# Omkara (ओमकारा) (2006 film)
**Omkara** (ओमकारा) is a 2006 Hindi-language crime drama directed by [Vishal Bhardwaj](https://www.edgepedia.org/vishal-bhardwaj) that adapts Shakespeare's *Othello* to the gangster-politics of contemporary [Uttar Pradesh](https://www.edgepedia.org/uttar-pradesh) in north India.[1](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/omkara) It was Bhardwaj's second Shakespeare film, following *Maqbool* (2003), an adaptation of *Macbeth*, and was followed by *Haider* (2014), based on *Hamlet*.[2](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/bleed-bleed-poor-country-shakespeare-indian-screen) Released on 28 July 2006, it drew modest audiences at first but became one of the most discussed Indian screen adaptations of Shakespeare, winning five [National Film Awards](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-film-awards) and eighteen Filmfare nominations among other honors.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/omkara) • [4](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-details/omkara/movieawards/61283112.cms)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Source and setting | Transposition of *Othello* to the political mafia of eastern Uttar Pradesh; released 28 July 2006[1](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/omkara) • [3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/omkara) |
| Principal cast | Ajay Devgn (Omkara "Omi" Shukla), Kareena Kapoor (Dolly Mishra), Saif Ali Khan (Ishwar "Langda" Tyagi), Vivek Oberoi (Kesu Firangi), Konkona Sen Sharma (Indu), Naseeruddin Shah (Bhaisaab)[5](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/cast_crew.php?movieid=306) |
| Creative team | Screenplay by Bhardwaj, Robin Bhatt, and Abhishek Chaubey; music by Bhardwaj; lyrics by Gulzar; cinematography by Tassaduq Hussain[1](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/omkara) |
| National Film Awards (2006) | Special Jury Award to Bhardwaj; Best Supporting Actress to Konkona Sen Sharma; three Best Audiography awards (K. J. Singh, Subhash Sahu, Shajith Koyeri)[6](https://dff.nic.in/images/Documents/48_54sthNfaArchives.pdf) • [4](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-details/omkara/movieawards/61283112.cms) |
| Other awards | Nine Filmfare Awards (Kareena Kapoor, Best Actor/Actress Critics; Saif Ali Khan, Best Villain) and three IIFA Awards; nominated for eighteen Filmfare awards in total[4](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-details/omkara/movieawards/61283112.cms) • [1](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/omkara) |
| Box office | Worldwide gross $16,466,144, of which $1,244,576 domestic (US) and $15,221,568 international[7](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0488414/credits/) |
| Runtime | About 155 minutes (2h 35m)[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/omkara) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and characters
Omkara Shukla, called Omi, is a bandit chief and enforcer who works for Bhaisaab ([Naseeruddin Shah](https://www.edgepedia.org/naseeruddin-shah)), a populist politician modeled on the Duke of Venice.[1](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/omkara) • [8](https://www.eastman.org/omkara) The film opens with Omi abducting Dolly Mishra from her own wedding procession; when her father, the lawyer Raghunath Mishra, demands her return, Bhaisaab smooths the situation over, and Dolly stays with Omi by choice.[9](https://www.filmibeat.com/bollywood/movies/omkara/story.html)
The tragedy begins when Omi, promoted to a more legitimate role within Bhaisaab's party, names Kesu ([Vivek Oberoi](https://www.edgepedia.org/vivek-oberoi), in the Cassio role) as his successor instead of his long-serving lieutenant Langda Tyagi ([Saif Ali Khan](https://www.edgepedia.org/saif-ali-khan), in the Iago role).[8](https://www.eastman.org/omkara) Langda, whose nickname means "lame" and refers to the limp with which he walks, plots against Omi by planting the suspicion that Kesu and Dolly are having an affair.[1](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/omkara) The conspiracy ends with Omi smothering Dolly to death and taking his own life once he realizes she did not betray him.[10](https://www.gradesaver.com/omkara/study-guide/literary-elements)
The adaptation transfers each Shakespearean role into locally plausible names: Ishwar "Langda" Tyagi for Iago, Dolly Mishra for Desdemona, Keshav "Kesu Firangi" Upadhyay for Cassio, Billo Chamanbahar ([Bipasha Basu](https://www.edgepedia.org/bipasha-basu)) for Bianca, and Indu ([Konkona Sen Sharma](https://www.edgepedia.org/konkona-sen-sharma)), Langda's wife, for Emilia, a role built up into a feisty woman who is both Iago's wife and, in the film's framing, close to Omi's family.[1](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/omkara) • [11](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/jul/30/philipfrench2) The reviewer Philip French, writing in *The Guardian*, noted that mobile phones take the place of Shakespeare's eavesdropping and that an erotic, bejewelled waistband (kamarbandh) replaces the handkerchief as the compromising token; a scholar writing in 2026 likewise identifies the heirloom kamarbandh as the object onto which the film transfers relational certainty.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/jul/30/philipfrench2) • [12](https://www.the-criterion.com/primitive-certainty-and-tragic-action-post-jungian-mechanisms-in-omkara/) In one scene, Kesu teaches the innocent Dolly to sing [Stevie Wonder](https://www.edgepedia.org/stevie-wonder)'s "I Just Called to Say I Love You", which fuels Omi's jealousy.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/jul/30/philipfrench2)
