This Diwali saw the release on 2 much awaited big budget extravaganzas and like everyone else, my friends and I debated about which movie should we watch first, each one of us hoping both the movies would set new records and standards at the box office. We finally decided in favour of Om Shanti Om, presuming that it would be a light entertainer to suit the mood of Diwali weekend as opposed to the more opulent, rich and serious looking Saawariya.
Personally, I had little expectations from OSO since I m neither a Shahrukh Khan fan nor do I like his style of acting. Nevertheless I thought of giving it a chance after reading decent reviews of OSO (an average of 3 to 4 stars) and Saawariya being completely written off by eminent critics….
And after spending 3 hours in the theatre I returned disappointed….
THE STORY
Om Shanti Om is a film set in Bollywood itself and essays the story of Om Prakash Makhija (played by Shahrukh Khan), a junior artiste of the 70s, who dreams of making it big in Bollywood, and has a crush on Shanti Priya (played by debutant Deepika Padukone), who is the country’s biggest female star of that era. Shanti s personal life is in a mess and finds a good companion in Om. But things go wrong when the junior artiste is killed in a futile attempt to save Shanti from a fire. The story moves 30 years ahead (to the present) where Bollywood’s biggest supestar in none other than Om, re-incarnated as Om Kapoor this time, seeking justice for what happened in his previous life… Does it sound like Karz or Karan Arjun???
THE REVIEW*
OSO does not work for me for one primary reason:
The plot of the movie lacks originality and is borrowed heavily from yesteryear blockbusters such as Karz and Karan Arjun (both films based on the re-incarnation theme). In fact, the second half of Om Shanti Om, right up to the climax is lifted straight out of Karz, making the movie predictable. When compared with the Subhash Ghai’s blockbuster, Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om is an inferior product in every sphere of film making: acting, direction, emotions and screenplay. At best, OSO can be described as a shoddy remake of Karz, sans those emotions.
The critics may argue that OSO is a tribute to Indian Film Industry, the 70s style of cinema or the Manmohan Desai genre of ‘Masala’ movies, which was packed with action, drama, comedy, emotions and romance conconcted in equal proportions ensuring that the movie is a total ‘paisa vasool’. Its even true that OSO attempts to re-create that era using props such as bell bottom trousers, the 70s hairstyle, cars, those famous “ADAAs” of yesteryear superstars and how can we forget the melodramatic MAA. But one could only wish the film had a more gripping storyline and more doses of ENTERTAINMENT. In fact the only scenes that you really enjoy and make you laugh are the ones where the film pokes fun at the yesteryear’s actors, their style of acting and those adaa s, including Shahrukh Khan’s own style of doing repetitive work. So watch out for those look-alikes, star guest appearances and jokes with references to movies and actors.
OSO does have its share of exciting moments but they re only restricted to star guest appearances and imitations of actors. The film begins of on a high note with Om dancing amongst the junior artistes and dreaming to be like Rishi Kapoor in the song Om Shanti Om from the movie Karz, directed by Subhash Ghai, and you expect the movie to be an enjoyable fare. But then the interactions that follow between Om and Shanti Priya later in the movie and the melodramatic “Maa-Beta” sequences are dull to the point of being irritating. The post imtermission sequences do raise the tempo of the movie with SRK in his present ‘avataar’ showcasing today’s cinema in a satirical manner, but then at this point, the scenes are lifted straight out of Karz.
Farah Khan, in an attempt to make a “masala” movie, has taken a step backwards after her successful directorial debut in Main Hoon Naa. Both Main Hoon Naa and OSO lie in the same genre and are similar in the respect that both of them have lots of exaggeratedsequences and references to movies, in an attempt to pay tribute to Indian cinema. But Main Hoon Naa was far more entertaining simply because of the originality in the script. The problem with Om Shanti Om is that it is neither entirely over the top, nor it is a serious movie, making it difficult for the audience to emote with the characters.
Coming to the performances of lead actors, Shahrukh Khan as Om (both Makhija and Kapoor) hams like never before, sometimes to the portray the character and sometimes due to his own style of acting. He plays the central character and can be seen in almost every frame of the movie. Playing a Super-Star in the second half, SRK performs it with ease and hogs the limelight. A special mention must be made for the one-liners penned down by Mayur Puri which have been executed well.
Debutant actress Deepika Padukone looks stunningly beautiful and confident and fits perfectly into the role of the ‘Dreamy Girl’. Although she does not have a large amount of screen space and I suspect her voice has been dubbed, she is one actress to watch out for in the future.
Arjun Rampal, playing a negative character this time, has the right look and does a fine job as the ambitious producer. Kirron Kher, playing the melodramatic, over the top Maa, is devoid of emotions and overacts to the point of irritating the audience. Shreyas Talpade, playing Om’s friend, is alright and does not get much scope.
Barring a couple of tracks, music by Vishal-Shekhar is average. The songs “Ajab Si” sung by KK and “Main Agar Kahoon” by Sonu Nigam are soulful. The chartbuster “Dard-e-Disco” will surely get lots of cheers and hoots from SRK fans for obvious reasons. The background scrore by Sandeep Chowta is effective, especially the sitar tune during the Maa-Beta scenes.
So that’s 2 stars out of 5, and an average rating for Om Shanti Om; and as one of my friend puts it: a “PHUS PATAAKAA” this Diwali. It’s a film that promises so much, but delivers nothing more than starry attractions, guest appearances and a remake of a classic. Watch it once only if you are a die-hard SRK fan or want to watch those cameos done by almost the entire film industry.