Monday, November 12, 2007
Some facts about Om Shanti Om
1.The first story draft of Om Shanti Om was written by Farah Khan on Andrew Lloyd Webber’s letterhead. Farah had gone to London for the Bollywood-themed musical, Bombay Dreams, in 2002 and was staying in Andrew’s house. She penned down her thoughts on his letterhead. But she made Main Hoon Naa before Om Shanti Om. The complete screenplay, except for some portions was written by Farah in two weeks flat
2. Shahrukh Khan who plays a struggling actor in the movie in the first half apparently fights a tiger while trying to impress Deepika. He tells her that he is a rising star from the South Indian film industry and that his name is Omswami. His favourite line in the film is ‘Atti Patti Katti’. The scene was canned in Bombay’s Film City. Shahrukh Khan also plays a superhero ‘Mohabbatman’ in the film and rescues Malaika Arora. Mohabbatman, like superheroes, wears his underwear over his tights! However, the super villain wears his underwear inside his tights
3. 31 stars including Shahrukh make a special appearance in the Deewangi song including Rani Mukherjee, Preity Zinta, Rekha, Jeetendra, Ritesh Deshmukh, Aftab Shivdasani, Shabana Azmi, Kajol, Priyanka Chopra, Shilpa Shetty, Arbaaz Khan, Amrita Arora, Vidya Balan, Juhi Chawla, Saif Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Salman Khan, Mithun Chakraborty, Dharmendra, Tusshar Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor, Tabu, Urmila Matondkar, Sunil Shetty, Govinda, Bobby Deol etc. Nobody charged Shah Rukh anything for making an appearance in the Deewangi song. Everybody did the song gratis. Knowing Shah Rukh Khan, he sent each of the stars who made a special appearance in the film, a gift hamper. The gift hamper had stuff like a Tag Heur watch, a Nokia mobile phone and other items.
4. Farah Khan was keen on having Dev Anand in the Deewangi song, however, the actor declined the offer as he never does special appearances. Dev Anand explained that till date, he has always played lead roles and he did not wish to break his tradition by doing something like this. He therefore politely declined the offer, gave regards to Shah Rukh Khan and gave his best wishes to SRK and Farah for their film. Sridevi is another actress who refused to be a part of the song because she wanted to appear in the song with husband Boney Kapoor. But since the song had actors and actresses only and not their spouses or film producers and directors, she could not be accommodated.
5. Before Vishal-Shekhar stepped in to compose the music for the movie, A R Rahman was signed for the music composition. The reason why A R Rahman opted out of this film was that he wanted the music rights to stay with the Composer and the Lyricist along with the producer, something which Farah and Shah Rukh Khan didn’t agree with.
6. Farah Khan convinced a veteran music director Pyarelal to come off his self-imposed exile from the current film music scene to compose a song for Shah Rukh Khan’s Om Shanti Om. The song was created in nine shifts spread over three days. And in LP style the song’s recording happened with a 150-plus orchestra, a rarity in today’s age of digitally-arranged music making. 40-45 different drums ranging from tabla and dhol to duff, 40 plus violins and 22 woodwinds amongst other instruments were used for the song
7. Farah Khan also approached Aamir Khan to make a special appearance in the Deewangi song but he pleaded inability to shoot. He was busy with the shooting of Taare Zameen Par and his participation in the song would have delayed his film and, in turn his new film, the Ghajini remake too. Anil Kapoor also did not agree to become a part of the song. Anil feared that he would be made fun of, on the sets. Also, Anil didn’t feel like being one among so many actors!
2. Shahrukh Khan who plays a struggling actor in the movie in the first half apparently fights a tiger while trying to impress Deepika. He tells her that he is a rising star from the South Indian film industry and that his name is Omswami. His favourite line in the film is ‘Atti Patti Katti’. The scene was canned in Bombay’s Film City. Shahrukh Khan also plays a superhero ‘Mohabbatman’ in the film and rescues Malaika Arora. Mohabbatman, like superheroes, wears his underwear over his tights! However, the super villain wears his underwear inside his tights
3. 31 stars including Shahrukh make a special appearance in the Deewangi song including Rani Mukherjee, Preity Zinta, Rekha, Jeetendra, Ritesh Deshmukh, Aftab Shivdasani, Shabana Azmi, Kajol, Priyanka Chopra, Shilpa Shetty, Arbaaz Khan, Amrita Arora, Vidya Balan, Juhi Chawla, Saif Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Salman Khan, Mithun Chakraborty, Dharmendra, Tusshar Kapoor, Karisma Kapoor, Tabu, Urmila Matondkar, Sunil Shetty, Govinda, Bobby Deol etc. Nobody charged Shah Rukh anything for making an appearance in the Deewangi song. Everybody did the song gratis. Knowing Shah Rukh Khan, he sent each of the stars who made a special appearance in the film, a gift hamper. The gift hamper had stuff like a Tag Heur watch, a Nokia mobile phone and other items.
4. Farah Khan was keen on having Dev Anand in the Deewangi song, however, the actor declined the offer as he never does special appearances. Dev Anand explained that till date, he has always played lead roles and he did not wish to break his tradition by doing something like this. He therefore politely declined the offer, gave regards to Shah Rukh Khan and gave his best wishes to SRK and Farah for their film. Sridevi is another actress who refused to be a part of the song because she wanted to appear in the song with husband Boney Kapoor. But since the song had actors and actresses only and not their spouses or film producers and directors, she could not be accommodated.
5. Before Vishal-Shekhar stepped in to compose the music for the movie, A R Rahman was signed for the music composition. The reason why A R Rahman opted out of this film was that he wanted the music rights to stay with the Composer and the Lyricist along with the producer, something which Farah and Shah Rukh Khan didn’t agree with.
6. Farah Khan convinced a veteran music director Pyarelal to come off his self-imposed exile from the current film music scene to compose a song for Shah Rukh Khan’s Om Shanti Om. The song was created in nine shifts spread over three days. And in LP style the song’s recording happened with a 150-plus orchestra, a rarity in today’s age of digitally-arranged music making. 40-45 different drums ranging from tabla and dhol to duff, 40 plus violins and 22 woodwinds amongst other instruments were used for the song
7. Farah Khan also approached Aamir Khan to make a special appearance in the Deewangi song but he pleaded inability to shoot. He was busy with the shooting of Taare Zameen Par and his participation in the song would have delayed his film and, in turn his new film, the Ghajini remake too. Anil Kapoor also did not agree to become a part of the song. Anil feared that he would be made fun of, on the sets. Also, Anil didn’t feel like being one among so many actors!
Taran Adarsh's Review of Om Shanti Om
Cut the crap, cut the gyan-baazi, cut the will-it-won’t-it work naatak. Shah Rukh Khan and Farah Khan’s OM SHANTI OM is a true-blue masala entertainer. If MAIN HOON NA was a chauka, this one hits a sixer!
Wait, a word of advice to all netizens/readers across the globe. Don’t, for God’s sake don’t, raise exclamations like kab?, kyun? kahan? as OM SHANTI OM begins to unravel. This is atypical Manmohan Desai film presented in a novel avtaar by Farah Khan. It’s definitely not for pseudos or advocates of arthouse cinema.
Now let’s clear some myths surrounding OM SHANTI OM. Is it the 2007 adaptation of Subhash Ghai’s immensely likable reincarnation film KARZ? Does it have traces of KUDRAT? Or MADHUMATI? Or MILAN? Or KARAN ARJUN? Hold on, there’s a dash of KARZ, a bit of KARAN ARJUN, a sprinkling of KUDRAT, but beyond that it’s a film that makes you nostalgic about 1970s Bollywood.Write your own movie review of Om Shanti Om
To sum up, OM SHANTI OM is paisa vasool entertainment. We haven’t seen SRK in a hardcore masala film since quite some time. He had drifted to other genres, which proved his range as an actor of repute and cemented his status further. With OM SHANTI OM, he gives back to the audience what he himself grew up on — a thorough entertainer that will have the audience thirsting for more.
This Diwali, have a blast!
OM SHANTI OM tells the story of Om [Shah Rukh Khan] and Shanti [Deepika Padukone]. Om is a junior artist in the 70s. Shanti is the reigning superstar. He is her biggest fan. He is in love with her. Om dreams of being a superstar, but an incident changes his life forever.
Om dies in a mishap, but is reborn into the present day. He attempts to discover the mystery of his demise…
The general feeling is, Farah Khan has remade Ghai’s KARZ from Frame A to Z. False! There’re similarities, but it’s not a rehashed version of Ghai’s film. For, OM SHANTI OM takes you by complete surprise at several points.
The first twist in the tale [Arjun - Deepika’s heated confrontation, with SRK listening to this important conversation] comes as a bolt from the blue. The second jhatka comes slightly before the intermission, when Arjun takes Deepika to the set of his film ‘Om Shanti Om’ and the entire episode that follows, right till the intermission, is spellbinding. That’s a brilliant stroke from the writing [screenplay: Mushtaq Shaikh and Farah Khan] as also the execution point of view. When the opulent set is set to flames, it leaves you wide-eyed and awe-struck. Such is the impact!
The post-interval portions only get better and better! If the initial portions are laced with humour [the premiere of ‘Dreamy Girl’, the Manoj Kumar episode, Ghai directing Rishi on ‘Om Shanti Om’ song, et al], the second half moves into a new zone completely.
It’s punar-janam now, but thankfully, there’re no lightening, no fireworks, no zooming of the camera on the idols of Gods. The drama builds up gradually. The voices that SRK keeps hearing, the ‘fire’ soon after the ‘Dard-E-Disco’ track, the mother [Kirron Kher], an old lady now, chasing Om’s car [reminds you of Raakhee of KARAN ARJUN], the flashes of SRK’s earlier birth while receiving the Filmfare Award — the incidents that make him realize that his life was cut short in his earlier janam have been well structured.
When Deepika re-emerges as well, the viewer is confused, but the mystery is resolved towards the end, which, again, takes you by complete surprise.
Given the fact that OM SHANTI OM is a Manmohan Desai kind of a film set in the present-day, it would be foolhardy to ask questions, raise eyebrows and look for logic. But the second half could’ve been crisper [length: 18 reels/2.46 hours], although Shirish Kunder’s editing is perfect.
Farah knows what her priorities are and most importantly, knows exactly what her target audience is. The execution of a number of sequences clearly shows Farah’s growth as a storyteller. Mushtaq and Farah’s writing works because the writers pull out several surprises in those 2.46 hours.
V. Manikanandan’s cinematography captures the gloss and grandeur to the minutest. The opulent sets [Sabu Cyril] deserve distinction marks. Dialogues [Mayur Puri] are witty and do raise a chuckle at several points. Background score [Sandeep Chowta] is effective.
Vishal-Shekhar’s music is first-rate. The score is in sync with the content of the film and what accentuate the goings-on are the choreography and execution. Although every song is visually enticing, the 21-star track as also ‘Dard-E-Disco’ will have the masses going into a frenzy.
Now to the performances! SRK proves his supremacy yet again. If you thought that playing to the gallery came easy to certain actors only, watch SRK spin magic in OM SHANTI OM. He’s magnificent, the star attraction, the soul of this film, the true baadshah.
Deepika has all it takes to be a top star — the personality, the looks and yes, she’s supremely talented too. Standing in the same frame as SRK and getting it right is no small achievement. She comes as a whiff of fresh air!
Arjun Rampal is a complete revelation. Cast in a negative role this time, he enacts his part with panache and style. Shreyas Talpade is another surprise. A complete natural, he stands on his feet all through, not getting swayed while sharing the screen space with the topmost star.
Kirron Kher is superb as the over the top mom. Javed Sheikh is alright. Bindu adds to the funny moments.
On the whole, OM SHANTI OM is Bollywood masala in its truest form and also, at its best. At the box-office, the film will set new records in days to come and has the power to emerge one of the biggest hits of SRK’s career. Blockbuster hit!
Wait, a word of advice to all netizens/readers across the globe. Don’t, for God’s sake don’t, raise exclamations like kab?, kyun? kahan? as OM SHANTI OM begins to unravel. This is atypical Manmohan Desai film presented in a novel avtaar by Farah Khan. It’s definitely not for pseudos or advocates of arthouse cinema.
