Why Omkara gets me so charged up ?

Great expectations lead to greater disappointments. It's the cardinal rule when it comes to movie-watching. This is why I’ve learned to keep my expectations under control. To prevent my judgment from being biased - positively or negatively.

But as Vishal Bhardwaj's "Omkara" draws closer, it's becoming more and more difficult to keep the excitement down. The sheer passion and intensity of Vishal Bharadwaj shines so brightly in the film's promos and music, it inevitably rubs off on you.

Vishal Bharadwaj's repertoire as a filmmaker- even if only 4 films old- is impeccable. Right from the cute but brilliant "Makdee" to the dark, brooding "Maqbool" and his yet unreleased "The Blue Umbrella", which is carrying excellent reviews from those who have seen it- Bharadwaj has proved himself as a master craftsman of cinema and emerged with a style completely his own. For someone who started as a music composer - remember his awesome score in "Maachis" - he has certainly come a long way.

"Omkara", being- though I hate to say it- Vishal's first 'commercial' venture had me concerned about whether he would compromise on his craft with the excess baggage and pressure that mainstream Bollywood cinema comes with. Thankfully, it seems that Vishal has managed to do his own thing, with the support of Kumar Mangat, the producer.

As soon as you tune into the soundtrack of Omkara, you're sucked into a different world. This is certainly the bravest and one of the best movie scores I've heard in a long time. It's amazing how well Gulzar's lyrics and Bharadwaj's music compliment each other.

Each song whether it be the robust title song, the velvety soft "O Saathi Re", the naughty "Beedi", the idyllic "Jag Ja" - each song is a gem crafted to absolute perfection. Moody, sombre, melodic, and intense- Omkara's music is like nothing you've heard before- it rocks. I urge everyone to buy only original cassettes and CDs- to further the cause of quality music in Indian cinema.

Vishal has chosen an eclectic ensemble cast- Ajay Devgan as the brooding, passionate Omkara (Othello) is perfectly cast, as is Saif Ali Khan as the jealous, scheming Langda (Iago).

Vivek Oberoi could get a fresh lease of life with his Kesu (Cassio) and after a string of no-brainer films Kareena finally seems to be moving on to quality roles. To round off the cast are the talented Konkona Sen Sharma as Indu (Emilia), Bipasha baso as Billo (Bianca) and Naseeruddin Shah in a pivotal role as Bhaisaab. Translating into just one word - mind-blowing.

But apart from all this the reason why Omkara gets me so charged up is that I genuinely believe that this is an important film. We as an audience is getting so used to mind-numbingly dumb cinema that anything halfway decent, sometimes even barely mediocre gets lapped up by audiences like hungry dogs and makes millions in moolah. Fanaa continues to do well as Kkrriissh and Phir Hera Pheri are certified super hits. Which means Messrs Kunal Kohli, Rakesh Roshan and Co. will continue to peddle their dubiously pretentious brand of 'different, path breaking' cinema.

And that is why I'm desperately waiting and hoping that the ambitious Omkara succeeds at the Box Office when it releases on the 28th of this month. We need an Omkara; we need a Vishal Bharadwaj in this film industry, for some sense to prevail, for quality cinema to survive.