Om Shanti Om (2007) Reviews

• Entertainment at its best

  eh5963-297-9673542012-06-14

  Bring out the popcorn, grab a cola and get ready for 2 and a half hours of laughs, songs, color, emotions, and spoofs. If you're a fan of the Indian film industry and have kept up with the news, Om Shanti Om is for you. If you love entertainment to the max, OSO is definitely for you! Farah Khan's Om Shanti Om spares nobody, not even its makers when it comes to poking fun. OSO is a film about films, it's a film in a film and above all, it's made to celebrate the biggest film producing industry - The Indian Film Industry. Om Prakash is a junior artist who thrives to become a lead hero one day. He is a horrible actor and has a mother who hams more than him. Om has another dream: To win over a star, Shanti-Priya. One circumstance leads to another which leads to Om being a witness to the death of Shanti by producer Mukesh Mehra. Om also gets killed in the incident. That same night, Om is reborn as Om Kapoor. Will Om realize his past-life? Will he avenge Shanti's death? As the tagline suggests: For some dreams, one life-time is not enough. OSO has a done-to-death story. But that's not the point. The film is a parody of films and the ones working in it. Notice the spoofs on the yesteryear stars such as Manoj Kumar. A controversial scene but one can't deny it's hilarious. Not to forget spoofs on Govinda, Keshtu Mukherjee, and Suraj Bharjateeyaa. Of course the most memorable comic scene has to be SRK pretending to be a south Indian actor. "Mind It" OSO's first half is gripping and keeps the viewer alert. The drama folds the right way. The second half loses steam at times. It's not bad, but unlike Farah's first film where the second half competed well with the first, it stars to slow down a bit. It picks back up, fortunately. The spoofs aren't less hilarious in the second half. The film pokes fun of a lot of celebs and Indian film industry issues. To start, SRK being late is a spoof on himself being late to sets in real life. Not to forget the whole dard-e-disco song is a spoof on item numbers. The high point of the second half has to be the award ceremony. The spoof on Abhishek Bachchan is subtle yet funny. SRK doing the same roles and being nominated is remarkably funny. Not to forget Akshay KUmar's outburst at the awards is aplaudworthy and rib-tickling. Subash Ghai-Rishi Kapoor spoof is funny too. Flaws? As mentioned, the second half falters in some parts. Also, SRK remembering his past so quickly seems rushed and unconvincing. The climax, however, is a pleasant surprise. Special Mention - The Deewangee song is a treat to the eyes. 31 stars in one song is no joke and they all look nothing short of spectacular. Special mention to the ones that caught my eye with their appearance. Dharmendra, Jatendra, Kajol, Salman, Saif, Sanju, Rekha etc all do well alongside Shah Rukh Khan. Farah Khan and her team of writers have put some genius into parts of the movie. The writing is witty, smart, and quite innovative. Dilague is first rate. Vishal-Shekar's music is amazing. With a variety of songs in one film, they do a wonderful job. Farah's direction is first rate. She handles all the moments with ease. It's not a better film than Main Hoon Na, but still a good job. In 2007, 3 months before OSO released; SRK unleashed the actor in him and kept the star away in a movie called Chak De India. In OSO, it's the opposite. OSO is a film where SRK can chill and not worry about the criticism. His performance is explosive and energetic. In this, it's SRK the superstar unleashed. And kudos to him for also poking fun at himself despite being the producer of this one. Deepika makes a grand debut and I'm sure she couldn't have asked for anything else. She looks gorgeous and makes a good debut. Arjun Rampal is spectacular as the villain here. Brilliant. The supporting cast does well too which includes the lovable Shreyas Talpade, the scene-stealing Kirron Kher and Javed Sheikh. Overall, A grand film which has one objective - Entertainment!

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• So much fun

  oldgirl2016-06-17

  I'm an American, and have not seen very many Bollywood films -- Three Idiots, Saariwaya, and one or two others in passing -- but I know a spoof when I see it. This movie was a romp -- overdone theatrics, over-the-top musical numbers, and lots of wink-wink-nudge-nudge allusions. Actually, I probably missed most of those -- but I got enough of them to keep smiling all the way through. Nicely plotted, plenty of really good catch-lines, and warm-hearted at the core. I especially like the end credits, where crew members and the usually faceless support people did a kind of 'red carpet' appearance, to the applause and cheers of the mob. Great bit at the very end, where the director/writer got out of the tuk-tuk for her moment, and everybody was .... well, no spoilers here. Just watch the film. Well worth your time.

