The Indianisation of <i>Othello</i>

• Main Authors: Genoveva Castro, Antonio Castro
• Format: Article
• Language: Spanish
• Published: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México 2013-05-01
• Series: Acta Poética
• Subjects: Omkara, Othello, Bollywood, tragedia, recursos interpretativos.
• Online Access: https://revistas-filologicas.unam.mx/acta-poetica/index.php/ap/article/view/394

The film Omkara (2006), directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, is based on the tragedy of Othello by William Shakespeare. The story of this movie is set in contemporary India and the interpretive resources of the film maker are discussed throughout the essay. Bhardwaj successfully transfers the values of the Elizabethan world into contemporary south Asia and it enhances Othello’s conflict in a manner such that the spectator apprehends the inherent dangers as the action unfolds. The movie has the characteristic features of Bollywood films, but the basic notions of Shakespeare’s text are also present. Bhardwaj undertook a very careful reading of Shakespeare’s text reacting to a critical series of events that led to this successful representation which thus rendered a very academic analysis within a popular sphere understandable for the audience.