<i>Omkara</i> is now <i>Issak</i>

By: Taran Adarsh, IndiaFM

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

Vishal Bharadwaj has finally decided on the title of his new film, an adaptation of the Shakespeare masterpiece 'Othello'. It's Issak. "My producers are keen to call it Issak [that's how people in U.P. pronounce Ishq]. They feel a title like Omkara has its limitations," states Vishal.

Meanwhile, a section of the media had gallantly announced that this Ajay-Saif-Vivek starrer will be premiered at the Cannes Film Festival in May this year. "How can we premiere Issak at Cannes when the fact remains that it is not even complete? I guess, most journos don't understand the technicalities and misconstrue facts," he sounds sarcastic.

The fact is that a special promo of Issak will be showcased to the distributors and media at Cannes. "We are preparing a 10-minute showreel for Cannes. Kishore Lulla [the Overseas distributor of Issak] is also putting up a stall there, highlighting his forthcoming acquisitions for the Overseas territory, including Issak. As things stand today, the principal cast of Issak will participate in a media briefing at Cannes," Vishal clarifies.

Vishal is keen to release Issak in August this year, but is undecided about the date since Karan Johar hasn't confirmed the release schedule of Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna so far. "We plan to release Issak after Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna. If Karan's film arrives on August 4/11, we will bring our film two weeks later," he reveals.