Om Shanti Om

If you sit to watch a typical Bollywood Commercial masala movie, Leave your brains behind. Om Shanti Om is one such film that entertains you in every aspect.

Om Shanti Om is the story of the Indian Film World. It is the story of a Junior Artist (Extra) Om Prakash Makhija (Shah Rukh Khan) who dreams to become a superstar one day. He is madly in love with Shanti Priya (Deepika Podukone) who is a super star and she is in love with a film producer Mukesh Ahuja (Arjun Rampal). Mukesh after learning this fact that Shanti is pregnant with his child and his most ambitious project will come to hold if he marries her, He kills her. This whole event is witnessed by Shanti's good friend and her secret lover Om. Even Om dies in that tragic accident while trying to save Shanti. Mukesh runs to Hollywood and get's married there a multi-millionaire's daughter.

But destiny has a total different story to tell… Om is reborn again after 30 years as a Super Star Om Kapoor (Shah Rukh Khan) and the destiny makes om meets Sandy (Deepika Podukone) who is a look alike of Shanti Priya. Om and Sandy make a plan to trap Mukesh who comes back to India after 30 years to make a film with Om. The evil get's punished and the truth wins forms the rest of the film.

Technically the film is just brilliant. It shows on the screen the amount of money that has been spent into the making. The sets are glossy and breath taking. The camera work is just superb. The editing is fantastic and crispy. Musically a very decent and a good effort. Especially the song where all the 31 stars perform is a treat to watch for. The story and direction by Farah Khan is very good.

Performance wise the film belongs to King Khan Shah Rukh Khan all the way. New girl Deepika Podukone is the next superstar. It did not seem at all that she is a new actress and this is her First Film. Arjun Rampal was awesome in the negative role. Kirron Kher was really good once again. Shreyas Talpade was again very good. He gets an equal footage with Shah Rukh to perform.

For those who go for Artistic Cinema, This film is strictly not for them. But those who need Full Time Pass, Om Shanti Om is the real good choice. Here the Film Maker is trying to fool you, But in return they are offering you a Glossy Dream of 2 hours. So if you are looking for a Roller Coaster ride of Entertainment, Go for Om Shanti Om!

'Might wanna include some fresh drinks with that. That's what 'Om Shanti Om' provides in a huge dose. No not the fresh drinks, but the entertainment. I had seen Farah Khan's last flick 'Main Hoon Na' and didn't like it but 'Om Shanti Om' for me was very enjoyable. I liked it's colourfulness and its not taking itself seriously. In short, it's a spoof of Bollywood.

The main plot itself is cleverly inspired by 'Madhumati' and 'Karz' and further you'll see situations that mock Hindi films of the 70s and Hindi films of today. There are numerous famous actors who make fun of themselves. The Filmfare sequence with Shahrukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, The Bachchans, Shabana Azmi were all lol hilarious. There are several such moments which make you feel as if you're under the influence of Novocain (I mean that in a good way).

The songs are of the hummable and foot-tapping kind, most of them spectacularly picturized. I liked how the 'Deewangee' song was filmed as it included most of my favorite actresses like Shabana Azmi, Juhi Chawla, Urmila Matondkar, Tabu, Kajol, Shilpa Shetty, Rani Mukherji etc. Tabu certainly looked the best of the lot. She was drop-dead hot. Of course there was also the funny sequence where Shahrukh danced with Mithun Chokroborty. However, the song may have been a little too long and perhaps Farah could have cropped it out a little by not including some bad actors. Oh well, she probably didn't want to be rude.

Shahrukh Khan is very good as the Oms. One might argue that he overacted in the second half but, in my opinion, he was merely spoofing himself and other Bollywood actors. Kirron Kher too is a treat to watch and she provides some of the LOL moments e.g. when she's spoofing the 70s Bollywood mom or as the 'crazy witch' who saw a ghost. Shreyas Talpade, though cast in a supporting role, holds his own and does nothing short of a great job. Arjun Rampal impresses as the evil villain. I was wondering what happened to this actor after delivering an amazing performance in 'Moksha' and now it's good to see that he's back in form. 'Hope he doesn't get typecast as he plays the bad guy very well. Deepika Padukone is a decent débutante. I liked her as Shantipriya (she looks great in the traditional Indian outfits than the Western stuff) but as Sandy she didn't impress me much (she didn't have much to do anyway).

Farah Khan and Shahrukh Khan probably had a lot of fun in the making and they've certainly made something for all of us to enjoy. This is one of the better 'masala' films to emerge from Hindi Cinema in recent times. As long as you're not expecting any serious film that will alter your life and go see it with the intention to have fun, you won't be disappointed.

This review is coming more than a month from the release of this movie. But, how does it matter when Deepika Padukone is still fresh in memory with her Ajab si adaayen. Honestly, I went to the movie to watch her. Long ago, I had predicted that this babe would make a big entry into films. Well, a debut with SRK! How bigger can it get?

