Film / Omerta 2018

some caption text

I am an ordinary man but you are a charmer.

— Omar Saeed Sheikh

Emotions and Motives. Trust and Suspicion. War on terror and War of ideologies. One man amongst many running plans and operations.

"Omerta" is an Indian biopic directed by Hansal Mehta about British-Pakistani terrorist- Omar Saeed Sheikh. Driven by a sense of hatred and vengeance, Omar Saeed Sheikh embarks on a journey of terror against the targets he believes are responsible for the suffering of his people. The film chronicles his journey from a college student who is aggrieved by the atrocities commited upon Bosnian Muslims to his eventual arrest for the 2002 Kidnapping and Murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl.

Starring common Hansal Mehta actor Rajkumar Rao and others like Rajesh Tailang and Rupinder Ismail.

---

You conspire to destroy tvtropes

• Affably Evil: Omar is usually very polite and friendly. His charisma as an individual works in his favour as he is able to easily win people's trust and lure them.
• Artistic License – History: Though Omar Saeed Sheikh was involved in the kidnapping of Daniel Pearl, the actual murderer is rather unclear. Khalid Sheikh Mohammed- one of the alleged masterminds of 9/11- claimed to have killed Pearl with his own right hand. The way Daniel Pearl's death is depicted is also inaccurate, as he was actually made to speak for minutes on camera and was killed mid-speech and never actually attempted to escape. Finally, in real life Omar did not have a television in his prison cell and received all information about the Mumbai attacks through calling his wife who was watching television.
• Determinator: Nothing can stop Omar from advancing towards his goal. Be it spicy chillies or harsh training(both of which are overbearing on him due to his rich and soft upbringing).
• Double-Meaning Title: Omertà refers to the code of silence that is taken by the Italian mafia to never give evidence to authorities. This is juxtaposed with the main character's name and his dedication to his ideology
• Evil Genius: Omar is a polygot who speaks multiple languages, is an arm wrestling champion, a chessmaster, has good social skills, has financial knowledge and can organize terror attacks with precision. Lampshaded by General Mahmud who explains that he specifically chose Omar because he was an educated, refined man.
• Evil Virtues: Omar genuinely cares about the muslim community as a whole and wishes to fight against those who oppress them, using any means. He is also very caring towards his family and friends.
• Freeze-Frame Bonus: In one of the scenes in the beginning of the movie, Omar is seen near a book titled "The Believer" by William Mc Cants about Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi the first Caliph of ISIS. This is a historical inaccuracy as the scene is set in 1994 and Baghdadi only became the Caliph in 2014.
• The Fundamentalist: Most of the prominent characters in the film especially Omar. They even insult people by calling them "kaffir"-infidel.
• Gory Discretion Shot: Daniel Pearl gets brutally beaten up and beheaded after trying run away from the terrorist compound but his body is never on camera while it's being done(we only get to see the blood on Omar's clothes). Though minutes after that the audience gets to see his decapitated head held by Omar Saeed Sheikh which is dripping blood.
• Greater-Scope Villain: Played with, for both sides of The War on Terror. For the terrorists, it's the govts opposing them and agencies like the CIA(which is never shown in the film). While for the counter-terrorists, it is the wider terrorist networks and the states sponsoring them.
• Hair-Trigger Temper: The real life Omar Saeed Sheikh was described to be like this, even throwing a teacher to the floor once and beating a jailor while in prison. In the movie, however he is only infuriated when he perceives someone to be insulting Islam(even if they didn't mean to) or when someone constantly provokes him e.g- Jaffar, his fellow Jihadist-in training repeatedly mocking him for being raised in London and telling him to quit, who gets beaten up.
• Irony: In an unexpected moment of self-awareness, Omar tells Daniel Pearl that both sides of the war on terror believe they are protecting something÷ the terrorists, their religion and the counter terrorists, the world. However despite this dictation, Omar truly believes he is on the right path.
• Kubrick Stare: Omar gives this while playing a chess game with his cellmate- Aftab.
• Might as Well Not Be in Prison at All: Towards the end of the film Omar makes fradulent calls to the Indian and Pakistani foreign ministries to provoke the two countries to war and directs terrorists through his cellphones all while watching television in his cell.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: Hatred towards America and the West as a whole, is one of the prime factors driving Omar. Not just the West but any non-muslim is his target of hate. He is also shown to be anti-semitic.
• South Asian Terrorists: All terrorists in the film are of South Asian origin, except for Osama bin Laden who is shown briefly in a documentary footage.
• Straight Edge Evil: Having been anguished by the deaths of Bosnian Muslims during The Yugoslav Wars, Omar abstains from pre-marital sex, drinks, drugs and any kind of distraction going into a fully radical mindset. He never accepts bribes and has no greed for money
• Villain Protagonist: The movie is a rare example where the perspective is entirely from the terrorists' side. What motivates people to join radical Islamist organizations and how they operate is shown. Ultimately, despite being somewhat sympathetic due to his desire to save his co-religionists, Omar is never glorified or shown to be justified in his actions.