Hansal Mehta and Rajkummar Rao make a great team — the director, actor duo have worked on three films together so far — Aligarh, CityLights an and Shahid, and the films have won recognition for the way Mehta manages to portray a sensitive issue so well on the silver screen. The film even made Rajkumar Rao win a National Award for his performance in Shahid, making him the youngest National Award winner in history.
Hansal Mehta introduced his next project with a tweet on August 2016. In the black-and-white image, Rajkummar is seen giving an intense look while wearing glasses and sporting a beard.
About getting into the character’s skin, Rajkummar said, “It’s a complete contrast to what I did in Shahid. I play the anti-hero here. I’ve tried my best to make this character as real as possible. I even stayed in London for a while to get the hang of his way of life. The character is extremely cold and aloof and it was a bit of a challenge to convince myself as an actor to believe in his convictions.”
Omerta is based on the life of the British born terrorist Ahmed Omar Saeed Sheikh, known for his involvement in the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl in 2002, and his links to various other Islamist organisations, reports Times of India.
Mehta also spoke about the sensitive subject of the film. Mehta explains, “I’ve never been afraid of trouble or feared censorship. It’s a political thriller that deals with radical groups and their nexus with intelligence syndicates. They work for hand in glove. It’s all a political power play to create unrest and keep the balance oscillating. Why do educated folks get radicalised? It’s important to understand the entire system.”
