Did you know Naseeruddin Shah was Against Vishal Bhardwaj adapting Othello as Omkara

Vishal Bharadwaj and Nasseruddin Shah share a very warm relationship wherein both can talk to each other in the most honest way. So back in the day when Vishal Bhardwaj first announced his ambitious plan to adapt William Shakespeare’s Othello into a gritty Indian drama set against the backdrop of Uttar Pradesh’s murky politics, Naseeruddin Shah, was outright skeptical — and he didn’t mince words when he told Bhardwaj so.

Recalling the incident in an interview with Lallantop, Vishal Bhardwaj shared, “Naseer Saab doesn’t like Othello. And he thinks that it is a very weak work of Shakespeare.”

Naseer’s reasoning was clear. “How could Iago so easily influence Othello who then ends up killing his wife. He thought it was very convenient,” Vishal explained.

The tension came to a head at the Goa Film Festival. Vishal had just announced Omkara, and the news had started doing the rounds. “When we met in Goa, that time only the film was announced. He said, ‘Why are you making a film a bad play on Shakespeare, there are so many other good ones as well?.

For a filmmaker deeply influenced by Shakespeare, and already having adapted Macbeth as Maqbool, it was a stinging remark — especially coming from Naseeruddin Shah, a man he greatly admired. “For some time, I was shocked. Naseer is the authority of our country,” Vishal admitted. But instead of retreating, he did what any passionate storyteller would — he carried his script with him, hoping to prove a point.

He approached Naseer with a simple proposition as he was carrying the script with him. “ I told him to read it. I said, ‘If you think my script is also weak, then I will not make it. You can read it.’”

Naseeruddin Shah, to his credit, agreed to give it a read. He took the script, and by the next day, the tide had turned. “He read the entire script. And the next day he met me. He said, ‘Your script is very good. You make it. And I will do the role of Bhaisaab.’”

The film wasn’t a major box office success, but over time it earned its place as a landmark in Indian cinema — and remains a defining film not just in Vishal Bhardwaj’s career, but also for its leading cast. Ajay Devgn delivered one of his most intense performances as Omkara, the Indianised Othello. Kareena Kapoor shone as Dolly, a delicate yet resilient Desdemona, while Saif Ali Khan stunned audiences and critics alike with his career-best turn as the scheming, sharp-tongued Langda Tyagi, the desi Iago