Director Hansal Mehta first introduced Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh (played by Prabal Panjabi), a terrorist of Pakistani descent with British citizenship, in his 2013 film Shahid (Rajkummar Rao plays the titular character). In a fleeting scene, the activist lawyer Shahid meets Omar in Tihar jail, where the latter tries to influence him to join the IC-184 hijacking (December 1999). However, Shahid has stronger influences in a Kashmiri inmate, who stops him treading that path, telling him to be a part of the system to change it from within. Shahid Azmi gets redemption by doing just that. But Omar? He is too gripped by evil forces to find a way out.
In his recent Omerta, Mehta captures Omar's journey from a bright, young student at the London School of Economics to a prisoner languishing in Pakistan since 2002; he was awarded a death sentence for the brutal murder of Wall Street Journal’s Daniel Pearl (effectively played by Timothy Ryan Hickernell).
In Omerta, Rao's role is reversed. He plays Omar with as much conviction as he played Shahid Azmi, which won him the National Award that year. As Shahid, he evoked sympathy; as Omar, he elicits hatred and pity. Hatred for the crimes he commited, and the way Mehta portrays it in all its brutality. One scene that stood out in particular in Omerta was the on-camera killing of Pearl. It is captured with much gore. The frustration, the angst and anger that Omar suffers—everything gushes out in this scene. Mehta doesn’t make it a simple show of violence—he creates an impact through sounds (by Mandar Kulkarni) of Pearl being butchered, his body smashed and head chopped off.
And then there are those parts where you pity Omar. He sticks to his guns, literally. One of the most powerful scenes involve his father, Saeed Sheikh (Keval Arora). He tries to discourage his son, helplessness visible in his eyes.
Omerta opens in August 1994, Lahore. Omar is being readied to carry out a mission in New Delhi, India. He comes disguised as Rohit Verma, to befriend and abduct three European and one American tourist. However, the Indian police cracks the case, leading to Omar’s arrest. Omar, along with two other militants, Mushtaq Ahmed Zargar and Masood Azhar, are released in December 1999, as demanded by the hijackers of IC-814.
Meanwhile, Omerta takes us back to the Serbian assaults of Muslims in Bosnia in 1995, the origin of Omar’s hatred and anger. Juxtaposed with footage from the real protests, Mehta recreates history with much efficacy. He contrasts them throughout Omerta, making it look raw and rooted in reality. At times, you also wonder whether Mehta wants you to sympathise with Omar, the way he did with Shahid. For instance, in one scene, while in Delhi, Omar is stopped by the cops. They are doubtful that he is a “mulla” because he sports a beard. Are Muslims tormented often in secular states because of the way they look, their surnames? There’s no verdict, except for Rao’s raging eyes and a demeanour that reflects his annoyance and anger.
That’s the quality Rao possesses as an actor. He slips into any character with ease. In the run up to Omerta’s release, he mentioned in many interviews that he could never relate to Omar’s vision. And yet, he is effortless in the role. Earlier, Aly Khan had portrayed Omar in the 2007 film, A Mighty Heart. While comparisons are futile, in this case, it wouldn’t be an overstatement to say that Rao has internalised Omar and understands the evil in him.
Omerta is more like a documentary, shot with hand-held cameras and following a non-linear format. Mehta hasn’t focussed on everything that may have led him to become what he became—what led him to such a violent belief system; with his educational qualification, why didn’t he, even once, look at things objectively. Mehta has painted a searing picture of terrorism that is sometimes difficult to watch. Omerta offer hope or solutions, but leaves you with a void and emptiness while you wonder if that is what films should do to you.
Film: Omerta
Director: Hansal Mehta
Starring: Rajkummar Rao
Rating: 3/5