Introduction
Vishal Bhardwaj’s Omkara (2006) is a Hindi adaptation of William Shakespeare’s Othello. The film relocates Shakespeare’s tragedy to the political and criminal world of Uttar Pradesh and transforms its language, characters, objects, situations, and narrative environment. This makes Omkara a useful text for applying Ācārya Kuntaka’s Vakrokti Theory to film adaptation.
According to the prescribed chapter, the word vakrokti combines vakra (“crooked”, “twisted”, or “oblique”) and ukti (“speech” or “expression”). It therefore means an unusual, indirect, or striking mode of expression. Kuntaka considers such artistic deviation to be the very life of poetry. He associates it with vaicitrya, extraordinary charm and kavi-vyāpāra, the creative activity or skill of the poet.
Although Kuntaka formulated his theory for poetry, its six levels can be productively applied to cinema when we examine how a filmmaker transforms a source text into a new artistic form.
1. Varṇavinyāsa-Vakratā – Sound, Repetition and Musical Pattern
According to Kuntaka, Varṇavinyāsa-Vakratā refers to the aesthetic strikingness created through the arrangement of letters and syllables. He particularly associates it with Anuprāsa (alliteration) and Yamaka, when the sound arrangement produces aesthetic satisfaction.
A more academically appropriate example from Omkara is the song “Naina Thag Lenge”, written by Gulzar and composed by Vishal Bhardwaj. The song repeatedly uses the sounds and words “naina” and “naino”, creating a strong auditory pattern. The refrain includes:
“Naina thag lenge, naino ki mat maaniyo re.”
The repeated “n” sound and the repetition of “naina/naino” create musical cohesion and make the phrase memorable. More importantly, the sound pattern is connected with the meaning of the song: the eyes are presented as deceptive, suggesting that appearances and emotions cannot always be trusted.
The song repeatedly returns to the phrase “naina thag lenge,” making the sound itself function as a recurring motif. The expression “eyes will deceive” could have been stated directly. Instead, Gulzar gives the idea a poetic and musical form:
Ordinary expression: The eyes can deceive us.
Vakra expression: “Naina thag lenge.”
The phrase is:
- rhythmic,
- repetitive,
- metaphorical,
- musical,
- memorable,
- and thematically relevant to the tragedy.
Therefore, the arrangement and repetition of sounds become part of the aesthetic meaning.
Connection with Othello
This example becomes even more interesting when studied in relation to Shakespeare's Othello. The central tragedy of both works involves seeing, interpreting and misinterpreting signs. In Omkara, the recurring image of the eyes and the warning that they may deceive becomes particularly appropriate to a narrative dominated by jealousy, suspicion and appearances.
Thus, the song does not merely provide musical entertainment. Its sound pattern and metaphorical language reinforce the central dramatic concern of the film.
Another Excellent instance is song
“Dham dham dhadam dhadaiya re…”
Here the repeated “dh/dhām/dhadam” sounds create a rhythmic, percussive effect. The words imitate the feeling of noise, movement and energetic action.
This is particularly useful for explaining Varṇavinyāsa-Vakratā, because the aesthetic effect comes strongly from the arrangement and repetition of sounds themselves.
2. Pada-Pūrvārdha-Vakratā: Striking Choice of Words
According to Kuntaka, Pada-Pūrvārdha-Vakratā arises when a poet/author gives an unusual or striking turn to the choice and use of words. It may involve synonyms, conventional expressions, special descriptions, metaphoric uses, adjectives, and other lexical choices.
In Vishal Bhardwaj’s Omkara, this form of vakratā can be observed in the use of regional Hindi, colloquial expressions, culturally specific vocabulary, and distinctive forms of address.
A more academically suitable example is the recurring use of “Omi” as a form of address for Omkara.
“Omi”
The name is not simply a neutral reference to the protagonist. It becomes a social and cultural marker. The shortened form creates familiarity and reflects the linguistic environment of rural Uttar Pradesh. It also helps establish the relationship between the speaker and Omkara, whether it is one of friendship, loyalty, intimacy, or social familiarity.
Thus, Bhardwaj's choice of “Omi” instead of the more formal “Omkara” gives the character's speech a particular social and cultural flavour.
Relation to Othello
This becomes particularly significant when Omkara is compared with Shakespeare's Othello:
Othello
→ Shakespearean/Elizabethan English
→ Venetian–European social world
Omkara
→ Hindi/vernacular vocabulary
→ Rural North Indian social world
Therefore, the choice of vocabulary itself becomes part of the adaptation. Bhardwaj does not simply translate Shakespeare's dialogue into Hindi; he changes the linguistic world of the characters.
Another excellent example: “Bahubali”
The word “Bahubali” is also useful for discussing Pada-Pūrvārdha-Vakratā. It literally evokes a person of great physical strength or power, but in the social context of Omkara, it carries a broader meaning of power, authority, influence and political/social dominance.
The striking effect comes from the culturally loaded word choice. A single word communicates Omkara's position within the local power structure.
