Rebirth of William Shakespeare's Othello.

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The Guinness book of records listed 410 feature length film and television of William Shakespeare's plays, making Shakespeare the most filmed author ever in any language. Shakespeare through his plays has  illustrated many significant stages of human life, which is why they're repeatedly studied and enjoyed till date. Shakespearean plays  are universal and were meant for stages, however some of the film directors have adopted them into modern cinema. To study the Pop culture of adaptations, we'll be studying Omkara, a Bollywood remake of Othello directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, which is considered to be the best example of adaptation in Hindi film industry.

Othello (The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice) is a tragedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1603. The play is based on the story of Un Capitano Moro ("A Moorish Captain") by Cinthio.  Set in Venice and on the island of Cyprus in the mid-1500s, Othello is the tragic story of a hero who mistrust and jealousy abound as the villainous adviser, Iago, falsely accuses Othello’s wife, Desdemona, of infidelity.

Tragedy is a form of drama that portrays human suffering which is caused  as a consequence of his  tragic flaw, moral weakness, or inability to cope with unfavorable circumstances, such that the storyline invokes catharsis in audiences.


 Omkara is a 2006 Indian crime drama film adapted from William Shakespeare's Othello, co-written and directed by Vishal Bhardwaj. The film is set in Meerut, a city in Western Uttar Pradesh. A brilliant storyboard by Meghna Gulzar converted the Indianized setting for a great great movie. Conversely the character names so similar to the original inspiration bring the story very close.



In the play Othello stands alone, while in the Hindi film adaptation Omkara is given a fullhousehold. Here instead of Venice, Omkara is set in political and gangster warfare in the interiors of Uttar Pradesh.


Then what makes movies more interesting? The answer to this, is a 2 ½ hour movie which is fitted for the Indian audience backed by good music. Secondly the use of modern gadgets give effects to movies, and while showing characters use it looks very natural. Lastly and one of the biggest differences is having a strong woman character, and we get to see this when Indu Tyagi, takes the chance of punishing her husband for his deeds. Apart from that other female characters are given equal importance and screen-time.

In the original play, Othello’s “tragic flaw” is his jealousy, his inability to take things as they are, and a quality that Iago provokes and is successful at. Omkara, in spirit, stays true to that central theme and weaves all other conflicts around it. Having said that, Vishal has made the story his own and ends up humanizing Shakespeare’s characters with the necessary folklore and ethnic charm that is very close to the Indian ambience.

In conclusion one can say, with multiple adaptation coming in different mediums Shakespearean drama has proven its universality of thought. Even centuries later and continents apart, relevance of the story observed by the masses in both the genres is something that makes Shakespeare a master of the art. Vishal Bhardwaj, the Director has incredibly designed scenes, dialogues and situations in quite similar manner as in the original play.  The amount of praise Omkara has received shows how much the Bollywood audience has loved the film and how perfectly the movie is directed to fit in Indian settings.



The other adaptation we will be studying is Iago by Nicole Galland. Which is considered to be the best example of adaptation. 


Nicole Galland is an American novelist. She was known for her historical fiction, she was an author of Mongolian, an historical fiction, she wrote 'The Rise and Fall' with Neal stephenson. She also wrote siege perilous, the Mongolia cycle. Her book I,Iago was published in April 2012. It is a fictional novel. It's a half prequel, half retelling of Othello's tale from Iago's point of view. The first two third of this book are Iago's backstory and the events leading up to him meeting Emilia and Othello and then later to Desdemona and cassio. The last third is the events of the play Othello, but from Iago's point of view. In this play story of Iago is shown in detail. Starting from his childhood to adulthood and then how he met other characters. In the play Iago is the protagonist and Iago sympathises himself in the whole novel. 


Othello is a play based on Othello's life and from an omniscient point of view. By reading the play Othello the reader will feel bad for Othello's life and will curse Iago. In Othello the Antagonist is Iago. 

 


Nicole Galland tried to fill some gaps of Shakespeare's narrative. Explaining in detail how Iago changed from an honest and loyal friend to a cheat and liar person. In the novel we see Iago as a young man whose parents then forced him into a military where he excels, first in the artillery then in the army later in the novel he met Emilia and then they both marry. They have a very happy married life. Then he met Othello for the first time at a carnival in a market Ball. Othello tells iago about his beloved Desdemona and that he wants to do courtship. But lago explains to him that no Venetian patrician would ever let his daughter marry outside of that narrow caste and so he doesn't support Othello for the courtship. Where else Michael Cassio supported Othello and so Othello was able to marry Desdemona. Othello betrayed Iagp by giving the position of a lieutenancy to a less qualified Cassio as a reward for supporting him to convert the courtship of Desdemona. The writer made sure to show the background story of Iago so that his character looks good and has a solid background. After Othello's betrayed Iago decides to take revenge so he starts using all the characters as a part of his revenge. The worst part is to see Iago such an honest person to get corrupted by an unfair world and then to become dishonest and a liar. Iago, who is the real villain, is also sympathetic. Because of the revenge only the innocent people like Cassio, Roderigo, Emilia and Desdemona suffered a lot and died a very uncertain death. In iago the reader is able to see how Iago met Othello and how they became friends. Friendship is palpable, heart warning and so Othello's betrayal of Iago has a real emotional effect.


I would like to conclude by saying, I, Iago has fulfilled the aim of portraying Iago's side of the story. After reading this book my thoughts on Iago have changed and at certain points I began to be sympathetic for him. One can surely say Nicole Galland has done a really good job of showing us the potential other side of Othello by William Shakespeare.


References

  • Dodiya, P. Omkara: Imagination of Othello in Indian Cinema. ELT Vibes: International E-Journal For Research in ELT. 2 (4)..128-134. (2016).

  • Yadav, M. Adaptation of Shakespeare’s Plays in Indian Popular Culture: European. Journal of English Language and Literature Studies:A Study of Domesticated Movies: Vol.2, No.3, pp.48-58,(2014).

  • British Council, Encyclopaedia Britannica,The Globe Guide to Shakespeare by Andrew Dickson, The Guardian, IMDb, Shakespearean Criticism edited by MichelleLee, Shakespeare Online,Telegraph.

  • Jamieson's Review Of I, Iago. Goodreads.Com, 2019, https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2324690403. Accessed 14 Jan 2021.

  • School Books Great Britain (UK). Othello (The Tragedy Of Othello, The Moor Of Venice) Is A Tragedy By William Shakespeare. 2016, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8F_HkwQ8T7o. Accessed 14 Jan 2021.

  • "Othello V/S Omkara". 2006, http://goldeninnereye.blogspot.com/2006/08/othello-vs-omkara.html?m=1. Accessed 18 Jan 2021.


Location: Safa (Mulam/Mulla Family) Masjid Committe Shapur, Electricity Dept Staff Residential Colony, Ponda, Goa 403401, India

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