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An interview with Saif Ali Khan
 Being
a star son, Saif Ali Khan, too took up acting as a
career. Most of his initial films were double hero
flicks with lots of masala. However, with Dil Chahta
Hai it became clear that Saif has a lot of potential
as an actor. With films like Hum Tum and Salaam
Namaste, Saif also proved that he has the power to
pull off a film, all by himself. Saif also happened to
be the only among the current commercial stars to go
off beat and do an English film like Being Cyrus,
which won him a lot of appreciation. And now, the
actor will be seen in a completely different, rural
get-up, playing a character called 'Langda Tyagi' in
Vishal Bharadwaj's Omkara. So lets have a chat with
Saif and know more about Omkara.
Like we all know, Omkara is based on Shakespeare's
play Othello. How much scope did you see for yourself,
when you were offered this role?
I think the fact that this film is based on a famous
play by William Shakespeare, is what sets it apart.
It's not only an adaptation but very true to the
original. It was one of the few formats that were
suited to Indian sensibilities. Shakespeare used to
write for the front benchers. The most attractive part
of this project is that it is based on something
special.
You've surprised everyone with your new look in the
film. Tell us something about that.
Well, Langda Tyagi is a political mafia thug in
Western Bihar. When I was offered the role, a lot of
changes were required in my look. I had long hair at
that time. However, after Nirmal Pandey's role in
Bandit Queen, long hair would have no longer been
original for a rural Bihar setting. We worked on the
character's look from head to toe. We started with a
crew cut, put scars on the face along with the yellow
teeth and earrings. There was a limp of course because
the character's name is Langda. So all this required
quite a lot of preparation
It is said that the greatest evil is born out of
the greatest love. How true do you think that is?
I think Othello is an extremely powerful play. Omkara
is very true to that. It is not exactly a feel good
movie and that is the USP of the film. The story is
satisfying but it dwells on the darker emotions of
human beings. A lot of people know what its like to be
jealous. Unfortunately, a lot of people also know what
its like to suspect your partner cheating on you. It
is extremely disturbing and you do crazy things. It
makes you do things that you wish you hadn't done.
Most of the aspects of the original play have been
retained in the movie. Omkara is as true to Othello as
Maqbool was to Macbeth.
The music of the film has a lot of latkas and
jhatkas. How much did you enjoy that?
I think one of the biggest advantages of the film is
that our director, Vishal Bharadwaj is also the music
director. It's a sort of one man army. His sense of
background music and film music is tremendous. Ganesh
Acharya has choreographed 'Beedi Jalayle' with the
kind of abandon and jhatkas that only a Hindi film set
in a rural area can have. It is so expressive. It was
a joy to watch what Vivek and Bipasha have done and
also what they made me do as Langda Tyagi
You kind of bailed Bipasha out, during the shooting of
the song. Apparently she was terrified of the dancers.
No I did not! I think it was such an authentic
setting. I don't think those men in the video have
seen a beautiful woman in the last 50 years. So you
have 500 frustrated and desperate men leering! I think
Bipasha was a little uncomfortable. But they were all
good boys.
How was it to work with the other co-stars?
Well Ajay Devgan is always fun to work with. He gives
me a lot of space to perform. I think he has done a
fantastic job in this film. It is as if he was born to
play Omkara. It is a very controlled lion like
performance. The energy of the two characters is very
interesting to watch. Konkana Sen is a sparkling
actress and she is so natural. She actually brightens
up the screen. I think Kareena has also done something
really fantastic. She is a commercially successful
actress. Yet she was so at home playing something so
earthy. It is not something you would expect from her.
But she has taken it up and delivered really well.
Vivek Oberoi has been cast very well. He has acted
well. It's a well cast movie. Naseer saab of course is
great as always. Even the character actors in the film
are phenomenal.
Did you have any tough experiences on the set?
There were quite a few, actually. When the beedi song
started, the choreographer told me to start moving to
the music. I kind of started shaking my head. He told
me that it's not a trance party or a western song. The
village guy will dance differently. So that was quite
funny. There were no bad experiences. There was this
shot where I am in the shadows, looking at a mirror.
My director suggested that it would be very artistic
and beautiful if I did it naked. I said that I am
prepared to do that as long as he directs me naked. He
said he wouldn't so that didn't happen. It was funny.
Weren't you nervous about the new look? How did
Vishal Bharadwaj convince you?
That was not such big deal. The big deal was learning
the lines and getting an authentic accent and body
language. The look wasn't exactly unique. A lot of
people look like that. My effort was just to try and
look authentic. Cutting your hair is no big deal,
really. The media makes it sound like it's the biggest
thing. It's really not. It's just a hair cut.
What was your first reaction when you heard the
script?
I just thought 'wow'! Its going to be a mind-blowing
western mafia meets Shakespearean love story. It's a
little like the old Italian western films where you
see sweaty characters and can actually smell them!
Vishal is good as a film director, music director and
writer.
Have you had the chance to watch any of
Shakespeare's plays?
Unfortunately I haven't seen Shakespeare being
performed on stage. I have seen Macbeth, long ago
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