions. Forbidden Planet which is today recognized as one of the first science fiction films also has a literary clout and was based on The Tempest.
The renowned filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj has achieved notable critical success worldwide with his three adaptations of Shakespeare, ‘Maqbool’ (Macbeth), ‘Omkara’ (Othello) and ‘Haider’ (Hamlet). This answer focuses on understanding the classic of William Shakespeare ‘Othello’ as it has been adapted by Vishal Bhardwaj to suit the Indian sensibilities in his film Omkara. The story is popular and has a universal appeal because as Dr. Samuel Johnson rightly said that Shakespeare’s works are “just representation of general nature”. Largely the focus is on two areas. Firstly, in what ways has the director modified the actual text and secondly, in what way he has retained the flavor of Shakespeare. Omkara the film begins with a credit that reads “Vishal Bhardwaj’s adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello”. The year 2007 marked the 385th anniversary of the first publication of Othello. Omkara stands as a worthy successor to the well known cinematic adaptations of Shakespearean texts like Akira Kursawa’s Throne of Blood (based on Macbeth) and Bhardwaj’s own Maqbool. The film casts major stars in challenging and atypical roles, resulting in uniformly brilliant performances. For those who are not familiar with the Venetian domestic tragedy Othello, the film Omkara seems like a suspicion thriller. Some people have also pointed out that the themes of the film are taken from the Hindu epic– the Mahabharata (power and the politics of power). However, for those who have not read Othello the ending comes as a surprise and they are bound to enjoy the film. The film’s characters are given names that either sound like original names of Othello or begin with the same letter as those in the play. For a reader who has studied Othello, making a connection with names like Dolly to Desdemona and Othello to Omkara becomes easier.
Omkara contains all the climatic ingredients which place it in the annals of a few global cinematic adaptations of William Shakespeare. The plot of the film is set in rural Uttar Pradesh, a place where even today the Indian Government does not have a complete hold. In India the remote areas have a law to themselves, which is by them and for them. This setting factor gives certain space to crudeness into the film. The rich wordplay of Shakespeare is thus replaced by the dialect of the place and assumes a bit of profanity. The storyline is given various twists and turns to suit the rural set up. The story adapts the frame of local political strategies. Since no scene can be viewed beyond the rural setting, the brilliance of the director in adaptation is highlighted. The very first scene of the film sets the stage for a politically and violently charged rural atmosphere. All adaptations work within a cultural setup and thus films based on literary works often maintain a distance from the original text even while engaging with it. Same is applicable to the film Omkara. In the play while Othello stands alone, Omkara is given an entire household. He is referred to as “adhaa- bahmaan” meaning half breed to emphasize the element of casteism as is obsereved in the Indian society. Unlike racism in the play, casteism occupies the central stage in the film. The object questioning Desdemona’s fidelity is an embroidered handkerchief in Othello, while it is an ancestral waist band for Dolly. The jewel piece completely justifies with the age old heritage concept within the Indian society. One of the major scenes in the film which directly appeals to the Indian mind is the omen which occurs before the wedding of Dolly and Omkara. An eagle dropping a snake in the auspicious wedding ‘haldi ceremony’ completely prepares the audience for the upcoming misfortune. There is no such omen in the play. The scenes taken from Indian wedding rituals like the ‘ haldi ceremony’, eagle signifying misfortune are more relevant in the Indian context and when presented with audio visual effects they create more impact. The additional details like the demand of a minor politician in power, to change the destination of a train, use of mobile phones to talk and conspire portray the reality of the present day, while giving a touch of humor to the film in certain instances. Omkara stays true to the spirit of Othello. What Shakespeare did verbally, Bhardwaj did visually, though modifications are made in the film to suit the taste of the audience.
Post the year 2000, the golden age of the Indian film industry began, said Vishal Bhardwaj in an interview. The forces which led to this include rapid development in film making techniques, the huge access to internet, media and a larger audience, giving scope to the term globalization , thus. Also there is a gamut of audience for every kind of cinema. With such reassuring factors producers are ready to experiment both with the content and form of cinema and adaptations. Today the overseas market generates almost sixty five percent of a film’s total income. In such times, artists with a sensibility steeped in literary and cultural conditions are revisiting the classics for nurturing art as well for their own economic gains. “When the entire world is a stage”, Bhardwaj’s Omkara can be seen as a work that keeps the Shakespearean flavor intact while managing the plot as per the taste of the audience. The glory of the work stands testimony to the fact that still adapting the English master in a foreign tongue is no easy task. It requires deep knowledge and understanding of the actual work as well as of the socio- cultural aspects of the place where the adaptation will be framed.