As Vishal Bhardwaj’s earthy and unflinching adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Othello, Omkara, completes 20 years later this month, the film continues to be remembered as one of Hindi cinema’s finest literary adaptations.
Saif Ali Khan in a still from Omkara.As Vishal Bhardwaj’s earthy and unflinching adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Othello, Omkara, completes 20 years later this month, the film continues to be remembered as one of Hindi cinema’s finest literary adaptations. Set in the hinterlands of North India, the film explored themes of caste, power and patriarchy through a stellar ensemble cast. While every performance was widely appreciated, Saif’s portrayal of the ruthless Langda Tyagi remains one of the most celebrated performances of his career. In a recent interview, Saif recalled an unusual request from director Vishal Bhardwaj while filming one of Langda Tyagi’s most memorable scenes. ‘If you direct me naked, I’ll do it’ Saif revealed that Bhardwaj had suggested he perform a scene naked. “I remember one incident from the film. There was a kind of long dialogue in front of this mirror. And I remember Vishal ji saying, ‘Would you mind doing it naked?’ It was a very exciting thing, but I was a bit conscious because there was a huge crowd on the set. So I remember saying to him, ‘Listen, if you direct me naked, I’ll do it.’ And he said, ‘No, I won’t.’ So, yeah, that was the funny part,” he shared in a chat with The Hollywood Reporter India.Looking back, Saif admitted he regrets turning down the idea and feels it could have elevated the scene further. “Even now, when I look back, I wouldn’t have minded. Maybe I should have, in the sense that he shoots from the back, in silhouette. I think it would have looked great. Since we were doing new things, this would have been something. Yeah, I mean, I’d do it today.” Saif also revealed that Bhardwaj completely reworked the scene at the last minute. “There was a long dialogue where I was saying, ‘You haven’t made me the Bahubali, and now I’ll do this,’ etc., making very explicit his ideas of revenge to the mirror. At the last minute, he came up to me on set and said, ‘I don’t want you to say any dialogues. I’ve got an idea.'” The actor went on to describe the director’s vision for the scene. “So he said, ‘I want you to stand in front of the mirror. I’ll come in on a trolley behind you, we’ll give you some metal in your hand, something heavy, like a hammer, and I want you to smash the mirror yourself and break it. Hopefully it’ll fracture into these different pieces of your face. Your hand will bleed from the impact of hitting it, and I want you to rub the blood across your whole forehead, anoint yourself with blood, and you’re going to get him. That’s it. You don’t need to say any dialogues.’ And I thought, ‘Yes, you’re right. I don’t need to. This is the whole scene in one shot.’ And how economical and clever. So there were lots of things like that happening.” ‘Aamir Khan wanted to alter things’ Earlier, in a conversation with Film Companion, Saif had also spoken about reports that Aamir Khan was originally considered for the role of Langda Tyagi. Recalling what Bhardwaj had told him about his discussions with Aamir, Saif said, “Yes, that is what I heard later.” He added, “Vishal said, ‘He was asking me a lot of questions and he wanted to alter things.'” Saif further said, “Aamir must have just had a discussion with him, but Vishal apparently said he would call him back and then called me instead. He just said it is not going to work because he wasn’t sure it was going to go the way Aamir wanted. It was not something Vishal was comfortable with following.” Saif Ali Khan was last seen in Kartavya.
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