Now let’s clear some myths surrounding OM SHANTI OM. Is it the 2007 adaptation of Subhash Ghai’s immensely likable reincarnation film KARZ? Does it have traces of KUDRAT? Or MADHUMATI? Or MILAN? Or KARAN ARJUN? Hold on, there’s a dash of KARZ, a bit of KARAN ARJUN, a sprinkling of KUDRAT, but beyond that it’s a film that makes you nostalgic about 1970s Bollywood.Write your own movie review of Om Shanti Om
To sum up, OM SHANTI OM is paisa vasool entertainment. We haven’t seen SRK in a hardcore masala film since quite some time. He had drifted to other genres, which proved his range as an actor of repute and cemented his status further. With OM SHANTI OM, he gives back to the audience what he himself grew up on — a thorough entertainer that will have the audience thirsting for more.
This Diwali, have a blast!
OM SHANTI OM tells the story of Om [Shah Rukh Khan] and Shanti [Deepika Padukone]. Om is a junior artist in the 70s. Shanti is the reigning superstar. He is her biggest fan. He is in love with her. Om dreams of being a superstar, but an incident changes his life forever.
Om dies in a mishap, but is reborn into the present day. He attempts to discover the mystery of his demise…
The general feeling is, Farah Khan has remade Ghai’s KARZ from Frame A to Z. False! There’re similarities, but it’s not a rehashed version of Ghai’s film. For, OM SHANTI OM takes you by complete surprise at several points.
The first twist in the tale [Arjun - Deepika’s heated confrontation, with SRK listening to this important conversation] comes as a bolt from the blue. The second jhatka comes slightly before the intermission, when Arjun takes Deepika to the set of his film ‘Om Shanti Om’ and the entire episode that follows, right till the intermission, is spellbinding. That’s a brilliant stroke from the writing [screenplay: Mushtaq Shaikh and Farah Khan] as also the execution point of view. When the opulent set is set to flames, it leaves you wide-eyed and awe-struck. Such is the impact!
The post-interval portions only get better and better! If the initial portions are laced with humour [the premiere of ‘Dreamy Girl’, the Manoj Kumar episode, Ghai directing Rishi on ‘Om Shanti Om’ song, et al], the second half moves into a new zone completely.
It’s punar-janam now, but thankfully, there’re no lightening, no fireworks, no zooming of the camera on the idols of Gods. The drama builds up gradually. The voices that SRK keeps hearing, the ‘fire’ soon after the ‘Dard-E-Disco’ track, the mother [Kirron Kher], an old lady now, chasing Om’s car [reminds you of Raakhee of KARAN ARJUN], the flashes of SRK’s earlier birth while receiving the Filmfare Award — the incidents that make him realize that his life was cut short in his earlier janam have been well structured.
When Deepika re-emerges as well, the viewer is confused, but the mystery is resolved towards the end, which, again, takes you by complete surprise.
Given the fact that OM SHANTI OM is a Manmohan Desai kind of a film set in the present-day, it would be foolhardy to ask questions, raise eyebrows and look for logic. But the second half could’ve been crisper [length: 18 reels/2.46 hours], although Shirish Kunder’s editing is perfect.
Farah knows what her priorities are and most importantly, knows exactly what her target audience is. The execution of a number of sequences clearly shows Farah’s growth as a storyteller. Mushtaq and Farah’s writing works because the writers pull out several surprises in those 2.46 hours.
V. Manikanandan’s cinematography captures the gloss and grandeur to the minutest. The opulent sets [Sabu Cyril] deserve distinction marks. Dialogues [Mayur Puri] are witty and do raise a chuckle at several points. Background score [Sandeep Chowta] is effective.
Vishal-Shekhar’s music is first-rate. The score is in sync with the content of the film and what accentuate the goings-on are the choreography and execution. Although every song is visually enticing, the 21-star track as also ‘Dard-E-Disco’ will have the masses going into a frenzy.
Now to the performances! SRK proves his supremacy yet again. If you thought that playing to the gallery came easy to certain actors only, watch SRK spin magic in OM SHANTI OM. He’s magnificent, the star attraction, the soul of this film, the true baadshah.
Deepika has all it takes to be a top star — the personality, the looks and yes, she’s supremely talented too. Standing in the same frame as SRK and getting it right is no small achievement. She comes as a whiff of fresh air!
Arjun Rampal is a complete revelation. Cast in a negative role this time, he enacts his part with panache and style. Shreyas Talpade is another surprise. A complete natural, he stands on his feet all through, not getting swayed while sharing the screen space with the topmost star.
Kirron Kher is superb as the over the top mom. Javed Sheikh is alright. Bindu adds to the funny moments.
On the whole, OM SHANTI OM is Bollywood masala in its truest form and also, at its best. At the box-office, the film will set new records in days to come and has the power to emerge one of the biggest hits of SRK’s career. Blockbuster hit!
Passion For Cinema Review
He came, he saw, he conquered. The outsider who made it. And now he is laughing at everyone - the whole industry, the way it works, the biggest stars, their tantrums, filmfare awards and at himself too.
Shahrukh Khan always makes great copy. But get ready to hear and see what he has never said before. Sample this “overacting to mere khandaan me hi hai”. Even admitting “Phir bhi dil hai NRI”. And i loved it.
No, am not big fan of either SRK or Main Hoon Na. Loved him in Swades and Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na. Could not digest Main Hoon Na because of that irritating Zayed monkey Khan and the Indo-Pak angle. Otherwise it was great comic book on big screen. But if you loved Main Hoon Na, then get ready to rock and roll again.
I think everyone knows whats the story is all about. And if you dont, then you must be in some neverland because SRK and his gang are everywhere. Just tell them the address of the place, they will reach faster than you can imagine to promote the film even at your neverland. Farah is not ashamed to admit what she likes and what kind of film she aspires to make. She has always been honest about it and OSO is all about that. Its MTV-style spoof from start to finish. Its not great cinema. Its just good entertainment, sabkuch bollywood ishtyle!!
Its the Alchemist philosophy at work…”when you really want something to happen, the whole universe conspires so that your wish comes true.” Its all about “Happy End” nahi to picture abhi baki hai dostoon!! You will get to see whatever you are expecting with some little twists and turns here and there. SRK is in typical SRK form. The film belongs to him from start to finish. Everyone else is just extra. Deepika Padukone doesnt have much to do except look good and show some cleavge. Is good in whatever she is supposed to be. For the first time, Arjun Rampal acts and yes does it well. The typical bollywood villain!! Kirron Kher is the hindi film mummy with full rona-dhona and nautanki!!
The sequences where they have showed the 70’s films on big screen have been done pretty well. It’s great nostalgia to see them on big screen. Now who would not like to dance to Chintu Uncle’s Om Shanti Om song..(remember that scene in Shekhar Kapoor’s Masoom…mummy, dekho na chintu uncle tv par aa rahe hai…om shanti om!). And here, you will have many more from that era.
Om Prakash Makhija, the struggling actor who is an extra in the films dies with his dream. And Om Kapoor, the worst actor is the biggest superstar. He has everything that he wants. Everyone dances to his tune. He is rude and is complete non-sense. Because its an indutsry where the surname “Khan” or “Kapoor” matters. And nothing else. A parody on every one who shares the same surname. A spoof on every star son.
Kept on wondering if SRK really prayed for the “Khan” surname in his last birth and got his wish granted. I seriously think that something like that happened .
And this is what i liked most about the film….they are showing the middle finger to everyone. And people have no option but to laugh. Can bet that SRK is laughing his way to the bank again.
Weak point…the music didnt work for me. You dont come out of the theatre humming any of the songs. But in Main Hoon Na, loved all songs.
In the end when everyone from the cast and crew walk down the red carpet, am willing to stand up and cheer. Because everytime when the credits roll in the end, have always wondered who are those faceless people whose names come in so small font size that they cant tell their near and dear ones to spot even their names. Forget about catching them on the big screen. This time they are all dressed up and dancing on the red carpet. Wow!!
So, go for it if you loved Main Hoon Na. Go for it even if you didnt like Main Hoon Na. Just go to have a great laugh. Films that we love, stars whom we hate, stereotypes that we cant do without….its all there. The not so great actor but the biggest star of bollywood has finally dared to laugh at himself. You should not miss out.
If Manmohan Desai is thinking of re-birth now, am sure he must be asking to be one of Farah’s triplets. Btw, two questions…
Q1. Why is Javed Akhtar missing from all the promotions ? Is not there even in the film where it has cameo by almost everyone.
Q2. Why SRK never said that its the most personal film ? Because it is. Though everyone says the same these days about every new release of theirs.
(Also, was wondering if its fair to put the review even before the release of the film. OZ said…lets do it. I thought yes why not. In the last one month or so, OSO team have made me mad with their publicity and dard-e-disco. so I can be little impatient atleast. )
Shahrukh Khan always makes great copy. But get ready to hear and see what he has never said before. Sample this “overacting to mere khandaan me hi hai”. Even admitting “Phir bhi dil hai NRI”. And i loved it.
No, am not big fan of either SRK or Main Hoon Na. Loved him in Swades and Kabhi Haan Kabhi Na. Could not digest Main Hoon Na because of that irritating Zayed monkey Khan and the Indo-Pak angle. Otherwise it was great comic book on big screen. But if you loved Main Hoon Na, then get ready to rock and roll again.
I think everyone knows whats the story is all about. And if you dont, then you must be in some neverland because SRK and his gang are everywhere. Just tell them the address of the place, they will reach faster than you can imagine to promote the film even at your neverland. Farah is not ashamed to admit what she likes and what kind of film she aspires to make. She has always been honest about it and OSO is all about that. Its MTV-style spoof from start to finish. Its not great cinema. Its just good entertainment, sabkuch bollywood ishtyle!!
Its the Alchemist philosophy at work…”when you really want something to happen, the whole universe conspires so that your wish comes true.” Its all about “Happy End” nahi to picture abhi baki hai dostoon!! You will get to see whatever you are expecting with some little twists and turns here and there. SRK is in typical SRK form. The film belongs to him from start to finish. Everyone else is just extra. Deepika Padukone doesnt have much to do except look good and show some cleavge. Is good in whatever she is supposed to be. For the first time, Arjun Rampal acts and yes does it well. The typical bollywood villain!! Kirron Kher is the hindi film mummy with full rona-dhona and nautanki!!
The sequences where they have showed the 70’s films on big screen have been done pretty well. It’s great nostalgia to see them on big screen. Now who would not like to dance to Chintu Uncle’s Om Shanti Om song..(remember that scene in Shekhar Kapoor’s Masoom…mummy, dekho na chintu uncle tv par aa rahe hai…om shanti om!). And here, you will have many more from that era.
Om Prakash Makhija, the struggling actor who is an extra in the films dies with his dream. And Om Kapoor, the worst actor is the biggest superstar. He has everything that he wants. Everyone dances to his tune. He is rude and is complete non-sense. Because its an indutsry where the surname “Khan” or “Kapoor” matters. And nothing else. A parody on every one who shares the same surname. A spoof on every star son.
Kept on wondering if SRK really prayed for the “Khan” surname in his last birth and got his wish granted. I seriously think that something like that happened .
And this is what i liked most about the film….they are showing the middle finger to everyone. And people have no option but to laugh. Can bet that SRK is laughing his way to the bank again.
Weak point…the music didnt work for me. You dont come out of the theatre humming any of the songs. But in Main Hoon Na, loved all songs.
In the end when everyone from the cast and crew walk down the red carpet, am willing to stand up and cheer. Because everytime when the credits roll in the end, have always wondered who are those faceless people whose names come in so small font size that they cant tell their near and dear ones to spot even their names. Forget about catching them on the big screen. This time they are all dressed up and dancing on the red carpet. Wow!!
So, go for it if you loved Main Hoon Na. Go for it even if you didnt like Main Hoon Na. Just go to have a great laugh. Films that we love, stars whom we hate, stereotypes that we cant do without….its all there. The not so great actor but the biggest star of bollywood has finally dared to laugh at himself. You should not miss out.
If Manmohan Desai is thinking of re-birth now, am sure he must be asking to be one of Farah’s triplets. Btw, two questions…
Q1. Why is Javed Akhtar missing from all the promotions ? Is not there even in the film where it has cameo by almost everyone.
Q2. Why SRK never said that its the most personal film ? Because it is. Though everyone says the same these days about every new release of theirs.