## Production and adaptation choices
**From *Maqbool* to *Omkara*.** Bhardwaj wrote in a 2006 account published by *Hindustan Times* that he had read *Othello* long before, returned to it after finishing the children's film *Blue Umbrella*, and decided to take "the basic thread of Shakespeare's story" and make the characters his own; he chose the play because it contains love, passion, jealousy, and crime.[13](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/rewriting-shakespeare-in-omkara/story-muz07FA7WPUbS6Pc53glfK.html) He set the story in the political mafia of Uttar Pradesh, a region he knew from growing up in Meerut.[13](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/rewriting-shakespeare-in-omkara/story-muz07FA7WPUbS6Pc53glfK.html) • [14](https://www.telegraphindia.com/jharkhand/don-t-compare-with-maqbool/cid/1646255) His co-writer Abhishek Chaubey later said the two had discussed adapting *Othello* a year or two before making the film, and that once producer Kumar Mangat came aboard with [Ajay Devgn](https://www.edgepedia.org/ajay-devgn) committed, they formally wrote the adaptation in 18 days because Devgn's dates were open only in January and it was already September.[15](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/20-years-of-omkara-exclusive-saif-ali-khan-jumped-at-the-opportunity-to-utter-cuss-words-he-said-i-am-never-going-to-get-a-chance-to-do-this-again-shares-abhish/)
Casting stories from the director's account underline how deliberately the roles were rebuilt. Saif Ali Khan's character needed to look like a rugged fighter, which required cutting his hair; Khan did so on Eid, the day before shooting began, calling it a qurbani (sacrifice).[13](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/rewriting-shakespeare-in-omkara/story-muz07FA7WPUbS6Pc53glfK.html) Naseeruddin Shah, after reading the script, insisted on taking the small but pivotal role of Bhaisaab and shaved his head for it.[13](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/rewriting-shakespeare-in-omkara/story-muz07FA7WPUbS6Pc53glfK.html) Vivek Oberoi practiced guitar and singing non-stop for a month for one sequence.[13](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/rewriting-shakespeare-in-omkara/story-muz07FA7WPUbS6Pc53glfK.html)
The film keeps a mainstream Bollywood shape, with seven songs set to lyrics by the poet Gulzar and composed by Bhardwaj himself, performed by singers including [Rahat Fateh Ali Khan](https://www.edgepedia.org/rahat-fateh-ali-khan).[8](https://www.eastman.org/omkara) It carried an "A" (adults-only) certification in India and a 12A rating in the United Kingdom.[4](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-details/omkara/movieawards/61283112.cms) • [16](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/omkara)
## Caste instead of race
**Translating otherness.** Stage productions of *Othello* usually foreground race; the film dispenses with that trope and substitutes markers of difference drawn from everyday life in north India.[1](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/omkara) Omi is the son of a Brahmin father and a lower-caste mother, a "half-caste" (adha-Baaman, adha-jaat in the film's terms) who has risen to lead a party of high-caste men.[1](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/omkara) • [17](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/jul/29/books.filmnews) Co-writer Chaubey explained the equivalence directly: Othello's insecurity about acceptance becomes Omkara's insecurity about caste, and "because of the insecurity about whether he is accepted or not, everything is destroyed for him. It's the same in Othello."[17](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/jul/29/books.filmnews)
Casting and visual design reinforce the mapping: Ajay Devgn, darker-complexioned than most Hindi-film leading men, is frequently dressed in black with dark sunglasses so that he stands out among lighter-skinned co-stars, much as Othello stands out in Venice.[18](https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9781009245807_A45553695/preview-9781009245807_A45553695.pdf) Academic readers differ on how far the film develops the theme: a 2024 article argues that Bhardwaj leans on jealousy and the insecurity it produces while downplaying caste, while the [University of Iowa](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-iowa) guide notes that most of the action does little to refute Dolly's father's description of Omi as a goonda (hoodlum).[19](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01847678241292286) • [1](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/omkara)
