indya rating: 2.5/5

All doubts about a strong Karz influence in Om Shanti Om are answered in the opening sequence itself with the young Rishi Kapoor grooving to what else but Om Shanti Om. And with Farah joining SRK among the audience to cheer him on, it looked like one entertaining ride ahead.



Shah Rukh Khan (Om Prakash Makhija) plays a 70s junior artist who dreams of being a superstar. He is madly in love with a top heroine of those times Shantipriya (Deepika Padukone). While everyone around mocks him, his only source of inspiration is his close friend Pappu (Shreyas Talpade) and his filmi mom Bela (Kirron Kher). Om once saves Shanti from a raging on set fire and the two become good friends. But he is heartbroken when he comes to know that Shanti is secretly married to producer Mukesh Mehra (Arjun Rampal) and is expecting. Unwilling to accept her Mukesh burns her to death and also buries his dream project Om Shanti Om along with it. Om, who witnesses this, also loses his life in trying to rescue his Shanti from the fire again. But he must be reborn as a superstar (Om Kapoor) to take revenge for her death. He is helped in his endeavour by Sandy (a Shantipriya look-a-like).

Credit to Farah for attempting such a brave subject but somewhere down the line, the story gets entangled between a love story and the 70s fixation in the first half. And post interval, there is too much of a Karz influence making the film rather predictable. Also certain aspects of the film make one cringe. The use of star duplicates has been done to death and Farah doesn’t have anything novel of offer either. The Mohabbat Man, a Superman type concept having SRK wear his underwear outside and mouthing typical Bollywood dialogues, is amateurish stuff and the irritating brainless Gujju director and his son only add to the agony. And about Shah Rukh impersonating Rajnikanth, the less said the better.

Perhaps, Farah was trying too hard to be funny. One can make this out from the earlier sequences between Om Prakash and his mother Bela whether the two are seen mocking a number of stereotypical conversations between a maa and a beta. The two-chutki sindoor sequence is another not so humorous take on our films.

Even amidst all the disappointments there are some bright spots. Om Prakash’s award winning speech on being presented the Batli Award by Pappu with street kids as the audience is touching. He goes on to repeat the same speech 30 years later as Om Kapoor (OK) on winning the Filmfare for Best Actor. The idea of shooting with real film stars for Filmfare works well. Akshay Kumar makes a mark even in a minute’s appearance, a sure sign of his elevated star status.

Among the cast, SRK does the expected for most part. He overacts his superstar part a bit in the second half but that is what many have come to love him for over the years so you can’t fault him for that. Deepika looks stunning and lights up the screen with her radiant smile. She displays impressive acting abilities for a debutant handling emotional, romantic scenes with ease. Most of these come in the first half though. She is reduced to a caricature thereafter except for the climax scene where she enters as a spirit to avenge her death. Shreyas Talpade proves his versatility as an actor and at times even manages to overshadow SRK with his endearing sense of humour, which is sorely missed in the second half where, like Deepika he too has precious little to do. Arjun Rampal tries very hard but is unconvincing in his villainous act. Kirron Kher chips in playing her now routine ‘over the top’ mother.

The cinematography of the movie is mesmerizing and lends more authenticity to OSO than the script itself. Music of the film though heard over and over again in the past month and a half doesn’t sound redundant. Apart from the superhit numbers Ajab Si and Dard-e-Disco, Main Aggar Kahoon and Jag Sunna are soulful renditions. And the Deewangi number featuring 31 stars ends up being the saving grace with the film dragging to its end. The climax song, an obvious attempt to rehash the classic Ek Hasina Thi, doesn’t create the desired impact though.

All said and done, Om Shanti Om is what SRK’s character in the latter half is called - an ‘OK’ film. And it only reiterates that may be the best way to pay tribute to Bollywood’s glorious past is to keep it untouched.