(Also, was wondering if its fair to put the review even before the release of the film. OZ said…lets do it. I thought yes why not. In the last one month or so, OSO team have made me mad with their publicity and dard-e-disco. so I can be little impatient atleast. )
Another Review
Farah Khan had already shown wonderful a director she is with her debut flick, Main Hoon Na. And now with Om Shanti Om, she has proved that she is not only an amazing director, but also a flawless storywriter too!
The story of the movie: Om Prakash Makhija (Shahrukh Khan) is a junior artist of the 70s working in the films produced by Mukesh Mehra (Arjun Rampal). Shanti (Deepika Padukone), a superstar also works with Mukesh and Om is madly in love with her. Om saves Shanti’s life once and then they both become friends. But then an incident occurs, which changes, devastates and ends his life forever. But he reborns as Om Kapoor (also by SRK), son of superstar Rajesh Kapoor (Javed Shaikh). He grows up as a superstar, with pyrophobia (fear of fire). And then he attempts to discover the reason behind the death of Om Prakash Makhija, the junior artist of the 70s.
Om Shanti Om, like Main Hoon Na, is a perfect entertainer-what I mean is, it has everything for everyone-humour, action, suspense, romance, tragedy, unexpectedness, dance, drama and songs. And it goes one step further than Main Hoon Na-it also has reincarnation! All this makes up a complete movie experience, which remains in the mind for a long time, maybe forever!
The beginning of the movie is fantastic and it sets the mood of the movie! Also the 1st half moves quite rapidly and therefore doesn’t bore even for a moment. The tragic scene just before the interval was superb and shows Farah Khan’s creative direction skills.
The 2nd half also doesn’t let down and the fun continues in it too. However, the best part of the 2nd half has to be the Filmfare Awards sequence and the song ‘Deewangi Deewangi’ (which consists of 31 stars). The song will surely drive everyone crazy!
The climax was totally unexpected, but it may not be liked by some as it’s little illogical. But I advice you to simply leave your brains home and go for the movie. Only then you can enjoy the movie completely.
All the main cast of the movie has given award performance-they are all capable of getting nominated and maybe also winning the award. Shahrukh Khan will surely be nominated in the Best Actor category. Deepika Padukone has high chances of winning the Best Debutant Award. Shreyas Talpade will surely be nominated for Best Supporting Role while Arjun Rampal will be in Best Actor in a Negative Role. Kirron Kher should be nominated in Best Supporting Actress or even as Best Actor in a comic role! Farah Khan deserves to be nominated for Best Director, Choregorapher, Writer and Screenplay; Vishal-Shekhar for Best Music….The list is still big and goes on and on! Whew!
To Shahrukh Khan, I’ll like to say just one thing-‘Kisi Zuban Mein Bhi Who Labhz Hi Nahi, Ke Jinse Main Tumhe Ye Bata Sakon ki how outstanding was your performance is! Really, the above line may sound funny but it is the truth. He was fantastic as a junior artist in the 1st half, Southern actor and as the arrogant superstar Om Kapoor in the 2nd half! It proves why SRK is the ‘Baadshah of Bollywood’! Fantastic!
Deepika Padukone does a dream debut-she is quite lucky to get a chance to work with such biggie and that too in her first movie itself. And her performance is completely likeable-there is no overacting from her side. It seems she’ll be at the top within a year or two! Great!
Arjun Rampal was outstanding in the negative role. Hopefully with his performance, filmmakers will take him again in their movies. But I can’t understand one thing-why was the old-aged Arjun Rampal looking like director Sudhir Mishra? Any special significance?!
Shreyas Talpade was excellent. He maintains a steady position throughout the movie. Kirron Kher was quite funny. She went completely into the skin of her character. Javed Shaikh was good. Urvika Chaudhary as Dolly played her part perfectly.
There are lots of actors who had made special appearances in the movie, but the one who leave a mark are: Rishi Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee, Rekha, Shabana Azmi, Kajol, Priyanka Chopra, Vidya Balan, Juhi Chawla, Mithun, Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Dharmendra, Jeetendra, Urmila and Malaika Arora Khan. Subhash Ghai also did a great job. Surprisingly, even Amitabh Bachchan is there in the movie! I wonder how he agreed to do a miniscule role in a SRK movie!
Vishal Shekhar’s music was fantastic and their best work till date. Each song of the movie is a gem. All the important songs-Ajab Si, Dard-E-Disco, Main Aggar Kahoon, Jag Suna Lage, Daastan-E-Om Shanti Om. But the best song of the movie is Dhoom Tanna-whose music was arranged by Pyarelal (of Laxmikanth-Pyarelal duo) with a 150-plus orchestra, a rarity in today’s age of digitally arranged music making. But it helps as the song was shown to be picturized in the 70s.
Sandeep Chowta’s background score suits the mood of the movie. V Manikanandan’s cinematography was fabulous, especially the tragic scene before the intermission. Action sequences rock.
Sabu Cyril’s art direction was outstanding. He has wonderfully created the set which is used as the film studio in the movie. He completely deserves the Best Art Director award.
Shirish Kunder’s editing was as usual perfect. Mayur Puri’s dialogues were sharp.
Farah Khan is the overall biggest winner in this movie. Not only she has directed and choreographed, she also wrote a flawless story for the movie. And the story, though deals with reincarnation and therefore little predictable, is quite good clearly because of the situation in the movie as well as the climax. She has nicely picturized the songs too. Mrs. Farah, hats off to you! And she is soon going to be mother of triplets. So it’s double happiness for her!
Some of the best scenes of the movie:
1. The first scene of the movie
2. Deepika’s entry
3. The scene inside the Lido Theatre-premiere of the movie ‘Dreamy Girl’
4. The scene where SRK saves Deepika’s life
5. The song ‘Main Aggar Kahoon’, ‘Dhoom Tanna’ ‘Dard-E-Disco’, ‘Jag Soona Laage’ and ‘Dastaan-E-Om Shanti Om’
6. The scene between Arjun and Deepika in the make-up room
7. The tragic scene before the interval
8. The Filmfare Award sequence
9. The song ‘Deewangi Deewangi’
10. The scene between SRK and Arjun Rampal in the restaurant
11. The climax
On the whole, Om Shanti Om is a perfect winner this Diwali. It is a flawless flick and everything in it is perfect-performances, direction, story, screenplay, dialogues, songs, music, etc. It’s not worth watching once-it is worth watching hundred times! Just go, watch it and enjoy!!
My rating-***** out of 5!!
The story of the movie: Om Prakash Makhija (Shahrukh Khan) is a junior artist of the 70s working in the films produced by Mukesh Mehra (Arjun Rampal). Shanti (Deepika Padukone), a superstar also works with Mukesh and Om is madly in love with her. Om saves Shanti’s life once and then they both become friends. But then an incident occurs, which changes, devastates and ends his life forever. But he reborns as Om Kapoor (also by SRK), son of superstar Rajesh Kapoor (Javed Shaikh). He grows up as a superstar, with pyrophobia (fear of fire). And then he attempts to discover the reason behind the death of Om Prakash Makhija, the junior artist of the 70s.
Om Shanti Om, like Main Hoon Na, is a perfect entertainer-what I mean is, it has everything for everyone-humour, action, suspense, romance, tragedy, unexpectedness, dance, drama and songs. And it goes one step further than Main Hoon Na-it also has reincarnation! All this makes up a complete movie experience, which remains in the mind for a long time, maybe forever!
The beginning of the movie is fantastic and it sets the mood of the movie! Also the 1st half moves quite rapidly and therefore doesn’t bore even for a moment. The tragic scene just before the interval was superb and shows Farah Khan’s creative direction skills.
The 2nd half also doesn’t let down and the fun continues in it too. However, the best part of the 2nd half has to be the Filmfare Awards sequence and the song ‘Deewangi Deewangi’ (which consists of 31 stars). The song will surely drive everyone crazy!
The climax was totally unexpected, but it may not be liked by some as it’s little illogical. But I advice you to simply leave your brains home and go for the movie. Only then you can enjoy the movie completely.
All the main cast of the movie has given award performance-they are all capable of getting nominated and maybe also winning the award. Shahrukh Khan will surely be nominated in the Best Actor category. Deepika Padukone has high chances of winning the Best Debutant Award. Shreyas Talpade will surely be nominated for Best Supporting Role while Arjun Rampal will be in Best Actor in a Negative Role. Kirron Kher should be nominated in Best Supporting Actress or even as Best Actor in a comic role! Farah Khan deserves to be nominated for Best Director, Choregorapher, Writer and Screenplay; Vishal-Shekhar for Best Music….The list is still big and goes on and on! Whew!
To Shahrukh Khan, I’ll like to say just one thing-‘Kisi Zuban Mein Bhi Who Labhz Hi Nahi, Ke Jinse Main Tumhe Ye Bata Sakon ki how outstanding was your performance is! Really, the above line may sound funny but it is the truth. He was fantastic as a junior artist in the 1st half, Southern actor and as the arrogant superstar Om Kapoor in the 2nd half! It proves why SRK is the ‘Baadshah of Bollywood’! Fantastic!
Deepika Padukone does a dream debut-she is quite lucky to get a chance to work with such biggie and that too in her first movie itself. And her performance is completely likeable-there is no overacting from her side. It seems she’ll be at the top within a year or two! Great!
Arjun Rampal was outstanding in the negative role. Hopefully with his performance, filmmakers will take him again in their movies. But I can’t understand one thing-why was the old-aged Arjun Rampal looking like director Sudhir Mishra? Any special significance?!
Shreyas Talpade was excellent. He maintains a steady position throughout the movie. Kirron Kher was quite funny. She went completely into the skin of her character. Javed Shaikh was good. Urvika Chaudhary as Dolly played her part perfectly.
There are lots of actors who had made special appearances in the movie, but the one who leave a mark are: Rishi Kapoor, Abhishek Bachchan, Rani Mukherjee, Rekha, Shabana Azmi, Kajol, Priyanka Chopra, Vidya Balan, Juhi Chawla, Mithun, Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan, Salman Khan, Akshay Kumar, Dharmendra, Jeetendra, Urmila and Malaika Arora Khan. Subhash Ghai also did a great job. Surprisingly, even Amitabh Bachchan is there in the movie! I wonder how he agreed to do a miniscule role in a SRK movie!
Vishal Shekhar’s music was fantastic and their best work till date. Each song of the movie is a gem. All the important songs-Ajab Si, Dard-E-Disco, Main Aggar Kahoon, Jag Suna Lage, Daastan-E-Om Shanti Om. But the best song of the movie is Dhoom Tanna-whose music was arranged by Pyarelal (of Laxmikanth-Pyarelal duo) with a 150-plus orchestra, a rarity in today’s age of digitally arranged music making. But it helps as the song was shown to be picturized in the 70s.
Sandeep Chowta’s background score suits the mood of the movie. V Manikanandan’s cinematography was fabulous, especially the tragic scene before the intermission. Action sequences rock.
Sabu Cyril’s art direction was outstanding. He has wonderfully created the set which is used as the film studio in the movie. He completely deserves the Best Art Director award.
Shirish Kunder’s editing was as usual perfect. Mayur Puri’s dialogues were sharp.
Farah Khan is the overall biggest winner in this movie. Not only she has directed and choreographed, she also wrote a flawless story for the movie. And the story, though deals with reincarnation and therefore little predictable, is quite good clearly because of the situation in the movie as well as the climax. She has nicely picturized the songs too. Mrs. Farah, hats off to you! And she is soon going to be mother of triplets. So it’s double happiness for her!
Some of the best scenes of the movie:
1. The first scene of the movie
2. Deepika’s entry
3. The scene inside the Lido Theatre-premiere of the movie ‘Dreamy Girl’
4. The scene where SRK saves Deepika’s life
5. The song ‘Main Aggar Kahoon’, ‘Dhoom Tanna’ ‘Dard-E-Disco’, ‘Jag Soona Laage’ and ‘Dastaan-E-Om Shanti Om’
6. The scene between Arjun and Deepika in the make-up room
7. The tragic scene before the interval
8. The Filmfare Award sequence
9. The song ‘Deewangi Deewangi’
10. The scene between SRK and Arjun Rampal in the restaurant
11. The climax
On the whole, Om Shanti Om is a perfect winner this Diwali. It is a flawless flick and everything in it is perfect-performances, direction, story, screenplay, dialogues, songs, music, etc. It’s not worth watching once-it is worth watching hundred times! Just go, watch it and enjoy!!