## Reception and legacy
The film premiered at Cannes before its commercial release and was critically acclaimed, though its initial box-office success was modest.[2](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/bleed-bleed-poor-country-shakespeare-indian-screen) • [1](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/omkara) It was nominated for eighteen Filmfare awards and won half that number, and it earned five National Film Awards.[1](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/omkara) • [4](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-details/omkara/movieawards/61283112.cms) The 2006 National Film Awards jury's Special Jury citation honored it as "an outstanding film that synergises international treatment with an earthy, rooted sensibility."[6](https://dff.nic.in/images/Documents/48_54sthNfaArchives.pdf) Reviewers singled out Saif Ali Khan's Langda: *Variety* called it a "powerhouse perf" in the Iago role, and retrospective commentary continues to rank the performance among the film's defining achievements.[3](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/omkara)
Its standing rests on two comparisons. Within Bhardwaj's own Shakespeare trilogy, *Omkara* follows *Maqbool* and precedes *Haider*, and the film is described as a worthy successor to adaptations such as [Akira Kurosawa](https://www.edgepedia.org/akira-kurosawa)'s *Throne of Blood* (1957).[2](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/bleed-bleed-poor-country-shakespeare-indian-screen) • [1](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/omkara) Within Indian screen history, a Shakespeare Survey study calls it the most well known of the Indian screen adaptations of *Othello* and characterizes it as largely faithful to the play, with dialogues that mostly correspond to Shakespeare's lines.[18](https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9781009245807_A45553695/preview-9781009245807_A45553695.pdf) The *Guardian* reported at release that it was the first big-budget cinema version of a Shakespeare play in India.[17](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/jul/29/books.filmnews)
## References
1. [Omkara, Indian Cinema, University of Iowa](https://indiancinema.sites.uiowa.edu/omkara)
2. [Bleed, bleed, poor country: Shakespeare on the Indian screen, Sight and Sound (BFI)](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/features/bleed-bleed-poor-country-shakespeare-indian-screen)
3. [Omkara (2006), Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/omkara)
4. [Omkara Awards: List of Awards won by Hindi movie Omkara, The Times of India](https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/entertainment/hindi/movie-details/omkara/movieawards/61283112.cms)
5. [Omkara cast and crew, Box Office India](https://www.boxofficeindia.com/cast_crew.php?movieid=306)
6. [48th–54th National Film Awards archives, Directorate of Film Festivals, Government of India](https://dff.nic.in/images/Documents/48_54sthNfaArchives.pdf)
7. [Omkara (2006), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0488414/credits/)
8. [Omkara, George Eastman Museum](https://www.eastman.org/omkara)
9. [Omkara Story, Filmibeat](https://www.filmibeat.com/bollywood/movies/omkara/story.html)
10. [Omkara Literary Elements, GradeSaver](https://www.gradesaver.com/omkara/study-guide/literary-elements)
11. [Omkara review by Philip French, The Guardian (29 July 2006)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2006/jul/30/philipfrench2)
12. [Primitive Certainty and Tragic Action: Post-Jungian Mechanisms in Omkara, The Criterion](https://www.the-criterion.com/primitive-certainty-and-tragic-action-post-jungian-mechanisms-in-omkara/)
13. [Rewriting Shakespeare in Omkara, Hindustan Times (3 July 2006)](https://www.hindustantimes.com/india/rewriting-shakespeare-in-omkara/story-muz07FA7WPUbS6Pc53glfK.html)
14. [Don't compare with Maqbool, The Telegraph India (27 July 2006)](https://www.telegraphindia.com/jharkhand/don-t-compare-with-maqbool/cid/1646255)
15. [20 years of Omkara EXCLUSIVE, Bollywood Hungama](https://www.bollywoodhungama.com/news/features/20-years-of-omkara-exclusive-saif-ali-khan-jumped-at-the-opportunity-to-utter-cuss-words-he-said-i-am-never-going-to-get-a-chance-to-do-this-again-shares-abhish/)
16. [Omkara (2006), JustWatch UK](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/omkara)
17. [A matter of caste as Bollywood embraces the Bard, The Guardian (29 July 2006)](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2006/jul/29/books.filmnews)
18. [Shakespeare Survey preview covering Omkara, Cambridge University Press](https://api.pageplace.de/preview/DT0400.9781009245807_A45553695/preview-9781009245807_A45553695.pdf)
19. [The politics of jealousy and misogyny of Othello in Omkara, Pankhuri Singh, The Journal of Commonwealth Literature (2024)](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01847678241292286)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Indian films (individual works) › Hindi films of the 2000s › Action and thriller films*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 18, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 3, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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