Om Shanti Om

Cast: Shahrukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Shreyas Talpade, Arjun Rampal, Malaika Arora, Rani Mukherjee, Preity Zinta, Kajol, Priyanka Chopra, Shilpa Shetty, Vidya Balan, Akshay Kumar, Salman Khan, Sanjay Dutt, Saif Ali Khan
Language: Hindi
Banner: Red Chillies Entertainment
Director: Farah Khan
Producer: Gauri Khan
Camera: V Manikanandan
Story: Farah Khan, Mayur Puri, Mushtaq Sheikh
Screenplay: Farah Khan, Mayur Puri, Mushtaq Sheikh
Dialogue: Mayur Puri
Lyrics: Javed Akhtar, Vishal Dadlani, Kumaar
Music: Vishal Dadlani, Shekhar Ravjiani
Year: 2007

Om Shanti Om is a complete masala entertainer which has a balanced dose of comedy, action and emotions that makes you laugh as well as touches your heart. The film has a bollywood setting and incorporates the 70’s genre in Hindi cinema during the first half, the witty impersonations, the digs and jibes made about bollywood and many bigwigs definitely brings in the lighthearted element. Several twists and turns in the film manage to catch the audiences’ attention. The story is not novel but is a theme revisited from the past and though not realistic, it is certainly entertaining due to an energetic and peppy screenplay. SRK’ six pack abs, the catchy music, 70’s look and drama, 30 special appearances by bollywood stars are only added reasons to watch this film which manages to engage and entertain audiences. A fun film to watch especially during the festive season.

The film has been produced under SRK’s banner Red Chilies Entertainment and it has been directed by Farah Khan. The film stars Shahrukh Khan as Om, newcomer Deepika Padukone as Shanti, Shreyas Talpade, Arjun Rampal, special appearances by Sanjay Dutt, Salman Khan, Saif Ali Khan, Jeetendra, Govinda, Mithun Chakraborthy, Rani Mukherjee, Kajol, Preity Zinta etc. The music for the film has been done by Vishal-Shekhar.

Omprakash Makhija (Shahrukh) is a junior artiste in bollywood set in the 70’s era. He is also an aspiring actor and hopes that one day he will become a huge star. The only people close to him are his mother (Kirron Kher) and his good friend Pappu Master (Shreyas). Om is also in love with Shanti Priya who is the super star of her times. Om saves Shanti from a fire and then eventually befriends her, he dreams of a life together with her. However he learns that Shanti has a deep dark secret, but he immediately dies in a mysterious tragic fire.

Now fast forward to present day bollywood and Om is reborn or reincarnated. This time he is an arrogant superstar, but he is plagued by flashes of his past life which forces him to delve into the mystery of his past. He decides to find out the mysterious reason which killed him and he also finds his love Shanti once more. This time Om unravels the reason for his untimely death of his past life and vows to take revenge.

The story is based on the theme of reincarnation which may not be believable to many, but the manner in which the screenplay unfolds makes it a fun, time pass entertaining film. Farah Khan has executed the film keeping in mind the masses taste; it’s a potboiler with comedy, action, emotions, drama and song and dance. The 70’s look and drama in the first half is done with finesse, humour is incorporated with various impersonations of big 70’s stars, various digs and jibes at bollywood and its way of functioning, etc. SRK takes digs at himself and this ability to laugh at oneself is quite witty. The various twists and turns incorporated when various secrets come to light is also engaging, the action like the fire destruction etc is eye catching. Farah also makes it a point to definitely incorporate the emotional and romantic moments as without it, a bollywood film would be incomplete.

However after the intermission, during the rebirth things slow down a bit, but gradually pick up pace once more. The music of the film has a few melodious numbers, most of the tracks are peppy and upbeat dance tracks and the choreography and look of the song also adds to the music. The cinematography by V. Manikanandan is good, sets are opulent and lavish, dialogues are witty and the old clichés used in 70’s bollywood add to the wit and charm. Even the climax though predictable is laced with high drama that is entertaining.

Performances are first rate; SRK does his commercial all round hero acting with his usual finesse and flair. He delivers a performance which is cool and confident. Debutant Deepika Padukone looks good and she does a fine job too. Arjun Rampal delivers a good performance and Shreyas Talpade is first rate. The cameos by various stars also add to the excitement. The rest of the characters also deliver average performances.

Overall Om Shanti Om has an entertaining screenplay; it is a witty, fun timepass film that will entertain all the way. At the box-office it will surely do good business as it is a light, enjoyable SRK film that will definitely appeal during the festive season and even later. Definitely worth a watch.

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