My rating-***** out of 5!!
Rediff's New York Film Festival Review of Om Shanti Om
Producer and star Shah Rukh Khan and film-maker Farah Khan don’t have to wait till Monday to uncork the champagne bottles. For Om Shanti Om, their second collaboration following Main Hoon Na, is a gloriously entertaining film and the word that it is one of the funniest films in years would be out even before the first public screening ends.
As for the much publicised scenes in which Shah Rukh flexes his abs during the song Dard-E-Disco, one can safely say that audiences would swoon over the scene; in New York, many of the preview audiences on Thursday (some of whom had seen the previous day Ranbir Kapoor’s [Images] derriere in Saawariya without much enthusiasm), gave small a roar when Shah Rukh began dancing and removing his shirt.
The film, which is also a love letter to Hindi films, could send many of us reeling into nostalgia as scenes and musical bars from many hit films of the 1960s and 1970s are imaginatively woven into newly composed songs and other situations.
In fact, the film starts with Rishi Kapoor dancing to the song Om Shanti Om in Karz (which is an inspiration to this film) but a minute or two later, we see Om Prakash Makhija (Shah Rukh Khan [Images]) who is a junior artist with big dreams replacing Rishi Kapoor [Images] on the big screen. Little later in yet another song, we see Shah Rukh replacing a raft of the 1970s idols including Sunil Dutt.
While Farah Khan [Images] pays homage to many hit films she grew up, her biggest accomplishment is seen in the briskly paced song sequence in which practically every star in the film industry from Dharmendra [Images], Rekha [Images], Mithun Chakraborty to Saif Khan joining in the celebration.
Among the film’s amusing moments is an award ceremony when Om, who is in reincarnated after being murdered by the henchmen of a faithless producer Mukesh (Arjun Rampal [Images]), is nominated for a best actor award — for two films. Watch out for Abhishek Bachchan [Images] as a nominee who is convinced that he will be the winner. He is really funny when he swears under the breath when the winner is announced.
There is so much of entertainment in the film, even as the titles are rolling at the end and you get to see much of the cast and crew, that some viewers may wish the crime drama had a much smaller role.
One laughs one’s guts out especially at the deliberately designed over the top acting scenes in the first half with Kirron Kher having a grand time as the has-been junior artist. Her melodrama amuses and worries her son Om who has dreams beyond his junior artist status.
While we are having a lot of fun, we can also feel the film losing the momentum in the middle. Some viewers may also find it difficult to accept newcomer Deepika Padukone’s turn as a glamorous movie star Shanti who has won Om’s heart. Though she looks charming, Padukone cannot really exude enough glamour and star magic to make one feel that she is really playing a screen goddess.
The film starts in the 1970s when Om, an aspiring actor gets accidentally enmeshed in the life of a movie star called Shanti. He rescues her from a raging fire early on in the film but when her boyfriend (Rampal) arranges for her death by arson Om fails to save her.
Badly beaten up, he dies soon in a hospital. Within a minute or two, in another ward in the hospital a child is born to big shot in the tinsel town. He will be named Om Kapoor.
In the second half of the film, Om Kapoor flaunts his success, comes to the sets late and dictates changes in the script.
But soon the past starts haunting him especially when he shoots scenes involving fire and flames.
Enter Mike, who 30 years ago was known as Mukesh. We know he was the boyfriend of Shanti. Now, he has returned from a long stay in Hollywood and wants to make a film with Om Kapoor in the lead.
It doesn’t take Om a long time to realize what had happened to him and Shanti in the previous birth.
Meanwhile a young woman who is the carbon copy of Shanti (Padukone again) has entered his life. Om now sets out to expose Mike using a detailed ploy.
Though the long drawn climax is a bit of a bore, the film gains ground at the end as the credit titles start rolling.
I would love to see the film again, not only to enjoy its in-jokes and parody but also watch carefully how Farah Khan and her team, especially the art department, has used their creativity. The burnt out set, for example, looks really haunted and surreal. It is one of the many sets that are expertly used through out the film.
With an embarrassment of riches the film offers by way of comedy, lively songs (Vishal-Shekhar) and spirited performances (in the first half), we can forgive the many things that are not inspiring, especially Shah Rukh’s emotional scenes in the second half.
As for the much publicised scenes in which Shah Rukh flexes his abs during the song Dard-E-Disco, one can safely say that audiences would swoon over the scene; in New York, many of the preview audiences on Thursday (some of whom had seen the previous day Ranbir Kapoor’s [Images] derriere in Saawariya without much enthusiasm), gave small a roar when Shah Rukh began dancing and removing his shirt.
The film, which is also a love letter to Hindi films, could send many of us reeling into nostalgia as scenes and musical bars from many hit films of the 1960s and 1970s are imaginatively woven into newly composed songs and other situations.
In fact, the film starts with Rishi Kapoor dancing to the song Om Shanti Om in Karz (which is an inspiration to this film) but a minute or two later, we see Om Prakash Makhija (Shah Rukh Khan [Images]) who is a junior artist with big dreams replacing Rishi Kapoor [Images] on the big screen. Little later in yet another song, we see Shah Rukh replacing a raft of the 1970s idols including Sunil Dutt.
While Farah Khan [Images] pays homage to many hit films she grew up, her biggest accomplishment is seen in the briskly paced song sequence in which practically every star in the film industry from Dharmendra [Images], Rekha [Images], Mithun Chakraborty to Saif Khan joining in the celebration.
Among the film’s amusing moments is an award ceremony when Om, who is in reincarnated after being murdered by the henchmen of a faithless producer Mukesh (Arjun Rampal [Images]), is nominated for a best actor award — for two films. Watch out for Abhishek Bachchan [Images] as a nominee who is convinced that he will be the winner. He is really funny when he swears under the breath when the winner is announced.
There is so much of entertainment in the film, even as the titles are rolling at the end and you get to see much of the cast and crew, that some viewers may wish the crime drama had a much smaller role.
One laughs one’s guts out especially at the deliberately designed over the top acting scenes in the first half with Kirron Kher having a grand time as the has-been junior artist. Her melodrama amuses and worries her son Om who has dreams beyond his junior artist status.
While we are having a lot of fun, we can also feel the film losing the momentum in the middle. Some viewers may also find it difficult to accept newcomer Deepika Padukone’s turn as a glamorous movie star Shanti who has won Om’s heart. Though she looks charming, Padukone cannot really exude enough glamour and star magic to make one feel that she is really playing a screen goddess.
The film starts in the 1970s when Om, an aspiring actor gets accidentally enmeshed in the life of a movie star called Shanti. He rescues her from a raging fire early on in the film but when her boyfriend (Rampal) arranges for her death by arson Om fails to save her.
Badly beaten up, he dies soon in a hospital. Within a minute or two, in another ward in the hospital a child is born to big shot in the tinsel town. He will be named Om Kapoor.
In the second half of the film, Om Kapoor flaunts his success, comes to the sets late and dictates changes in the script.
But soon the past starts haunting him especially when he shoots scenes involving fire and flames.
Enter Mike, who 30 years ago was known as Mukesh. We know he was the boyfriend of Shanti. Now, he has returned from a long stay in Hollywood and wants to make a film with Om Kapoor in the lead.
It doesn’t take Om a long time to realize what had happened to him and Shanti in the previous birth.
Meanwhile a young woman who is the carbon copy of Shanti (Padukone again) has entered his life. Om now sets out to expose Mike using a detailed ploy.
Though the long drawn climax is a bit of a bore, the film gains ground at the end as the credit titles start rolling.
I would love to see the film again, not only to enjoy its in-jokes and parody but also watch carefully how Farah Khan and her team, especially the art department, has used their creativity. The burnt out set, for example, looks really haunted and surreal. It is one of the many sets that are expertly used through out the film.
With an embarrassment of riches the film offers by way of comedy, lively songs (Vishal-Shekhar) and spirited performances (in the first half), we can forgive the many things that are not inspiring, especially Shah Rukh’s emotional scenes in the second half.
Raja Sen's Review
Hush up and lean closer to the screen, my curious friend. Because over the next few lines, I am going to tell you exactly what Om Shanti Om is. Exactly — a word (if accurate) used rarely, but this boast is smug and self-assured, rather like Shah Rukh Khan’s Om Kapoor. But hang on, we’re getting way ahead of ourselves.
So just what is OSO?
Picture a Filmfare award function, minus the awards. Outside of the song-and-dance numbers and the gazillion commercial breaks, there is stock Bollywood tomfoolery. SRK [Images] mimics Aamir, Saif pretends to be Preity [Images], star kids dance to their father’s songs, and much guard-down hilarity is had by an industry thriving on gossip and in-jokes.
Also read: Review 2 | 3
Om Shanti Om is a big-budget collection of these award-show skits, loosely tied together by a reincarnation story dhaaga. Bas. Told you I’d be exact.
The aforementioned thread is plot-bare, woven from Manmohan Desai’s most worn jumpers, and laced together with nostalgia and a complete, unashamed lack of subtlety. This is not the 70s as they were, but a celebration of the decade as old Hindi movies showed it to us, a world of Technicolor convertibles and flares and bling and outrageousness and hamming and tan-tan-ta-da background scores, all in a day’s work.
This is a big movie, well and truly in love with itself. And if you aren’t into that sort of thing, if you pooh-pooh Koffee With Karan, and if you’d really rather watch a movie you have to think about, skip this. For the SRK-hater, the warning is doubly applicable. This is a celebration of the ultimate in self-achievement, Shah Rukh toasting his own indomitable Khan-do spirit.
For the rest of us, this movie is a smile.
Bollywood is bizarre and campy and over-the-top and unprofessional and snide and egotistical and sporadic and dynastic and facetious and utterly self-smitten, but — without even going into the numerous positives — that’s just why we love it. That’s the nasha of Mumbai’s movies — these unreal vehicles of escape soaring from clich? to clich? on superstar-wings — and their madcap makers.
Om Shanti Om is an exultant, heady, joyous film reveling in Bollywood, and as at most parties where the bubbly flows free, there is much silly giggling and tremendous immaturity. You’d do well do breathe in the filmi fumes, lift your own collar-tips upwards, and leave sense out of the equation. More cameos are written in than dialogues, so sit back and play spot-the-celeb. Or watch the Khan have a blast on screen.
Make that the Khans. The King is all super and good and awesomely sixpacked, but Queen Farah is one to be toasted, just for her sheer bindaas enthu. No gag is too obvious, no plotpoint too ludicrous and no clich? too overused — in fact, the more overused the better, decides she. And if the result of her damn-the-detractors attitude is a magnificent scene with Shah Rukh wrestling a stuffed tiger and using all kinds of pussycat phrases with a thick Tamil accent, I say hats off.
You really want to know the story? The story of this film? Please, go read another review.
All I can say is that Khan lives, Khan dreams, Khan loves and Khan dies. In between — as mustachioed cowboy and outlandish black-red costumed superhero — Khan even flies. And that’s all during a super-fun first half, while the second sadly tries to be a real movie. The latter could have sunk the movie, but despite it’s total pointlessness, is pretty much salvaged by the songs. No, really. Talk about phrases you never think you’d write.
Shah Rukh Khan [Images] is, well, you know who he is. He’s the biggest movie star on the globe, and this film lets him cock a snook at all that megalomania. Here he plays both wistful junior artiste and bratty star-kid, and he has an absolute blast. This is a role that requires him to overact in almost every frame, which is far harder than it sounds. And because he’s Shah Rukh Khan and there is love at the core of this film, he manages to bring credibility to the romance, heart to the joke. And that is no mean feat.
The woman who catches his fancy — and his lucky red thread in her dupatta — is the extremely fortunate Deepika Padukone. The director uses her with great cunning, making her turn and smile while Shah Rukh does all the melting. She is used sparingly and constantly camouflaged, either by a situation which requires acting incompetence, deftly digitalised song sequences or a complete lack of fabric in the second half. I’m not claiming the ‘find of the year’ can’t act; it’s just that this film doesn’t require her to. OSO needs for her to be a dreamy girl, and this she delivers on, dimpled smiles and all. There is effervescence and luminosity around this pretty girl, but art director Sabu Cyril and cinematographer Manikandan have some credit there.
