An edge-of-the-seat terror tale

Omerta is neither about a mafia nor a code of silence. Its title is, perhaps, a play on the name of its central character, Omar Saeed Shaikh, a real-life British terrorist of Pakistani origin.

Currently in prison serving a life sentence, his name is linked to the IC-814 hijacking and the murder of journalist Daniel Pearl. Shaikh is no hero. He remains Omerta’s sole focus, though, as director Hansal Mehta attempts to peek inside the mind of a killer.

Mehta’s biggest challenge is to keep the darkness bearable, without seeming to make excuses for it. Omerta does this beautifully, ably assisted by Rajkummar Rao in a gripping and brave performance.

The film opens to a black screen and desperate cries of pain. From there on, Omerta moves back and forth in time, giving us glimpses of training camps inpak and Afghanistan, terrorist’s first meeting with an ISI officer, then an al-qaeda leader; his time in India’s Tihar jail. The movie delves into some of his crimes and touches ligh-tly upon others. Mehta’s use of real news footage gives a documentarylike feel to the film, but where the movie disappoi-nts is in its scale. There is no attempt to explain why this man swapped the London School of Economics for a life of ‘jihad’. Shaikh’s handlers and trainers repeat and repeat that their ‘cause’ needs a well-educated man like him, but they never venture to say why.

Rao proves his mettle once again as he smoothly switches accents and personalities, going from ruthless murderer to meek tour guide, from friendly banter to cold, hard violence. Combined with a crisp runtime of 97 minutes, the film will keep you on the edge of your seat.