This Deepawali had two major releases, King Khan and Farah Khan’s OSO and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Saawariya. Most newspapers drew comparisons between these movies, some on story, on the débutante lead actresses, track record of directors, songs, so on and so forth coupled with aggressive marketing campaigns.

OSO starts with the story of a junior artiste Om Makhija in the 70s deeply in love with screen sensation Shantipriya. Both become friends after Om saves Shanti from a fire accident on the sets. Both die in exceptional circumstances and Om is reborn again, this time as superstar Om Kapoor 30 years later. Om realizes his past and sets out for villain Mukesh Mehra in his quest to uncover the secret of his past lover’s demise.

Till the interval, Farah Khan did a great job on recreating 70s cinema. Two comic sequences, one on Manoj Kumar and the other on a mock Tamil film shoot are hilarious. While being a parody on the movie industry of those days, in many ways, OSO pays tribute to many cinematic moments, such as those of rebirth with the Om sign, group dance sequences, bell bottom pants, etc. The best stuff stops here.

The second segment dwells too much on SRK’s stardom and the story somehow loses focus. Deepika’s role is too limited. But here, villain Arjun Rampal as steals the show. The best of the comic sequences is the Award ceremony with many star cameos. The clips of nominees that is shown there is worth the watch. The end too is very filmy. End credits follow Farash’s style in her first films to show her entire crew. That was sweet.

Non-SRK fans may not really like any praise that I say here. But, one must admit that this great guy has amazing star power, all acquired on his own! There is no dull moment in OSO. Ah, and what do I say of Deepika, she’s just awesome! Arjun Rampal, Shreyas Talpade and Kirron Kher have done great. The music too is captivating. If you haven’t seen this movie, I would say it is worth it for its entertainment value.

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.

When I first heard of Farah Khan and Shah Rukh teaming up to make their project called Om Shanti Om, based on reincarnation, I was surprised and raised my eyebrows at their choice of storyline. I decided not to even think about seeing the movie until I had read many reviews and heard about the fate of the film. Now, after seeing it, I cannot believe I doubted Shah Rukh Khan's talent and Farah's masala for even a second!

Om Shanti Om is pure brilliance. Just after about 10 minutes into the film and I was hooked. Everything is perfected, there isn't much to criticize at all.

The performances - Shah Rukh Khan once again delivers entertainment at it's absolute max. Looking hotter than ever, now with incredibly sexy six-pack abs, SRK shows off his skill in style. The intensity and emotion of Om is portrayed very well. Arjun Rampal is fantastic, I have never seen him do a role like this before. I had never imagined he could PULL OFF something like this. Yet, there are times when he even overshadows Shah Rukh, he was great as the villain Mukesh. Deepika Padukone shines and actually does a decent performance, and has some acting ability underneath her beautiful supermodel looks. Despite the slight criticism saying she cannot pull off the 70s outfits, I thought she looked wonderful and did her role with dignity. Shreyas Talpade does another cute but powerful performance after Iqbal, and Kirron Kher tugs at your heart with her famous motherly role. She adds a small zing to Om Shanti Om that only she could have done. Bindu and Javed Sheikh makes small appearances.

Om Shanti Om provides outrageous and hilarious comedy, complete and over-the-top melodrama, romance, action, and everything in between. It is a true masala film. Farah Khan lived up to the standard she left with Main Hoon Na.

The music is also something I judged before seeing the film. I reckoned the music was mediocre, but now I understand that the music has kept the film going! Dard-e-Disco is the chart topping item and dance number, with Deewangi Deewangi as the crowd teaser, Ajab Si and Agar Main Kahoon are the romantic songs, and Jag Soona Soona as a ghazal-ish track. I liked Dhoom Taana a lot also, but my favourite will always be Dard-e-Disco...SRK and his gorgeous abs... :)

Farah Khan has once again provided pure entertainment. One thing I really love about her movies is that they mock EVERYTHING. And she mocks it all with such style, that you cannot help loving it. She made fun of it all. And I mean it ALL. The Filmfare awards were one of the funniest things I have ever seen, and ditto for Shah Rukh's attempt to show off to Deepika in the first half ("Naughty pussy, naughty pussy"!!). I also loved the way Farah Khan thanks all the people working in her film, cast and crew. She made the credits enjoyable and thanked everyone, giving them a small contribution in the film. She did the same in Main Hoon Na.

Deewangi Deewangi with all 31 stars was amazing. It is rather amusing to see all the celebrities dance on screen, with SRK. It was well choreographed and planned, and very enjoyable. OSO really changes it's colours after the interval. It goes from a cheerful happy-go-lucky fun movie into a slightly serious act. Nevertheless, it stills maintains a lot of humour and keeps you glued to your seat.

Entertainment, entertainment, entertainment. Simply unmissable.