Film: Omerta
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Keval Arora, Timothy Ryan Hickernell
Direction: Hansal Mehta
Genre: Crime, Drama
Duration: 1 hour, 36 minutes
Language: Hindi (U/A)
Story:
The film chronicles the life and times of the British terrorist of Pakistani descent, Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh (Rajkummar).
Review:
Right at the start, we can see subtle traces of a derailed mind as Omar strolls around aimlessly in Delhi. The milk-drinking hero, who goes around with several aliases, is a sociopath and an expert chess-player. The brooding well-educated man, however, is not content playing board games. He is determined to apply himself to the cause of jihad.
Though Omar shares a warm relationship with his London-based father, Saeed Sheikh (Keval Arora), he is keen to pursue the war against the West because he believes they have committed atrocities against his kith and kin.
As his bloodlust grows, he enrolls in several tasks including the kidnapping of four foreign tourists in New Delhi in 1994 and later, he abducts the Wall Street journalist Daniel Pearl (Timothy Ryan Hickernell). He hopes that a video message sent from the kidnapped Pearl will bring America to its knees. And, when Pearl attempts an escape, Omar bludgeons him to death.
For the most part, Omar keeps a straight face showing no emotions — neither when he is being subjected to third-degree nor when he is being trained for his life’s biggest mission.
Rajkummar is good (he is usually various degrees of good in most of his movies). But out here, he is not his best because his character is underwritten. There is no backstory on why he chose terrorism nor are any kinks in his formative years highlighted. Hence, you cannot invest in his character beyond a point. For the most part, he has a deadpan expression and even when he raises his voice to intimidate, it doesn’t strike terror.
What really strikes fear is the music by Ishaan Chabbra. There is an urgency in the background score that excites. The cinematography by Anuj Rakesh Dhawan is efficient. He captures the bylanes of Delhi’s Paharganj and the other rocky terrain in so-called Pakistan beautifully; showcasing day, night, sunset and dawn skillfully.
Hansal keeps the length perfect, at a little over an hour-and-a-half. However, his writing just about passes muster. The dialogue is shoddy and repetitive and the script, credited to him is clinical.
Verdict:
Omerta is worth a dekko if you like terror sagas. Interspersing news footage — from the ’90s until the recent Mumbai 26/11 attacks — with a glamourised version of Omar’s life, it does manage to provide an overview of a contemporary terror hero. The likes of him literally have world-safety hanging perilously by a thread. You may as well know his face!
Critic's Rating: 3/5
