OMERTA - Movie Review

Director: Hansal Mehta

Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Rajesh Tailang, Rupinder Nagra, Keval Arora

Runtime: 1hr 36min

Streaming on: Zee5



[SPOILERS]

Omerta starring Rajkummar Rao directed by Hansal Mehta is a biopic of the deadly terrorist "Omar Saeed Shekih" and is an in-depth look into his psyche, mindset and world beliefs. Rajkummar doesn't fail to impress you as he gets into the skin of the character. In an interview, the actor said that he started believing the character's beliefs which shows his dedication towards the character and the project itself. He becomes Omar and we believe his actions. Although the british accent he adapts could become a little distracting, his performance is certainly a captivating one for sure.

Omar's hate towards Americans leads him to kidnap several of them, and near the climax of the film, him brutally decapitating the American journalist "Daniel Pearl"was one of the most gruesome and immersive scenes in the entire film.  The sound design in that scene truly shined and that too for a reason. In an interview, the director Hansal Mehta stated that for that specific scene, they got a butcher and beheaded a goat for authenticity. It's chaotic way of shooting that scene while not necessarily showing it was genius in my mind at least.

During some scenes, the use of real life stills and footage was uncreative and unimaginative to say the least. But at it's core, it is a strong story with a very complex and interesting protagonist that drives the narrative. It's a character study and I honestly appreciate that.

Fun Fact: In the film "Shahid" which I honestly really liked (also starring Rajkummar and directed by Mehta), Shahid (played by Rao) meets Omar (played by Prabal Panjabi) in prison which is a nice little easter egg for cinephiles.

But the film feels lacking in properly getting into the psyche of the character of Omar. We understand his views on the world and his goals. But we need more. It needed to be more complex and in-depth. Even the structure of the film needs to be improved. But the film was made with the intention of you hating Omar and that works extremely well.

Now I appreciate that this is a story that Mehta has been wanting to explore for years and is incredibly passionate about it. I think it is a story that needed to be told. It has a lot of vision and direction behind it. But it does have it's flaws which prevents it from being top notch.

- 3.5/5

Thank You for reading! Hope you liked it and are looking forward to more of them. Please feel free to express your thoughts on the film and any suggestions for me. Have a good day!  

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