3. Pratyaya / Pada-Parārdha-Vakratā: Grammatical and Expressive Modification
The third category is Pratyaya or Pada-Parārdha-Vakratā. Kuntaka associates it with the striking employment of grammatical elements such as case, number, person, tense, voice, suffixes and indeclinables.
In studying Omkara, this category should therefore be used carefully. Rather than simply calling every symbol an example of Pratyaya-Vakratā, we can examine how specific grammatical/expressive forms and culturally loaded expressions acquire additional significance.
Example: the Kamarbandh
The most useful example is the kamarbandh, which takes the functional place of Shakespeare's handkerchief.
In Othello:
Handkerchief → love → suspicion → jealousy → tragedy
In Omkara:
Kamarbandh → intimacy → suspicion → jealousy → tragedy
The transformation is important because Bhardwaj does not mechanically reproduce Shakespeare's prop. He recreates it in an Indian cultural and visual form. Contemporary discussion of the film explicitly identifies the jewelled waistband as the adaptation of Shakespeare's handkerchief.
The object therefore develops a meaning beyond its literal function.
Symbolic significance
The kamarbandh can be associated with:
- intimacy,
- femininity,
- sexuality,
- love,
- possession,
- suspicion.
Thus, an apparently ordinary object becomes an important narrative and symbolic device.
Important academic distinction: strictly speaking, the kamarbandh itself is better discussed as an adaptational/symbolic application of Kuntaka's principle of artistic deviation, rather than as a literal example of grammatical Pratyaya-Vakratā.
4. Vākya-Vakratā: Indirect Dialogue and Manipulation
The fourth category is Vākya-Vakratā, or strikingness in the formation of sentences. Kuntaka considers this category very broad and includes figures of speech within it.
This is perhaps the clearest level at which Langda's manipulation can be analysed.
Langda rarely states his intentions directly. Instead, he:
- asks apparently innocent questions,
- creates suggestions,
- uses insinuation,
- withholds information,
- presents partial truths,
- encourages Omkara to reach his own conclusions.
A particularly important example occurs when Omkara directly asks Langda about Kesu and Dolly. The screenplay records Omkara demanding a simple “yes or no”, while Langda initially avoids a straightforward answer and eventually introduces a supposed piece of evidence involving Kesu and Dolly.
This is precisely where Vakrokti becomes useful.
Direct statement
“Dolly is having an affair with Kesu.”
Langda's method
He does not simply make this direct accusation. Instead, he constructs a chain of hints, questions and apparently reluctant revelations.
His language consequently becomes a weapon.
The screenplay later gives Langda the striking line:
“There isn't any difference between my truth and my lie.”
This line is particularly significant for a Vakrokti reading because it foregrounds the instability between literal truth and deceptive expression.
Langda's speech works through ambiguity.
Therefore:
Vākya-Vakratā in Omkara = indirect expression + ambiguity + insinuation + manipulation.
5. Prakaraṇa-Vakratā: Transformation of Episodes
The fifth category is Prakaraṇa-Vakratā, which Kuntaka defines as strikingness in the construction of an episode or section of a larger work. An invented or creatively modified episode can contribute to the aesthetic beauty of the whole composition.
This category is extremely useful for adaptation studies.
Othello → Omkara
Bhardwaj retains Shakespeare's fundamental dramatic structure but changes the circumstances through which that structure operates.
6. Prabandha-Vakratā: Othello Becomes Omkara
The sixth and broadest category is Prabandha-Vakratā, or strikingness in the construction of the entire literary work.
Kuntaka explains that an entire composition can acquire vakratā through its overall organization. One important possibility is changing the dominant rasa of the original work.
This category provides the strongest basis for studying Omkara as an adaptation.
Bhardwaj's complete transformation
The filmmaker takes:
Shakespeare's Othello
and reconstructs it as:
Omkara — an Indian political/criminal tragedy.
The basic narrative relationship remains recognizable, but the entire expressive system changes:
English drama
↓
Hindi cinema
Venetian/Cypriot world
↓
Uttar Pradesh
Military power
↓
Bahubali/political power
Iago's manipulation
↓
Langda's manipulation
Handkerchief
↓
Kamarbandh
Shakespearean dialogue
↓
Regional Hindi
Stage drama
↓
Cinema, music, performance and visual symbolism
This is precisely where Kuntaka's theory becomes particularly productive: the same basic narrative material is given a new and extraordinary mode of expression.
Conclusion
Vishal Bhardwaj's Omkara demonstrates how Kuntaka's Vakrokti Theory can be extended to the study of film adaptation. Kuntaka defines Vakrokti as an extraordinary mode of expression that departs from ordinary and established usage and attributes its beauty to the creative skill of the poet.
References:
Omkara. Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, performances by Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, and Konkona Sen Sharma, [Eros International / Big Pictures], 2006.
Shakespeare, William. Othello. Edited by Cedric Watts, Wordsworth Editions, 1992.
References:
Omkara. Directed by Vishal Bhardwaj, performances by Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor, and Konkona Sen Sharma, [Eros International / Big Pictures], 2006.
Shakespeare, William. Othello. Edited by Cedric Watts, Wordsworth Editions, 1992.
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