Like or dislike Anubhav Sinha but you can’t deny the brutal honesty with which he disses misuse of power or praises someone to the skies. The Thappad filmmaker who recently hit the headlines for quitting ‘Bollywood’ was all praise for his counterpart Hansal Mehta, as the latter’s most ambitious film, Omerta, had a digital premiere on Zee5. The film stars Rajkumar Rao as Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, a British terrorist with Pakistani origins.
Omerta is set amid the backdrop of the 1994 kidnappings of Westerners in India for which Omar was prisoned for his plot to murder Wall Street journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002. Though the film received critical acclaim, the film sank without a trace commercially. However, many film enthusiasts and filmmakers were eager to watch Omerta with bated breath and finally the moment had arrived.
Mr Raj Kumar Rao, what a stunning actor you are. And my friend Mr Mehta I’m proud that I know you. What a fabulously and deliciously brave film you crafted. #Omerta Thanks @ZEE5India for bringing it to us. @RajkummarRao @mehtahansal
— Anubhav Sinha (Not Bollywood) (@anubhavsinha) July 25, 2020
Not only that, but Hansal Mehta’s timeline is also filled with messages of immense love and praise for the film, which makes it clearer that the star system is gradually paving way for story-driven cinema. The pandemic has been a leveller on many fronts and it’ll certainly be more heartening to see such films rake in the moolah once the situation returns to normalcy.
(Omerta is streaming on ZEE5)