Shreyas Talpade is reliably top-notch in the first half, and cut-out of most of the second, where he ages like a TV soap character. Similar grey-streak aging is applied to Kirron Kher, playing a stock character. Javed Sheikh is interesting as romantic star Rajesh Kapoor, and Arjun Rampal [Images] is finally cast right. Among that much-discussed 31-celebrity dance, Tabu [Images] looks the most incredible. And I wish Farah had done without the lookalikes, but the Subhash Ghai [Images] Karz bit in the beginning kinda makes up for it.
Farah, thanks. As someone who has to sit through a million movies, mostly suspect, week after week — and to someone who has to toil through it and bear the tabloid attention — this is a reminder of what we like about Bollywood, what makes it so special. Farah Khan [Images] makes me want to take her out on the town and dance (I can’t, but she’ll make up for it) to dhin-chak Bollywood songs all night. If you’re reading this, Director Saheba, call me.
Oh, and somebody please make Akshay Kumar’s [Images] Return To Khiladi. That has blockbuster written all over it. Please.
So just what is OSO?
Picture a Filmfare award function, minus the awards. Outside of the song-and-dance numbers and the gazillion commercial breaks, there is stock Bollywood tomfoolery. SRK [Images] mimics Aamir, Saif pretends to be Preity [Images], star kids dance to their father’s songs, and much guard-down hilarity is had by an industry thriving on gossip and in-jokes.
Also read: Review 2 | 3
Om Shanti Om is a big-budget collection of these award-show skits, loosely tied together by a reincarnation story dhaaga. Bas. Told you I’d be exact.
The aforementioned thread is plot-bare, woven from Manmohan Desai’s most worn jumpers, and laced together with nostalgia and a complete, unashamed lack of subtlety. This is not the 70s as they were, but a celebration of the decade as old Hindi movies showed it to us, a world of Technicolor convertibles and flares and bling and outrageousness and hamming and tan-tan-ta-da background scores, all in a day’s work.
This is a big movie, well and truly in love with itself. And if you aren’t into that sort of thing, if you pooh-pooh Koffee With Karan, and if you’d really rather watch a movie you have to think about, skip this. For the SRK-hater, the warning is doubly applicable. This is a celebration of the ultimate in self-achievement, Shah Rukh toasting his own indomitable Khan-do spirit.
For the rest of us, this movie is a smile.
Bollywood is bizarre and campy and over-the-top and unprofessional and snide and egotistical and sporadic and dynastic and facetious and utterly self-smitten, but — without even going into the numerous positives — that’s just why we love it. That’s the nasha of Mumbai’s movies — these unreal vehicles of escape soaring from clich? to clich? on superstar-wings — and their madcap makers.
Om Shanti Om is an exultant, heady, joyous film reveling in Bollywood, and as at most parties where the bubbly flows free, there is much silly giggling and tremendous immaturity. You’d do well do breathe in the filmi fumes, lift your own collar-tips upwards, and leave sense out of the equation. More cameos are written in than dialogues, so sit back and play spot-the-celeb. Or watch the Khan have a blast on screen.
Make that the Khans. The King is all super and good and awesomely sixpacked, but Queen Farah is one to be toasted, just for her sheer bindaas enthu. No gag is too obvious, no plotpoint too ludicrous and no clich? too overused — in fact, the more overused the better, decides she. And if the result of her damn-the-detractors attitude is a magnificent scene with Shah Rukh wrestling a stuffed tiger and using all kinds of pussycat phrases with a thick Tamil accent, I say hats off.
You really want to know the story? The story of this film? Please, go read another review.
All I can say is that Khan lives, Khan dreams, Khan loves and Khan dies. In between — as mustachioed cowboy and outlandish black-red costumed superhero — Khan even flies. And that’s all during a super-fun first half, while the second sadly tries to be a real movie. The latter could have sunk the movie, but despite it’s total pointlessness, is pretty much salvaged by the songs. No, really. Talk about phrases you never think you’d write.
Shah Rukh Khan [Images] is, well, you know who he is. He’s the biggest movie star on the globe, and this film lets him cock a snook at all that megalomania. Here he plays both wistful junior artiste and bratty star-kid, and he has an absolute blast. This is a role that requires him to overact in almost every frame, which is far harder than it sounds. And because he’s Shah Rukh Khan and there is love at the core of this film, he manages to bring credibility to the romance, heart to the joke. And that is no mean feat.
The woman who catches his fancy — and his lucky red thread in her dupatta — is the extremely fortunate Deepika Padukone. The director uses her with great cunning, making her turn and smile while Shah Rukh does all the melting. She is used sparingly and constantly camouflaged, either by a situation which requires acting incompetence, deftly digitalised song sequences or a complete lack of fabric in the second half. I’m not claiming the ‘find of the year’ can’t act; it’s just that this film doesn’t require her to. OSO needs for her to be a dreamy girl, and this she delivers on, dimpled smiles and all. There is effervescence and luminosity around this pretty girl, but art director Sabu Cyril and cinematographer Manikandan have some credit there.
Shreyas Talpade is reliably top-notch in the first half, and cut-out of most of the second, where he ages like a TV soap character. Similar grey-streak aging is applied to Kirron Kher, playing a stock character. Javed Sheikh is interesting as romantic star Rajesh Kapoor, and Arjun Rampal [Images] is finally cast right. Among that much-discussed 31-celebrity dance, Tabu [Images] looks the most incredible. And I wish Farah had done without the lookalikes, but the Subhash Ghai [Images] Karz bit in the beginning kinda makes up for it.
Farah, thanks. As someone who has to sit through a million movies, mostly suspect, week after week — and to someone who has to toil through it and bear the tabloid attention — this is a reminder of what we like about Bollywood, what makes it so special. Farah Khan [Images] makes me want to take her out on the town and dance (I can’t, but she’ll make up for it) to dhin-chak Bollywood songs all night. If you’re reading this, Director Saheba, call me.
Oh, and somebody please make Akshay Kumar’s [Images] Return To Khiladi. That has blockbuster written all over it. Please.
Rediff's Om Shanti Om Review
Farah Khan likes her films to have everything — drama, dance, dreams, dishoom-dishoom, dudes, dhoom-dhamaka etc
Perhaps her vast experience as a choreographer has taught her to view everything in concurrent rhythm. This quality which was unmistakable in Main Hoon Na gains further prominence in Om Shanti Om.
OSO begins in the seventies where we are introduced to the starry-eyed Om Prakash Makhija (Shah Rukh Khan). An actor by profession, Om jives on a giant compact disc, a la Rishi Kapoor [Images], to the beats of Om Shanti Om in Subhash Ghai’s [Images] Karz, (which incidentally, involuntarily, influences the outline of the film’s actual story).
A few reels later, he’s sporting a dacoit’s moustache and screeching ‘Bhaaaago‘ to a crazy mob dispersing in various directions.
Some more reels later, he slips into red leather to essay a self-styled cowboy, Quick Gun Murugan mouthing multiple ‘Mind its’ whilst tackling a seriously stuffed tiger prop.
During these various cuts and takes, he rescues the heroine from a fire mishap (just like Sunil Dutt saved Nargis [Images] on the sets of Mother India), has dreamy conversations with ‘Dreamy Girl’ film posters and finally takes her on a marvelous studio date against the backdrop of resplendent sets and cutting chai served in wine glasses. Om’s best buddy, Pappu Master (Shreyas Talpade [Images]) pitches in as the butler.
Confused? There’s a glitch. Om Prakash is a ‘junior’ actor by profession. That, however, doesn’t deter a smitten Om from gallantly pursuing his lady love and Bollywood’s top heroine, Shantipriya (Deepika Padukone). Just when you think a Raja Hindustani moment is around the corner, cunning producer Mukesh Mehra (Arjun Rampal [Images] blended into a mix of Ranjeet and Prem Chopra) steps in to spoil the party.
Obviously, something goes wrong. What? We won’t tell you. Except sidekick Om Prakash Makhija is reborn as superstar Om Kapoor (SRK [Images]) to settle old accounts with his adversaries from past birth. While Sandy (Padukone again) becomes the new face of old timer, Shanti.
Does that mean you should go and watch OSO? Absolutely!
The film celebrates everything the eclectic seventies represent — stars, colours, madness, implausibility, fantasy, music (Vishal-Shekhar’s soundtrack is as rocking as it gets), romance, camaraderie, grandeur or simply put — masala. Even the all-in-good-fun jokes cracked at Govinda [Images], Manoj Kumar, Rajesh Khanna and Sooraj Barjatya’s expense are executed with taste in addition to cheek.
In fact, time-travelling to the 70s is so much fun; you almost hate to see ‘Interval’ pop up on screen. And that is one of the reasons why the contemporary second half requires welcome gimmicks like SRK’s six-pack or gazillion film stars (from Dharmendra [Images] and Karisma Kapoor to Salman Khan [Images] to Kajol [Images]) showing up in a song sequence or Abhishek Bachchan [Images] (for Dhoom 5), Akshay Kumar [Images] (for Return of the Khiladi) and SRK (for Phir Bhi Dil Hai NRI and Main Bhi Hoon Na) furiously competing for a Best Actor Filmfare trophy at an awards function.
Speaking of Akshay, if there was some award for Best Performance in a 30 second cameo, he’d win it in a jiffy. He’s first-rate, really!
Those are the compliments reserved for film’s technicians as well. The screen is a sight to behold when art director Sabu Cyril’s lavish imagination is paired with cinematographer V Maniknandan’s luminous camerawork. The latter especially brings out an ethereal quality to newcomer Deepika Padukone’s [Images] intrinsic beauty.
While she doesn’t have much to contribute in the histrionics department, Padukone delivers as an exceptionally attractive and everyman’s celluloid fantasy here. Give her five films and she’ll be playing her ‘numero uno’ character real time.
Villains have never been menacing enough in Farah’s movies. Be it Suniel Shetty’s [Images] long haired terrorist in Main Hoon Na or Arjun Rampal’s silver streaked businessman in OSO. Rampal’s persona exudes too much warmth to pass off as a cold-blooded antagonist. Others like Shreyas Talpade are expectedly endearing but wasted while Kirron Kher exaggerates the filmi mom with palpable pleasure.
No, I have not forgotten Shah Rukh Khan [Images]. How can I? No one could have played Om other than him. He does exactly what a seventies superstar in a Manmohan Desai film would. Grab the viewer by his collar and make him a part of Om’s unbelievable highs and impossible lows. He is the ‘hero’, super-hero; actually, if you count his turn as Mohabbat-Man.
But by all means, Farah is the hard working heart and soul of OSO. Every scene details her enthusiasm and knowledge for/of the movies and not just the specific era — the seventies, around which it is centered. Here and there, we spy special tributes to the mystery and magic of classics like Madhumati, Gone with the Wind, Titanic [Images] and Maine Pyaar Kiya.
For all the grand entertainment it offers, OSO is also a zany study of the 70s film making in terms of style, attitude and values.
The spirited filmmaker puts Shah Rukh Khan and his finances to skillful use with this visually spectacular, cleverly orchestrated and star-studded reincarnation saga. Her chemistry with SRK and their combined ability to both humour (watch out for the Apahij Pyaar episode) and worship (a stupefying climatic twist) this extraordinary medium of make-believe makes for a delightful entertainer.
The idea of watching a massively-promoted Diwali release is to come out of the theatre feeling entertained. And for just that alone, Om Shanti Om definitely scores.
Perhaps her vast experience as a choreographer has taught her to view everything in concurrent rhythm. This quality which was unmistakable in Main Hoon Na gains further prominence in Om Shanti Om.
OSO begins in the seventies where we are introduced to the starry-eyed Om Prakash Makhija (Shah Rukh Khan). An actor by profession, Om jives on a giant compact disc, a la Rishi Kapoor [Images], to the beats of Om Shanti Om in Subhash Ghai’s [Images] Karz, (which incidentally, involuntarily, influences the outline of the film’s actual story).
A few reels later, he’s sporting a dacoit’s moustache and screeching ‘Bhaaaago‘ to a crazy mob dispersing in various directions.
Some more reels later, he slips into red leather to essay a self-styled cowboy, Quick Gun Murugan mouthing multiple ‘Mind its’ whilst tackling a seriously stuffed tiger prop.
