National Award-winning actor Rajkummar Rao is the face of ghastly terror and moral bankruptcy in his latest thriller Omerta.
He brings to life the journey of British-born militant of Pakistani descent Ahmad Omar Saeed Shaikh, who masterminded the murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl and a series of terrorist attacks. Shaikh is now lodged in a prison in Pakistan.
“Omerta is the dark truth to our society... It reflects what is happening in today’s lives about those who are getting brainwashed into joining these [militant] organisations and creating violence around the world,” said Rao in an interview with Gulf News tabloid!.
To paint a compelling, clinical portrait, the actor relied on reading several books on radicalisation and trying to understand the various ideologies behind militant outfits across the world by watching documentaries and interviews with its leaders.
“I was trying to understand their mental prowess... But what was disturbing for me about Ahmad Omar Saeed Shaikh was how someone so gullible at one point of time was brainwashed and joined that path of destruction. He’s someone who could probably have contributed to the betterment of society, but he ended up doing such things.”
Born in London, Shaikh attended the London School Of Economics. He is believed to have been radicalised at the age of 19 in Bosnia. In 1994, he was arrested in India for kidnapping Westerners, but while he was serving his prison sentence, the hijacking of an Indian Airlines plane in 1999 ensured his freedom. In exchange for the 155 hostages on the plane, Omar Shaikh was freed.
But there is no attempt to glorify the ruthless subject, claim Rao and his director, Hansal Mehta.
“From day one, we have been clear that it’s the story of an antagonist. Even if the story is from the character’s perspective, nobody can justify violence. We as artists will always condemn it. We can never justify violent actions.” It’s a matter-of-fact journey of evil, said Mehta, who was approached with the script in 2005 by his actor-friend Mukul Dev.
“Ever since, it has stuck in my head. I felt fascination, loathing, sense of fear and excitement when I heard the story. But I realised that the story is very crucial and important in today’s times,” said Mehta, the man behind critically acclaimed films such as Shahid, the tale of slain human rights activist Shahid Azmi (also starring Rao), and the immigrant drama City Lights.
“What is deeply disturbing and saddening is that a man like Shahid, who championed human rights, isn’t alive today but someone like Omar Shaikh is still alive. It’s an irony,” said Mehta, adding the film is a portrait of the politics of today’s times.
Omerta, which means a code of silence surrounding criminal activity, is Rao and Mehta’s fourth film together. But did they fear alienating the Muslim community with their latest film?
“For us it wasn’t about religion at all. For us, it was about what he [Shaikh] did to the world. Remember we are the same people who made the film Shahid,” said Rao, alluding to his award-winning film about a lawyer who defended those who were wrongly accused in cases of terrorism. Mehta added that their collective aim was to make a taut, procedural thriller based on the dramatisation of Shaikh’s life. With a running time of 115 minutes, the pace is rapid.
“Raj and I were attempting to do something that we have never done before: we were challenging ourselves to tell a story of somebody who lacks any retribution or remorse... We tried to be very objective about it,” said Mehta.
While they had endless discussions on how Rao should approach the role, the actor was clear that he wanted to give his own spin to the grim role.
“I found the whole character and the film immensely challenging. I have never played such a role in my career before... a character with no remorse for his actions,” he said.
But living with such anger and hatred didn’t come easy.
“That kind of internal violence was disturbing. It made me feel troubled and once the film was done, I wanted to get out of that mental space... At the same time, this is what I love the most about being an actor. I want to do different kinds of roles and lives on the big screen,” said Rao, whose film Newton was India’s entry to the Oscars last year, but failed to make the cut.
But it isn’t the prospect of awards that make Rao or Mehta gravitate towards a project. While Mehta hopes that the maximum number of movie fans will give his film a fair trial, Rao hopes that it engages his fans.
“I just expect people to like this film a lot. I don’t think [about] whether I stand to win an award or not for this one,” said Rao.
Plus, there wouldn’t be any spoon-feeding viewers in Omerta — a charge that’s often directed at Hindi film directors as they tend to underestimate the intelligence of viewers.
“Omerta is a mirror and a look at the world that you live in today. It may push you to find out how we can — as citizens of the new world — correct and remedy this malaise of terrorism,” said Mehta.
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‘Omerta’ releases in the UAE on May 3.
