From Birnamwood to Bollywood: A View of the Cinematographic Adaptation of Macbeth into Maqbool

Abstract

Purpose: The study aims to explore the similarities and dissimilarities between William Shakespeare’s Macbeth and its film adaptation Maqbool by Vishal Bhardwaj. The study also aims to compare both the film and the play in terms of politics and power from a psychoanalytic perspective. Methodology/ Approach: This study is based on thematic analysis and the main changes when the original play is adapted to film, in order to check the variation from stage to screen. Adaptation theory, Sigmund Freud’s psychoanalysis theory are used in this analysis. Bollywood movie Maqbool (2003) by director Vishal Bhardwaj and William Shakespeare’s great tragedy Macbeth (1606) are used as primary sources for this analysis. Findings: The result of the analysis indicates that film and drama are entirely different. When an original play is adapted into film, there are many merits and demerits.Shakespeare mounded more on poetic language than on spectacle and other scenic devices to create the necessary emotional effect. The Elizabethan theatre gores were more audiences than spectators. But the modern spectators habituated to the computer-generated technique of cinematography expect something considerably different. The result is that when the text of the play is converted into a screenplay, there will be a remarkable reduction in the number of spoken words because mainstream cinema depends for its effect largely on visual rather than dialogue. However, the director maintained the originality of play despite the additions and reductions. Conclusion: The paper throws light on the main changes from English Renaissance theatre to contemporary modern world or theatre. It depicts the Psychological behavioural differences and the power and political structures of the two different periods. The paper suggests that film adaptation is an effective and attractive tool to maintain the value and to understand the original text.