During these various cuts and takes, he rescues the heroine from a fire mishap (just like Sunil Dutt saved Nargis [Images] on the sets of Mother India), has dreamy conversations with ‘Dreamy Girl’ film posters and finally takes her on a marvelous studio date against the backdrop of resplendent sets and cutting chai served in wine glasses. Om’s best buddy, Pappu Master (Shreyas Talpade [Images]) pitches in as the butler.
Confused? There’s a glitch. Om Prakash is a ‘junior’ actor by profession. That, however, doesn’t deter a smitten Om from gallantly pursuing his lady love and Bollywood’s top heroine, Shantipriya (Deepika Padukone). Just when you think a Raja Hindustani moment is around the corner, cunning producer Mukesh Mehra (Arjun Rampal [Images] blended into a mix of Ranjeet and Prem Chopra) steps in to spoil the party.
Obviously, something goes wrong. What? We won’t tell you. Except sidekick Om Prakash Makhija is reborn as superstar Om Kapoor (SRK [Images]) to settle old accounts with his adversaries from past birth. While Sandy (Padukone again) becomes the new face of old timer, Shanti.
Does that mean you should go and watch OSO? Absolutely!
The film celebrates everything the eclectic seventies represent — stars, colours, madness, implausibility, fantasy, music (Vishal-Shekhar’s soundtrack is as rocking as it gets), romance, camaraderie, grandeur or simply put — masala. Even the all-in-good-fun jokes cracked at Govinda [Images], Manoj Kumar, Rajesh Khanna and Sooraj Barjatya’s expense are executed with taste in addition to cheek.
In fact, time-travelling to the 70s is so much fun; you almost hate to see ‘Interval’ pop up on screen. And that is one of the reasons why the contemporary second half requires welcome gimmicks like SRK’s six-pack or gazillion film stars (from Dharmendra [Images] and Karisma Kapoor to Salman Khan [Images] to Kajol [Images]) showing up in a song sequence or Abhishek Bachchan [Images] (for Dhoom 5), Akshay Kumar [Images] (for Return of the Khiladi) and SRK (for Phir Bhi Dil Hai NRI and Main Bhi Hoon Na) furiously competing for a Best Actor Filmfare trophy at an awards function.
Speaking of Akshay, if there was some award for Best Performance in a 30 second cameo, he’d win it in a jiffy. He’s first-rate, really!
Those are the compliments reserved for film’s technicians as well. The screen is a sight to behold when art director Sabu Cyril’s lavish imagination is paired with cinematographer V Maniknandan’s luminous camerawork. The latter especially brings out an ethereal quality to newcomer Deepika Padukone’s [Images] intrinsic beauty.
While she doesn’t have much to contribute in the histrionics department, Padukone delivers as an exceptionally attractive and everyman’s celluloid fantasy here. Give her five films and she’ll be playing her ‘numero uno’ character real time.
Villains have never been menacing enough in Farah’s movies. Be it Suniel Shetty’s [Images] long haired terrorist in Main Hoon Na or Arjun Rampal’s silver streaked businessman in OSO. Rampal’s persona exudes too much warmth to pass off as a cold-blooded antagonist. Others like Shreyas Talpade are expectedly endearing but wasted while Kirron Kher exaggerates the filmi mom with palpable pleasure.
No, I have not forgotten Shah Rukh Khan [Images]. How can I? No one could have played Om other than him. He does exactly what a seventies superstar in a Manmohan Desai film would. Grab the viewer by his collar and make him a part of Om’s unbelievable highs and impossible lows. He is the ‘hero’, super-hero; actually, if you count his turn as Mohabbat-Man.
But by all means, Farah is the hard working heart and soul of OSO. Every scene details her enthusiasm and knowledge for/of the movies and not just the specific era — the seventies, around which it is centered. Here and there, we spy special tributes to the mystery and magic of classics like Madhumati, Gone with the Wind, Titanic [Images] and Maine Pyaar Kiya.
For all the grand entertainment it offers, OSO is also a zany study of the 70s film making in terms of style, attitude and values.
The spirited filmmaker puts Shah Rukh Khan and his finances to skillful use with this visually spectacular, cleverly orchestrated and star-studded reincarnation saga. Her chemistry with SRK and their combined ability to both humour (watch out for the Apahij Pyaar episode) and worship (a stupefying climatic twist) this extraordinary medium of make-believe makes for a delightful entertainer.
The idea of watching a massively-promoted Diwali release is to come out of the theatre feeling entertained. And for just that alone, Om Shanti Om definitely scores.
Rupak Sen's Review of Om Shanti Om.
There’s a particular shot in “Om Shanti Om”, where the director, on a film set, tells the producer that he has three cameras for the next shot - “Ek Satyajit Ray angle, ek Bimal Roy angle, aur ek Guru Dutt angle.” The producer coolly tells him to try out the Manmohan Desai angle because that’s the one that sells.
.
That sums up the entire film for me.
I have not seen “Main Hoon Na” and to be very frank, Farah Khan, to me, has never come across as someone who can make serious cinema. And that’s exactly where I had gone wrong.
In the happiness of my pursuit for cinema, I had all but forsaken the pursuit of happiness that is watching films. I still remember one of the interviews of the late Manmohan Desai where he had emphasized that there is already a lot of strife, pain, loss, sorrow and grief in the world. When an individual enters the cinema theater anywhere in India he wants to leave those behind at the entry gate. For three hours he wants to visit another world where “Everything is fine in the end. If it is not fine, it is not the end.”
Whether the 1970s was the “golden age” of Hindi cinema or not, why Manmohan Desai is not studied the way he should be, might or might not have been some of the questions the researcher and/or even the filmmaker had in mind while conceptualizing Om Shanti Om. But it is quite apparent, that they have, indeed, expressed their love for that era and the man.
What has really impressed me about the film is the fact that it has the guts to laugh at itself. Being a film about the industry (in fact, considering there’s a literal roll-call of yesterday’s, today’s and tomorrow’s film personalities in a much talked about song sequence - I refuse to use the term ’star’, because it does not apply to at least 4-5 of them - it can, in fact, be called a film of the industry, for the industry and by the industry) the little nudges in the ribs that it gives to itself, are quite commendable. It has taken almost every stereotype that you can think of from the 70s (there are actual footages from 70s films with the film’s stars inserted in the frame, a la ‘Forrest Gump’) and thrown them back at us. In fact, it has delved on certain aspects that I have always wanted to ask while gorging on those stupendously entertaining films by the Desais and Mehras and all. For example, how does the mandatory mole on the cheek so drastically alter one’s appearance?
There are many such references, whether a nod to actual incidents that occurred during shooting (watch out for a take on “Mother India” with Deepika Padukone doing a Nargis and Shahrukh Khan doing a Sunil Dutt) or aspects that were patent in those blockbusters - the suffering mother, the selfless friend and the scheming villain. In fact, it mixes today with yesterday seamlessly and am not talking about the 30 year time-frame that the film covers. For example, I know for a fact that everyday thousands of youngsters still arrive in Bombay (I still prefer to call the city that, Mumbai just doesn’t have the correct twang to it) with one dream, like the one Shahrukh Khan’s character has in the film - to make it big - ‘a round bed, velvet slippers, silk coat, loads of servants and to top it all, a FilmFare award’.
The film is not an ode to the 1970s. In fact, it is not an ode to any era at all. It is a paean to the joy of, both watching a film and making it. It unabashedly lauds those people who, when they enter the darkened theater wants to be transported to a world where the hero can do no wrong, where the heroine is “dreamy” and where the villain will get his due, even if he seeks refuge in Hollywood!
The spoilsports among us might point out the fact that not all oblique insinuations have been of good taste. Especially those who refused to be a part of the “roll-call number” (for want of a better term) have had quite a few digs made at them, be it a photo on a driving license or anything but parental affinity to girls young enough to be daughters. But, these again, are minor issues as compared to how well the film has tackled the 1970s in the first half, in particular and filmdom, in general.
Shahrukh, the self-proclaimed “rockstar” will possibly find an even bigger fan following because this is the film where those gazillions who come to Bombay everyday will find themselves reflected in the superstar’s persona - at last in a character he plays on screen, they will find themselves. There are, I think only three films of Shahrukh that I like. But this is the film which has made me realize why he is such a huge star on the film firmament. In between a “Chak De”, a “Swades” and a “Kabhie Haan Kabhie Naa” this man has, as an actor, carried on the legacy of Manmohan Desai, the legacy of unadulterated entertainment. We all know by now who the real “Mohabbat man” is, don’t we?
About three-quarters into the second half, many of us, especially the Bimal Roy fans, will know the climax of the film, but that, to me, was not a deterrent. It is just Farah’s way of taking her hat off to one of the best films ever made on the same premise that her film is based on. It, to me, was not plagiarism, not even an “inspiration”, just a film fan’s way of saluting a master and his masterpiece.
There’s one prop in the film that encapsulates the spirit of Om Shanti Om. Shreyas Talpade handing Deepika Padukone a wine glass filled with tea. Yes, Hindi cinema has traveled, the form has changed, but the essence of going to a film is still the same old entertainment, like the staple morning cup of tea.
And those of us who smirked at the issue of reincarnation (in fact a character in the film also asks the same question; it really is amazing how most characters in the film ask questions that we audiences have had in mind) in a film releasing in 2007, you just mistook the 70s to be dead, it is still with us, in ’spirit’, we only didn’t recognize it till now.
MKD would have said “Om Shanti Om - I liked lot.”
.
That sums up the entire film for me.
I have not seen “Main Hoon Na” and to be very frank, Farah Khan, to me, has never come across as someone who can make serious cinema. And that’s exactly where I had gone wrong.
In the happiness of my pursuit for cinema, I had all but forsaken the pursuit of happiness that is watching films. I still remember one of the interviews of the late Manmohan Desai where he had emphasized that there is already a lot of strife, pain, loss, sorrow and grief in the world. When an individual enters the cinema theater anywhere in India he wants to leave those behind at the entry gate. For three hours he wants to visit another world where “Everything is fine in the end. If it is not fine, it is not the end.”
Whether the 1970s was the “golden age” of Hindi cinema or not, why Manmohan Desai is not studied the way he should be, might or might not have been some of the questions the researcher and/or even the filmmaker had in mind while conceptualizing Om Shanti Om. But it is quite apparent, that they have, indeed, expressed their love for that era and the man.
What has really impressed me about the film is the fact that it has the guts to laugh at itself. Being a film about the industry (in fact, considering there’s a literal roll-call of yesterday’s, today’s and tomorrow’s film personalities in a much talked about song sequence - I refuse to use the term ’star’, because it does not apply to at least 4-5 of them - it can, in fact, be called a film of the industry, for the industry and by the industry) the little nudges in the ribs that it gives to itself, are quite commendable. It has taken almost every stereotype that you can think of from the 70s (there are actual footages from 70s films with the film’s stars inserted in the frame, a la ‘Forrest Gump’) and thrown them back at us. In fact, it has delved on certain aspects that I have always wanted to ask while gorging on those stupendously entertaining films by the Desais and Mehras and all. For example, how does the mandatory mole on the cheek so drastically alter one’s appearance?
There are many such references, whether a nod to actual incidents that occurred during shooting (watch out for a take on “Mother India” with Deepika Padukone doing a Nargis and Shahrukh Khan doing a Sunil Dutt) or aspects that were patent in those blockbusters - the suffering mother, the selfless friend and the scheming villain. In fact, it mixes today with yesterday seamlessly and am not talking about the 30 year time-frame that the film covers. For example, I know for a fact that everyday thousands of youngsters still arrive in Bombay (I still prefer to call the city that, Mumbai just doesn’t have the correct twang to it) with one dream, like the one Shahrukh Khan’s character has in the film - to make it big - ‘a round bed, velvet slippers, silk coat, loads of servants and to top it all, a FilmFare award’.
The film is not an ode to the 1970s. In fact, it is not an ode to any era at all. It is a paean to the joy of, both watching a film and making it. It unabashedly lauds those people who, when they enter the darkened theater wants to be transported to a world where the hero can do no wrong, where the heroine is “dreamy” and where the villain will get his due, even if he seeks refuge in Hollywood!
The spoilsports among us might point out the fact that not all oblique insinuations have been of good taste. Especially those who refused to be a part of the “roll-call number” (for want of a better term) have had quite a few digs made at them, be it a photo on a driving license or anything but parental affinity to girls young enough to be daughters. But, these again, are minor issues as compared to how well the film has tackled the 1970s in the first half, in particular and filmdom, in general.
