Rao stated that he was in the character and appreciated the attacks, but soon realised that it was wrong. While filming, the November 2015 Paris attacks took place. He expressed that he was "disturbed" while shooting the film, because of the character he was playing and called it "easily the toughest character" he has played till date. To prepare for the role, Rao watched several videos, documentaries and hate speeches of Sheikh repeatedly to "gather a lot of hatred and anger" inside himself. Several real life footage's were purchased from different sources of the Indian Airlines flight 814 hijacking, media footage following the September 11 attacks. Mehta said that the film does not show the backstory of Sheikh and how he became a terrorist: "It is an uncomfortable film which will raise uncomfortable questions and answers that we have to compel our establishment to find". Mehta, along with his crew, visited some of the places that Ahmed Sheikh had visited. Mehta further told that the film "exposes state-sponsored terrorism and how it manipulates young minds into believing a sordid interpretation of Jihad." The film was shot in real locations across London and Punjab, Old Delhi, parts of Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh in India, while the scenes of Afghanistan and Pakistan were recreated. He further said that he wanted to leave the audience with a sense of "awe, disgust, hate, surprise" and to examine the "ramifications of these events on their lives today." Mehta called the villain of the film, Omar Sheikh, the " hannibal" of terrorism who could be planning how to outwit you even while talking to you." Mehta stated that his intention behind making Omerta was to explore evil as a "human characteristic". "I had to meet Rajkummar and because I met him, he became an enabler and because of him, I could make this film." Initially, Hansal was thinking of casting Riz Ahmed, a British actor of Pakistani descent, as the lead actor for Omerta. He credits Rao being a reason Omerta was made. He started developing the script but made Shahid (2012) with Rajkummar Rao instead, as he felt the latter was an "easier film to make". So he had to buy books, material from the archives and magazines for the research. Mehta said that at the time when Dev told him the story, the internet was "really slow". The story of Omerta was suggested to director Hansal Mehta by actor Mukul Dev in 2005, who marks his debut as a writer. Satwant Kaur as Qaisra Sheikh- Omar’s mother.Keval Arora as Saeed Sheikh, Omar's father.Timothy Ryan Hickernell as Daniel Pearl. Rajkummar Rao as Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh.Omerta was released on and received positive reviews from critics. Omerta was the closing night film in 2018 New York Indian Film Festival. Produced by Nahid Khan of Swiss Entertainment and Shaailesh R Singh of Karma Features, it was screened in the Special Presentations section at the 2017 Toronto International Film Festival, the Mumbai Film Festival, Florence Film Festival, Hong Kong International Film Festival and the Busan International Film Festival. The title refers to the Mafia's code of silence but is also a play on the name of the main character. The film explores the 1994 kidnappings of Westerners in India for which Omar was arrested and served time in prison and the plotting of murder of Wall Street Journal journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002. Omerta is a 2017 Indian biographical crime drama film directed by Hansal Mehta and stars Rajkumar Rao in the role of Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, British terrorist of Pakistani descent.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Details
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |