Vishal Bhardwaj is certifiably a courageous man. Apart from taking control as the director of Omkara -- his much-publicised and flaunted adaptation of Othello -- Bhardwaj has written the screenplay and dialogues, and also composed the music.

There are no changes in the play's structure. In the original, Othello elopes with the fair Desdemona. Convinced by his wicked aide Iago that she has been having an affair with his lieutenant Cassio, he murders her. When Iago's wife Emilia reveals that Desdemona's affair was faked, she is murdered by her husband while Othello kills himself.

Bhardwaj's version takes the same players and situations, but sets them in Uttar Pradesh. He gives his characters names that either begin with the same letter as the originals, or sound like those names. Then, with a few tweaks to the plot, he makes the story his own.

In a nutshell, Omkara Shukla (Ajay Devgan) is a revered chieftain of a gang of outlaws. Prominent among the members of his group are the wily Ishwar 'Langda' Tyagi (Saif Ali Khan) and lively Keshav Upadhyay or Kesu (Vivek Oberoi).

When Kesu is appointed chief lieutenant to Omkara, Langda jealously decides to involve Omkara's fiancée Dolly Mishra (Kareena Kapoor) in an illicit affair with Kesu, with the help of a little insinuation and a great deal of lies. The consequences are, of course, tragic. By the time Omkara realises his mistake, it is too late.

Bhardwaj's Othello-Omkara is less trusting, his Iago-Tyagi, more wily. The dialect obviously helps recreate what is familiar territory for most readers, but it is the choice of characters that really helps make this a new experience. It takes them from their established milieus and sets them down in strange terrain.

As a man stricken, in turns, by jealousy and love, Ajay Devgan is admirable. Saif and Kareena prove they really need a good director to shine; their potential has been aptly used in the film. Konkona Sen Sharma, who plays Langda's wife Indu, is her usual efficient self, as is Naseeruddin Shah in his role of the politician Bhaisaab.

Bipasha Basu plays a 'nautch girl' (dancer) called Billo Chamanbahar, and displays three dance moves. Vivek Oberoi stands around and smiles.

A classic script always has the power to move the audience, provided it is handled by a director who knows his craft, and actors who understand their job.

Shakespeare would have smiled.

Compiled by Cultural Correspondent