Shahrukh, the self-proclaimed “rockstar” will possibly find an even bigger fan following because this is the film where those gazillions who come to Bombay everyday will find themselves reflected in the superstar’s persona - at last in a character he plays on screen, they will find themselves. There are, I think only three films of Shahrukh that I like. But this is the film which has made me realize why he is such a huge star on the film firmament. In between a “Chak De”, a “Swades” and a “Kabhie Haan Kabhie Naa” this man has, as an actor, carried on the legacy of Manmohan Desai, the legacy of unadulterated entertainment. We all know by now who the real “Mohabbat man” is, don’t we?
About three-quarters into the second half, many of us, especially the Bimal Roy fans, will know the climax of the film, but that, to me, was not a deterrent. It is just Farah’s way of taking her hat off to one of the best films ever made on the same premise that her film is based on. It, to me, was not plagiarism, not even an “inspiration”, just a film fan’s way of saluting a master and his masterpiece.
There’s one prop in the film that encapsulates the spirit of Om Shanti Om. Shreyas Talpade handing Deepika Padukone a wine glass filled with tea. Yes, Hindi cinema has traveled, the form has changed, but the essence of going to a film is still the same old entertainment, like the staple morning cup of tea.
And those of us who smirked at the issue of reincarnation (in fact a character in the film also asks the same question; it really is amazing how most characters in the film ask questions that we audiences have had in mind) in a film releasing in 2007, you just mistook the 70s to be dead, it is still with us, in ’spirit’, we only didn’t recognize it till now.
MKD would have said “Om Shanti Om - I liked lot.”
Rajeev Masand's Om Shanti Om Review
I can’t think of another film that packs in as many laughs as director Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om. It’s set in the seventies and features Shah Rukh Khan as Om Prakash Makhija, a Bollywood junior artiste who’s got stars in his eyes and a crush on the country’s biggest female star, Shantipriya, played by newcomer Deepika Padukone. Om Shanti Om takes one of Hindi cinema’s most popular film themes of that period - the reincarnation drama - and turns it on its head by constructing a story set around that very theme, but in a whole new context.
Have I confused you? Well, let me make it simpler… The junior artiste gets killed trying to save the person he loves most. Thirty years later the country’s biggest star is an actor who’s got the same face as that junior artiste fellow. Wait, he not only looks exactly like him, he IS the same chap born again, and when he realizes it, he decides to seek revenge on the guy who was instrumental in sending him to the grave in that previous life. Think Karz with a very generous helping of humour.
Unpretentious and completely transparent in its intentions, Om Shanti Om is an entertainer in the true sense of the word, mixing up genre elements like comedy, drama, action and emotion to create a heady broth of Manmohan Desai-style exaggerated entertainment. With tongue firmly in cheek, the writers make light of everyone and everything in sight, packing the first half with so many in-jokes and movie references that it turns out to be every trivia collector’s wet dream.
Using the Bombay film industry as a backdrop to the film’s plot, everyone from Dev Anand and Rajesh Khanna to Govinda and Subhash Ghai become fair game. Prepare to crack up in that scene where Manoj Kumar must prove his identity to a bunch of security guards after his invitations to a movie premiere get nicked. Or that one in which a young Sooraj Barjatya is seen copying lines for a future film.
A special mention must be made for the film’s excellent dialogue which so cleverly incorporates Bollywood’s oldest clichés into these characters’ everyday parlance. Just watch Kirron Kher and Shah Rukh Khan’s mother-son exchanges - they speak like they’re straight out of a seventies melodrama themselves!
Few films and few stars have the courage to laugh at themselves, and it’s because Om Shanti Om is smart enough to take a handful of self-directed jibes that you’re willing to embrace it so whole-heartedly. As superstar Om Kapoor in the film’s second half, Shah Rukh gleefully makes jokes about his repetitive acting style, his late-comings on the set, even all the starry trappings he’s so accustomed to.
Watch how he’s willing to let the joke be on him in those Filmfare Awards nomination clips where his every film resembles the other, his every performance the same. But lest you forget this is the country’s biggest star we’re talking about, he reminds you that by doing what only he can - sprinkling the film with cameos by just about every big name you can possibly think of. So despite the long-drawn out climax and the wobbly turns the screenplay takes post-intermission, Om Shanti Om doesn’t really lose its momentum, throwing in enough surprises to keep you hooked till the end credits roll.
If all you’re looking for is a good time at the movies this weekend, then Om Shanti Om just might be your right choice - it’s light and frothy and is two-and-a-half-hours well spent. Prepare to be very pleasantly surprised by an inspired turn from Arjun Rampal playing the hotshot producer who’s got a secret to hide, also put your hands together for a dazzling debut by Deepika Padukone who’s packaged like the next big thing.
If there was ever an award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Cameo then that trophy would go to Akshay Kumar who steals the show in one single scene. To say he’s marvelous would be an understatement. And then you have Shah Rukh Khan, who hams away like never before, but wait, it’s all in character. Infusing his characters with energy and spunk, he delivers this Diwali’s big dhamaka.
Then that’s three out of five for director Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om, a film that brings the fun back into the movies. A swell song-and-dance drama that’s sensationally senseless, go watch it and prepare to come back beaming.
Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)
Have I confused you? Well, let me make it simpler… The junior artiste gets killed trying to save the person he loves most. Thirty years later the country’s biggest star is an actor who’s got the same face as that junior artiste fellow. Wait, he not only looks exactly like him, he IS the same chap born again, and when he realizes it, he decides to seek revenge on the guy who was instrumental in sending him to the grave in that previous life. Think Karz with a very generous helping of humour.
Unpretentious and completely transparent in its intentions, Om Shanti Om is an entertainer in the true sense of the word, mixing up genre elements like comedy, drama, action and emotion to create a heady broth of Manmohan Desai-style exaggerated entertainment. With tongue firmly in cheek, the writers make light of everyone and everything in sight, packing the first half with so many in-jokes and movie references that it turns out to be every trivia collector’s wet dream.
Using the Bombay film industry as a backdrop to the film’s plot, everyone from Dev Anand and Rajesh Khanna to Govinda and Subhash Ghai become fair game. Prepare to crack up in that scene where Manoj Kumar must prove his identity to a bunch of security guards after his invitations to a movie premiere get nicked. Or that one in which a young Sooraj Barjatya is seen copying lines for a future film.
A special mention must be made for the film’s excellent dialogue which so cleverly incorporates Bollywood’s oldest clichés into these characters’ everyday parlance. Just watch Kirron Kher and Shah Rukh Khan’s mother-son exchanges - they speak like they’re straight out of a seventies melodrama themselves!
Few films and few stars have the courage to laugh at themselves, and it’s because Om Shanti Om is smart enough to take a handful of self-directed jibes that you’re willing to embrace it so whole-heartedly. As superstar Om Kapoor in the film’s second half, Shah Rukh gleefully makes jokes about his repetitive acting style, his late-comings on the set, even all the starry trappings he’s so accustomed to.
Watch how he’s willing to let the joke be on him in those Filmfare Awards nomination clips where his every film resembles the other, his every performance the same. But lest you forget this is the country’s biggest star we’re talking about, he reminds you that by doing what only he can - sprinkling the film with cameos by just about every big name you can possibly think of. So despite the long-drawn out climax and the wobbly turns the screenplay takes post-intermission, Om Shanti Om doesn’t really lose its momentum, throwing in enough surprises to keep you hooked till the end credits roll.
If all you’re looking for is a good time at the movies this weekend, then Om Shanti Om just might be your right choice - it’s light and frothy and is two-and-a-half-hours well spent. Prepare to be very pleasantly surprised by an inspired turn from Arjun Rampal playing the hotshot producer who’s got a secret to hide, also put your hands together for a dazzling debut by Deepika Padukone who’s packaged like the next big thing.
If there was ever an award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Cameo then that trophy would go to Akshay Kumar who steals the show in one single scene. To say he’s marvelous would be an understatement. And then you have Shah Rukh Khan, who hams away like never before, but wait, it’s all in character. Infusing his characters with energy and spunk, he delivers this Diwali’s big dhamaka.
Then that’s three out of five for director Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om, a film that brings the fun back into the movies. A swell song-and-dance drama that’s sensationally senseless, go watch it and prepare to come back beaming.
Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)
Another Review
In the past, it has happened many times with me that whenever I keep high expectations from a movie, the movie fails to satisfy me. The recent and the classic examples are Laaga Chunari Mein Daag and No Smoking. So when I booked the tickets for Om Shanti Om (OSO), I kept minimal expectations from it.
The advance booking of OSO had started in Mumbai on Sunday. I decided to watch it at Apsara Multiplex and booked the first day first show of it! Though there were hardly any expectations from my side, I waited for Nov 9, the day of release of OSO!
At last the D-Day arrived! Though the show was at 10:30, I reached the venue at 9:40, as I love to see the chaos at the ticket counter at Apsara. And to my shock, the tickets of the first day first show of both the movies-OSO and Saawariya were available! But by 9:50, both the shows got full.
Saawariya’s show was earlier than OSO and I could see that mostly young girls were there for Saawariya’s show. The entrance of the multiplex was through the elevator (the ticket counter is on the Ground Floor and the multiplex on 4th floor) and a big hoarding of Ranbir Kapoor was kept next to the elevator. All the preety young girls gave Ranbir ‘you-look-sooo-sexy’ look and entered the lift.
Finally, all OSO-watchers were allowed inside the multiplex. We seated on our respective seats. The lights dimmed. The trailer of ‘Sunday’ and ‘My Name is Anthony’ was shown; both the trailers impressed me! And then the lights were shut off and the most awaited movie of the year was about to start.
The opening scene itself was enjoyable and sets the mood of the movie. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every scene and it was truly the ‘BIGGEST ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR’!!
But what was surprising that Apsara is a multiplex, and though, people were hooting, clapping and whistling in the song ‘Dard-E-Disco’ and ‘Deewangi Deewangi’ (featuring 31 stars)! I, too, couldn’t stop myself and I also started making noises!! I, then, thought “If I would have seen OSO in a mass-dominated theatre, how much would I have enjoyed?”
The movie finally ended, giving almost everyone, a great, memorable experience! The Saawariya show in the nearby screen had also ended. I could see people from that screen, looking disappointed, with no smile in their face. I couldn’t, at that time, understand that they were very angry with the movie!
On the whole, 2007’s Diwali will truly be a memorable one for me, because of the wonderful entertainer which I saw on that day, OSO! Just forget Saawariya and all those critics who have given thumbs down to OSO-just go and enjoy OSO!
The advance booking of OSO had started in Mumbai on Sunday. I decided to watch it at Apsara Multiplex and booked the first day first show of it! Though there were hardly any expectations from my side, I waited for Nov 9, the day of release of OSO!
At last the D-Day arrived! Though the show was at 10:30, I reached the venue at 9:40, as I love to see the chaos at the ticket counter at Apsara. And to my shock, the tickets of the first day first show of both the movies-OSO and Saawariya were available! But by 9:50, both the shows got full.
Saawariya’s show was earlier than OSO and I could see that mostly young girls were there for Saawariya’s show. The entrance of the multiplex was through the elevator (the ticket counter is on the Ground Floor and the multiplex on 4th floor) and a big hoarding of Ranbir Kapoor was kept next to the elevator. All the preety young girls gave Ranbir ‘you-look-sooo-sexy’ look and entered the lift.
Finally, all OSO-watchers were allowed inside the multiplex. We seated on our respective seats. The lights dimmed. The trailer of ‘Sunday’ and ‘My Name is Anthony’ was shown; both the trailers impressed me! And then the lights were shut off and the most awaited movie of the year was about to start.
The opening scene itself was enjoyable and sets the mood of the movie. I thoroughly enjoyed each and every scene and it was truly the ‘BIGGEST ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR’!!
But what was surprising that Apsara is a multiplex, and though, people were hooting, clapping and whistling in the song ‘Dard-E-Disco’ and ‘Deewangi Deewangi’ (featuring 31 stars)! I, too, couldn’t stop myself and I also started making noises!! I, then, thought “If I would have seen OSO in a mass-dominated theatre, how much would I have enjoyed?”
The movie finally ended, giving almost everyone, a great, memorable experience! The Saawariya show in the nearby screen had also ended. I could see people from that screen, looking disappointed, with no smile in their face. I couldn’t, at that time, understand that they were very angry with the movie!
