Just when you think Rajkummar Rao couldn’t possibly beat his performance in cinema, here he comes with his latest movie in tow and blows our minds away! After giving stellar performances in movies such as Shahid, Trapped, and Newton, National Award-winner Rao is back with the critically acclaimed and long-awaited crime drama Omerta, and boy are we hooked!
Based on a true story of one of the deadliest terrorists of recent times, Rao plays the role of Omar Saeed Sheikh, a British terrorist of Pakistani descent. He was involved in some of the most heinous acts of terror. This included the 9/11 World Trade Center attacks in the United States, the 26/11 Mumbai terror strike and the brutal beheading of American journalist Daniel Pearl.
The journey towards evil that brews and manifests in Omar’s mind is brilliantly captured by Rao, and here’s why you need to see the darkness in the trailer to believe it.
The word Omerta literally means a code of silence about criminal activity and a refusal to give evidence to the police. In an interview with a daily publication, director Hansal Mehta said, “Omerta takes a look at this complex paradox of a man called Omar Saeed Sheikh. It was a difficult subject to choose and a challenge to make.”
“However, with an actor like Rajkummar, no challenge seems insurmountable and this was the ideal film to hurtle us out of our comfort zone to make something that is uncomfortable. But that is the burden of truth – it is uncomfortable and it must be faced,” he added.
Rao, who plays an anti-hero for the first time, mentions that the journey was a difficult one to make. In the interview, he said, “Omerta is among the most researched films that I have worked on till date. We actually visited some of the places frequented by Omar in London during his transformation from an LSE graduation student to becoming this deadly terrorist”.
“I needed to feel and touch this man’s past – to ingest him. It was not an easy journey for me to take. With Omerta and Hansal sir, we have a combination that will probably leave you stunned. There will be this moment of shock and silence as the end credits roll,” he added.
Produced by Nahid Khan, and directed by Hansal Mehta, Omerta is scheduled for release on 20th April 2018.
