To Adapt is to Make Fit!!

Sometime back, I saw Vishal Bharadwaj’s Omkara. I was seeing it again, having seen it a year back when it hit the movie halls. I remember reading some interesting reviews on the movie. Some reviewers were not comfortable with an adaptation of a Shakespearean classic—it was sacrilege!

According to Merriam Webster’s dictionary, to adapt means to make fit (as for a specific or new use or situation) often by modification. Omkara was always an adaptation. Othello could never be Omkara and Desdemona was never Dolly. Besides, the movie was set in UP. Obviously, it was going to be different. To expect the movie to be true to the great play was nothing short of unfounded expectation. As an avid cinemagoer, I believe that a movie is essentially a story telling session. Let us also realize that Shakespeare was as much a storyteller as Vishal Bharadwaj is—only their modes of expression have been different. If Shakespeare set his characters in a particular era and in a particular area, Vishal has set his characters in a different era and in a different milieu. Many of us have read Othello and most of us, who have read Othello, went and saw Omkara. We did not see Othello—we only saw Omkara and that was his story!

I believe that all of us base our opinions on a particular book or a movie (or for that matter any issue in life) on some of our own prejudices. Often, this affects our objectivity. Years ago, I read Mario Puzo’s book on Godfather. Sometime later, I caught up with the televised version of Coppola’s great movie on Doordarshan. I felt that the movie is no patch on the book. It was perhaps a knee jerk reaction because subsequently when I watched the movies (the entire series) on VHS, I began to appreciate the difference between the two mediums of expression.

I happened to see The Departed, a fortnight back. I had seen the original movie Infernal Affairs on DVD. Scorsese’s movie was set in different surroundings in a different country. Obviously, the movie had to be different. If I had gone looking for Yan and Ming in The Departed, I would have disappointed. In no way, The Departed is an insipid movie. Scorsese does manage to tell me a story as enthralling as the one told by M/S Lau and Mak.

Recently, I also happened to watch the movie ‘Sunset Boulevard.’ For the uninitiated, the legendary Billy Wilder directed the movie in 1950. Wilder’s movies stood out for their outstanding screenplays and each of his movies could be adapted to other forms such as theater. This movie is no different and subsequently a decade back, Andrew Lloyd Webber staged a successful musical based on the movie. Knowing Webber and also the medium, the treatment would have been different (so I presume since I cannot afford a trip to the Broadway!). The musical was appreciated as much as the movie. In fact, Billy Wilder is reported to have been quite pleased with Webber’s effort. I am sure if Shakespeare had lived to see Omkara, he too would have been happy!

Before I wind up, I must confess that neither have I been engaged by Vishal Bharadwaj to defend his movie nor am I on the payroll of Martin Scorsese, Lau and Mak, and Andrew Lloyd Webber. I have only tried to add my two-bit on this adaptation debate! Let the adaptations roll on…