'Everyone was doubtful': Saif Ali Khan says Omkara convinced Bollywood folks 'who otherwise think I can't do it'

Saif Ali Khan won awards and acclaim for his portrayal of rustic gangster Langda Tyagi in Vishal Bhardwaj's Omkara.

As Saif Ali Khan returns to the heartland with his cop drama Kartavya, many viewers and journalists are reminded of his first tryst with the land - Omkara. In Vishal Bhardwaj's seminal Shakespearean adaptation, Saif played gangster Langda Tyagi, widely considered his finest performance. In a new interview, the actor said the performance helped him overcome doubts from within the industry and audiences.

Saif Ali Khan as Langda Tyagi in Omkara.

Saof Ali Khan recalls Vishal Bhardwaj's Omkara

Released in July 2006, Omkara is widely regarded as one of Hindi cinema's finest Shakespearean adaptations, transplanting the tragedy of Othello to the political badlands of Uttar Pradesh. Ajay Devgn played the titular role, while Saif's Langda Tyagi was based on the Shakespearean villain Iago. The film also starred Kareena Kapoor, Vivek Oberoi, and Konkona Sen Sharma.

Saif credited Vishal Bhardwaj for keeping faith in him to play the role. “Everyone was doubtful, but he was very kind and supportive and helped me with the dialogues. I did a lot of homework. I was on holiday in theMaldives, people were like, 'Why don't you rehearse in the heartland?' I was reading this script under an umbrella in the Maldives, learning all these lines, and kept practising. Then I came back,” he told PTI.

‘The film has done so much for me’

Saif's performance earned him the Filmfare Award for Best Supporting Actor. The actor said the performance and the reception helped him win over people in the industry, and he is reaping those rewards till today.

“The film has done so much for me, and I'll always be thankful. It has expressed a certain range to a bunch of filmmakers, who would otherwise think that I can't do it. They've said, 'Okay, if he's done that, then he can do this. I like playing roles like this (in Kartavya), which is not like Omkara, but it's a little grounded, rooted, and very different from my personality. But that's the whole point of acting. So, it's nice if you can be free enough to have your own accent and your own body language and not try and convince people that actually you can be different,” Saif added.

Kartavya is directed by Pulkit of Bhakshak fame and produced by Gauri Khan under the banner Red Chillies Entertainment. The film also features Sanjay Mishra, Saurabh Dwivedi, Zakir Hussain, Manish Chaudhari and Rasika Dugal. It will premiere on Netflix on Friday, May 15.