5 min readMumbaiJul 31, 2026 09:01 PM IST
Twenty years may have passed since Omkara first hit theatres, but Saif Ali Khan’s chilling turn as Langda Tyagi remains one of the finest villainous performances in Hindi cinema. Vishal Bhardwaj’s gritty adaptation of Shakespeare’s Othello not only redefined literary adaptations in Bollywood but also transformed Saif’s career, proving his range beyond the urbane romantic roles he had become synonymous with. Marking the film’s 20th anniversary, Omkara co-writer and associate director Abhishek Chaubey looked back on the casting of Saif as Langda Tyagi, revealing that Vishal Bhardwaj was the only one who believed the actor could pull off the complex role.
‘Nobody was sure about Saif Ali Khan’
Speaking to Bollywood Hungama, Chaubey said, “I was of the view that for the role of Langda Tyagi we would be going for a different, more serious kind of an actor or an art house actor because we were coming from Maqbool and all of that. But Vishal said that he is going for Saif. And I was like, ‘Are you sure?’ Saif hadn’t done anything like this before, right? He played romantic characters in urban films. The only film where he had negative shades was Ek Hasina Thi. He was very good in it but he was playing a very urbane character. This was a very different and rugged sort of a character.”
He added, “I wasn’t sure if it would work but Vishal was supremely confident that he would make him do it. I have to give credit to him because not just me but everybody around him was not very sure about his choice. But Vishal being a director could see something which we, obviously, couldn’t. And when Saif got to know that he is getting to play Iago, he quickly jumped at it. I think his mother Sharmila ji had something to do with it. She, sort of, encouraged him to play this part because, knowing Shakespeare, she told him that Iago is the most memorable character of this play. But his dates were not clear. I think he was doing Race. But then Race got pushed and he came on board.”
‘Saif Ali Khan jumped at the opportunity’
Omkara also became a landmark for its distinctive use of language. Its earthy dialect and unapologetic use of expletives felt organic to its world and were unlike anything mainstream Hindi audiences had experienced at the time, years before films such as Gangs of Wasseypur and series like Mirzapur made such dialogue commonplace. Recalling Saif Ali Khan’s reaction to the script, Abhishek Chaubey said the actor embraced the opportunity without hesitation.
Also Read | The women of Omkara make it the crown jewel of Vishal Bhardwaj’s Shakespeare trilogy
“Saif jumped at the opportunity. He said, ‘I am never going to get a chance to do something like this again’. There were some apprehensions how it will be acceptable to the Indian audience or how the censor board will pass it. But our intention behind it was very clear. Shakespeare has great poetry. So, there has to be something in the dialogue that gives it a rhythm and feel that sets it apart from what you normally see in a Hindi film. The way Vishal ji used the dialogue and even the abusive language worked, and I mean this seriously, in a very poetic way. It was not like how cuss words are used now without a thought carelessly.”
‘Saif wanted to play Othello’
Interestingly, Saif Ali Khan himself recently recalled the remarkable coincidence that led to him landing the role. Speaking to IMDb, the actor revealed that just moments after discussing Shakespeare with his mother, veteran actor Sharmila Tagore, he received an unexpected call from Vishal Bhardwaj. “I was actually in Jaipur, and I was staying in this hotel, shooting for something, I can’t remember what. My mom had just spoken to me, and she said, “Yeah, you’re becoming an interesting actor, and I like how you’re developing. You should do Shakespeare.” I said, “That’d be great if I could.” And then she suggested, “You should do Othello or something.” Then the phone rang. It was Vishal Bhardwaj. He said, “I’m thinking of offering a film to you. I’m thinking of doing Shakespeare.” I was like, “What?” He said, “Yes, Othello.” I went, “What?””
Story continues below this ad
Saif admitted that he initially believed he was being approached to play the titular character, which was eventually portrayed by Ajay Devgn as Omkara. Bhardwaj, however, had a different role in mind, one that would go on to become one of the defining performances of Saif’s career. “He came over and started telling me about it. I asked, ‘Should I play Othello?’ He said, ‘No, no, you’re too handsome to play Othello.’ (laughs) Which is… well, that was his way of saying it. But then he said, ‘I’m offering you a very interesting role.’ He offered me the part of Langda Tyagi.”