On the whole, 2007’s Diwali will truly be a memorable one for me, because of the wonderful entertainer which I saw on that day, OSO! Just forget Saawariya and all those critics who have given thumbs down to OSO-just go and enjoy OSO!
Review of Om Shanti Om
There are various categories and types of re-incarnation. A God denying Saddam Hussein was re-incarnated into a God quoting Saddam Hussein on losing his dictatorial powers. A girly man, Man Mohan Desai of the 70s was re-incarnated as a woman, Farah Khan, in the 2Ks. Even I, a person (while growing up), who was repeatedly told that I was selfish, self-centered, heartless, & cruel by my three sisters, was later (thanks to the hard knocks of life) re-incarnated as the only living man who knows what a woman wants. Let me assure you “What women want” is a very complex subject, and to those who are attempting to start on this path, to seek this knowledge, I would like to say, remember two sentences, i) “Really, that is awesome” (punctuate the really with a surprised look and a pregnant pause. Say this like you mean it, whenever she says anything) and ii) “Oh, my, my, you poor girl” (say it whenever you are not saying the previous sentence).
The most complex case of re-incarnation that I have seen is that of the Big Bad Bachchalan. A super star of the year 76/77, Big B was re-incarnated every decade since then as a bigger and bigger flop actor. Today he is a lame horse struggling to cross the finish line. What is more complicating is that while he still exists in the 2Ks, he has been re-incarnated as a clone as well in the form of Lil C. Here is a case where a decent actor has been re-incarnated as a non actor.
OSO is one such re-incarnation story. It is not as complicated as Big B’s re-incarnation. In fact it is a very simple and straightforward story of an unfulfilled man, who comes back to seek revenge against the person who killed him and his ladylove. Nonetheless, this sad and moving story is told in a fun filled over the top manner. The story in OSO becomes a platform to spoof the Bollywood of the 70s/80s as well as the contemporary Bollywood. The jokes and the parodies hit you nonstop. It is hard sometimes to listen to the dialogues because of the howling and laughter that engulfs the entire theater. I have never seen people have so much fun in any movie. I never knew this was possible. Interestingly enough everyone has his own take on the jokes. My mentor, Essac Bhai Khopdi who lives above the Sarvi Restaurant in Nagpada Bombay and has won many a Nawabi awards, thought that the blind/deaf and dumb and over the top SRK was a funny reference to Big B’s Black, while the good for nothing star son was Lil C.
Rahim Chacha, my butler, thinks that Big B was not invited to SRK’s Bollywood bash that was the basis for the “bas deewangi deewangi deewangi hai” song in OSO because Big B did not invite SRK to Lil C’s wedding. Although I may not entirely agree with Rahim Chacha, but I think in many ways, OSO is like that song, “bas deewangi deewangi deewangi hai”. While the song gives you an inside look at a typical Bollywood party, OSO is SRK’s invitation to an inside look at Bollywood itself. Farha Khan has left no leaf unturned in making sure that all feel welcome and enjoy this SRK offering, especially the common laymen with little or no knowledge of Bollywood, but it goes without saying that some knowledge of Bollywood will give a viewer a more profound reason to chuckle. In this respect OSO is not as mindless or random as it appears on a superficial level. The jokes and the sequence of the jokes are all well targeted and serve a purpose. OSO is wicked, it is a laugh riot for those who do not know Bollywood and but more so for those that do.
HR cameo was superb, but Akshay Kumar’s was even better. Govinda & Dharam Paaji were appreciated in the “bas deewangi deewangi deewangi hai” song but Kajol got the most whistles. Of all the parodies the one that I liked the most was about the insertion of a mindless item song with mindless words just to make the movie more commercially viable, yes I am refereeing to “Dar-E-Disco”. Hence, next time when you hear an item song such as “Kajra Re Kajra Re” you will know exactly the thoughts that went into its insertion. At the very least, after seeing OSO you wll know why Lil C is making a super hero film, “Darraoona”.
For SRK, OSO is another feather in his cap. As Om Makheja, his hamming is as believable as his seriousness was in CDI. It is a SRK you have not seen before. Just like no one could have played Kabir Khan as well as SRK, let me state that no one could have played Om Makheja as well as SRK. This is why SRK is an actor’s actor, the Don Jungli Billa KHaaaaan of Bollywood. SRK’s Om Makheja is a lovable looser, then as Om Kapoor, the brat, he kicks it up another notch. For me the icing on the cake, as far as SRK’s acting is concerned, was the underplayed and intimate scene where he tells his father that he will try to be a better son (and a better actor). Before I forget, let me state that the rest of the cast and crew, Arjun, Kiran, Shreyas, & Deepika are equally outstanding.
OSO rocks. It is an, in your face, inside look into Bollywood. It is not too late to book your tickets for the next week-end. Some shows are still open but rush, don’t walk, OSO is worth it.
The most complex case of re-incarnation that I have seen is that of the Big Bad Bachchalan. A super star of the year 76/77, Big B was re-incarnated every decade since then as a bigger and bigger flop actor. Today he is a lame horse struggling to cross the finish line. What is more complicating is that while he still exists in the 2Ks, he has been re-incarnated as a clone as well in the form of Lil C. Here is a case where a decent actor has been re-incarnated as a non actor.
OSO is one such re-incarnation story. It is not as complicated as Big B’s re-incarnation. In fact it is a very simple and straightforward story of an unfulfilled man, who comes back to seek revenge against the person who killed him and his ladylove. Nonetheless, this sad and moving story is told in a fun filled over the top manner. The story in OSO becomes a platform to spoof the Bollywood of the 70s/80s as well as the contemporary Bollywood. The jokes and the parodies hit you nonstop. It is hard sometimes to listen to the dialogues because of the howling and laughter that engulfs the entire theater. I have never seen people have so much fun in any movie. I never knew this was possible. Interestingly enough everyone has his own take on the jokes. My mentor, Essac Bhai Khopdi who lives above the Sarvi Restaurant in Nagpada Bombay and has won many a Nawabi awards, thought that the blind/deaf and dumb and over the top SRK was a funny reference to Big B’s Black, while the good for nothing star son was Lil C.
Rahim Chacha, my butler, thinks that Big B was not invited to SRK’s Bollywood bash that was the basis for the “bas deewangi deewangi deewangi hai” song in OSO because Big B did not invite SRK to Lil C’s wedding. Although I may not entirely agree with Rahim Chacha, but I think in many ways, OSO is like that song, “bas deewangi deewangi deewangi hai”. While the song gives you an inside look at a typical Bollywood party, OSO is SRK’s invitation to an inside look at Bollywood itself. Farha Khan has left no leaf unturned in making sure that all feel welcome and enjoy this SRK offering, especially the common laymen with little or no knowledge of Bollywood, but it goes without saying that some knowledge of Bollywood will give a viewer a more profound reason to chuckle. In this respect OSO is not as mindless or random as it appears on a superficial level. The jokes and the sequence of the jokes are all well targeted and serve a purpose. OSO is wicked, it is a laugh riot for those who do not know Bollywood and but more so for those that do.
HR cameo was superb, but Akshay Kumar’s was even better. Govinda & Dharam Paaji were appreciated in the “bas deewangi deewangi deewangi hai” song but Kajol got the most whistles. Of all the parodies the one that I liked the most was about the insertion of a mindless item song with mindless words just to make the movie more commercially viable, yes I am refereeing to “Dar-E-Disco”. Hence, next time when you hear an item song such as “Kajra Re Kajra Re” you will know exactly the thoughts that went into its insertion. At the very least, after seeing OSO you wll know why Lil C is making a super hero film, “Darraoona”.
For SRK, OSO is another feather in his cap. As Om Makheja, his hamming is as believable as his seriousness was in CDI. It is a SRK you have not seen before. Just like no one could have played Kabir Khan as well as SRK, let me state that no one could have played Om Makheja as well as SRK. This is why SRK is an actor’s actor, the Don Jungli Billa KHaaaaan of Bollywood. SRK’s Om Makheja is a lovable looser, then as Om Kapoor, the brat, he kicks it up another notch. For me the icing on the cake, as far as SRK’s acting is concerned, was the underplayed and intimate scene where he tells his father that he will try to be a better son (and a better actor). Before I forget, let me state that the rest of the cast and crew, Arjun, Kiran, Shreyas, & Deepika are equally outstanding.
OSO rocks. It is an, in your face, inside look into Bollywood. It is not too late to book your tickets for the next week-end. Some shows are still open but rush, don’t walk, OSO is worth it.
OSO has an edge over Saawariya
Shah Rukh Khan was right when he said ‘Diwali is all mine’.
His film Om Shanti Om opened to packed houses on Friday along with the other big release, Saawariya this Diwali.
But while both films opened well on account of advanced bookings, (Saawariya opened well in advance as Om Shanti Om’s distributors were negotiating the release of the film with multiplexes for a better price) the reports of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s [Images] Saawariya are not very encouraging.
Komal Nahta, a film trade analyst says, “Om Shanti Om has got an extraordinary opening and while Saawariya’s opening is good too but the reports are bad.”
Adds Vishal Anand, Vice President (Marketing), Fun Republic, “Om Shanti Om has an edge over Saawariya this weekend but Saawariya too has opened up well.”
Therefore, bad reports do not mean Saawariya will not make money.
Says Vinod Mirani, film trade analyst, “Festival season is benefiting both the films, but eventually the better will sustain and Om Shanti Om is a better bet and mass appealing.”
Sony has released 1034 prints worldwide for Saawariya out of which 754 are released in India and 280 are abroad.
Sony Pictures, Head of Publicity, Vikramjit Roy says, “This is a bumper Diwali for our films. Why are we not celebrating this fact? Why are we saying who is against whom at the box office?”
He further says, “I have reports with me that Saawariya has opened to full houses from Ernakulam to Jammu, or say, Gujarat for that matter, or even central India places like Madhya Pradesh.”
“It is a record of sorts for two newcomers to get this big an opening at the box office. This has created a new benchmark and we are getting warm, positive reaction,” added Roy.
However, the discouraging reviews the film is getting may result in losses later on, say trade analysts, and will eventually not rake in big moolah.
One of them, Taran Adarsh says, “Saawariya is overall disappointing in terms of content as well as business.”
He further adds, “On the whole, Saawariya lacks soul. It is Bhansali’s weakest film to date, in terms of writing. The cracks will start showing first at single screens and later at the big centres.”
And whether this may happen, only the coming weeks will tell.
His film Om Shanti Om opened to packed houses on Friday along with the other big release, Saawariya this Diwali.
But while both films opened well on account of advanced bookings, (Saawariya opened well in advance as Om Shanti Om’s distributors were negotiating the release of the film with multiplexes for a better price) the reports of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s [Images] Saawariya are not very encouraging.
Komal Nahta, a film trade analyst says, “Om Shanti Om has got an extraordinary opening and while Saawariya’s opening is good too but the reports are bad.”
Adds Vishal Anand, Vice President (Marketing), Fun Republic, “Om Shanti Om has an edge over Saawariya this weekend but Saawariya too has opened up well.”
Therefore, bad reports do not mean Saawariya will not make money.
Says Vinod Mirani, film trade analyst, “Festival season is benefiting both the films, but eventually the better will sustain and Om Shanti Om is a better bet and mass appealing.”
Sony has released 1034 prints worldwide for Saawariya out of which 754 are released in India and 280 are abroad.
Sony Pictures, Head of Publicity, Vikramjit Roy says, “This is a bumper Diwali for our films. Why are we not celebrating this fact? Why are we saying who is against whom at the box office?”
He further says, “I have reports with me that Saawariya has opened to full houses from Ernakulam to Jammu, or say, Gujarat for that matter, or even central India places like Madhya Pradesh.”
“It is a record of sorts for two newcomers to get this big an opening at the box office. This has created a new benchmark and we are getting warm, positive reaction,” added Roy.
However, the discouraging reviews the film is getting may result in losses later on, say trade analysts, and will eventually not rake in big moolah.
One of them, Taran Adarsh says, “Saawariya is overall disappointing in terms of content as well as business.”
He further adds, “On the whole, Saawariya lacks soul. It is Bhansali’s weakest film to date, in terms of writing. The cracks will start showing first at single screens and later at the big centres.”
And whether this may happen, only the coming weeks will tell.
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