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• Love in dreams

  coiffuremixte2012-12-23

  'Om Shanti Om' is, simply, one of the best films ever made. 'Singing in the Rain' is the closest reference cinematically and thematically, both films are about the inside of the movie business Hollywood and Bollywood respectively. Baz Lurhman was going for the same kind of thing with 'Moulin Rouge' and - despite hyper-active trickery and bombast - managed to express romance, art and music pretty well, though not as well as is done here. 'Om Shanti Om' manages to combine drama, high emotion, nostalgia, fantasy, romance and self-referential humor to perfection. Simply told, this is a film about fans. What it is to love an idol on the big screen and the unbreakable fantasy of stepping up onto the big screen. This is also a metaphor for love and the film is also, suitably, wildly romantic. Anyone who truly loves cinema intelligently will adore this film. Shah Rukh Khan is on his own today, with perhaps Denzel Washington, as a leading man with infinite appeal and effortless charm, intelligence, humor and presence; a movie star at home with the all-time greats. Deepika Padukone is both a stunning beauty and a complete actress, incredibly, managing to match her brilliant co-star in comedic and dramatic range. Farah Khan is a director of extraordinary technical and artistic skill and the vision she exerts in Om Shanti Om is breath-taking. Leave your preconceptions about Bollywood aside and embrace a true classic.

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• The grandest masala show. The result: LOL!

  Peter_Young2010-02-03

  Reincanation, Hindi cinema, love, betrayal are some of the themes Farah Khan's delightful and crazy comedy Om Shanti Om deals with. But frankly, it never really matters. This film is simply one of the most entertaining films made in recent times. A spoof of Hindi cinema of past and recent times, the film both pokes fun at it and celebrates its unique, inimitable style. As the story progresses the movie becomes even more alluring. It is at times a drama, at times a thriller, but generally it is just a musical comedy which is not to be taken seriously. Technically the film is very impressive. Farah Khan's direction is very good. The film is extremely colourful, with great costumes and fantastic, glossy sets. The 1970s settings are particularly authentic and visibly well-invested. One more aspect which helps to recreate the magic and the atmosphere of the 1970s is the wonderful soundtrack. "Dhoom Taana" for instance seems to have been rightly taken from a film of those times. The film contains numerous sequences which will have you floored. The Filmfare Award ceremony is one of the funniest sequences in the film. The red carpet scene with celebrities predicting the winners was very funny. The next scene which includes the ceremony and the Best Actor nominations clip was absolutely hilarious. I could not stop laughing as every nominee was unfolded, and Abhishek Bachchan and Akshay Kumar's reactions when they lost were awesome. The following sequence was the after-party which was another memorable scene. The famous "Deewangee Deewangee" song which has some of the best-known actors in India dancing to its tunes, from Dharmendra, Mithun Chakraborty, Rekha and Shabana Azmi to Salman, Saif, Juhi, Urmila, Tabu, Kajol, Rani and Preity, was very exciting and a pleasure to watch. It was truly a moment of unity and celebration for Hindi cinema. As far as acting goes, Om Shanti Om is a winner. Every actor understands the film's mood and acts accordingly. Shahrukh Khan is great as the Oms. He's simple as the first Om, cool as the second Om, and overall is as witty and funny as always. Deepika Padukone makes a confident debut. She is very beautiful and likable. Kirron Kher shines in another comic role as the loud mom. Shreyas Talpade delivers a noteworthy performance as Om's best friend and holds his own despite a smaller role. Arjun Rampal plays the typical villain with style. Well, to sum it up, Om Shanti Om is an extremely enjoyable flick which should provide a great watch for the entire family. Like Farah Khan's previous offering with Shahrukh Khan, Main Hoon Na, this film has a genuine sense of fun. It is the quintessence of Bollywood's uniqueness which makes us realise why and how much we love this film industry. Remember not to expect anything serious or life-turning, and you will not be disappointed.

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• Time pass- in the best sense of the phrase

  cxw10652007-11-10

  Saw this movie at an advance screening, and boy, was it amazing.......... it's a total time-pass movie and I mean that in the best sense of the word. Having just seen the heart rending Khuda Ke Liye, OSO was a reminder that life can be fun, filled with colour, love and laughter- and that even if you don't believe in punar janam, Bollywood movies thrive on the topic. SRK shows why he is the Shahenshah of bollywood, and ALL his friends show up-- there were more cameos in this movie than I could have expected. One must give credit to the stars who laughed at themselves with such good humour......even those who are supposedly currently at outs with SRK. Live, Love, Laugh!! at this movie, and remember when not every movie had to have a message.

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