A pair of gaudy sunglasses perched
on top of a bouffant, never ending
side-burns, big collars, bell-bottoms
held together with a broad leather
belt with a shining buckle, the
heroine in a hip-hugging-sari with a
sleeveless blouse, kurtas with
bell sleeves, pouting naughtily with a
funny expression on her face. A
super-slick, roguishly handsome
villain with a ponytail, and a pencil
thin moustache. A peppy, very hummable
soundtrack; and a superb performance
from ALL the actors. Om Shanti Om is a
winner.
Om Prakash Mackkhi-ja (Shah Rukh
Khan, VERY GOOD!) who lives with his
very filmi, ex-junior artiste
mom (Kirron Kher, superb!), is in love
with the reigning matinee queen Shanti
Priya (Deepika Padukone,
breathtakingly beautiful, very
lady-like, and very convincing), and
has big superstar dreams. He is
flanked by Pappoo Master (Shreyas
Talpade, very charming, very good) who
would do anything for Om, and vice
versa.
Om and Shanti have a chance meeting
on a Mother-India like set (where he
saves her from a fire, Sunil Dutt-like),
and Om is head-over-heels (he was in
love with her anyway), only to
discover that she is secretly married
to the roguish producer (Arjun Rampal,
very dashing, extremely convincing).
He witnesses him trying to murder her,
and dies saving her himself. End of
part one.
In his reincarnation, he is born Om
Kapoor in a superstar home, and is a
vacuous superstar himself. There are
six-packs, there are Grand Hayabusa
Bikes, scantily clad women, and so on.
He has his own starry nakhras,
changes the scenes on a whim, and
insists that everyone call him OK. One
fine day, he remembers all about his
past life, and from then on, he must
do anything possible to bring the
culprit to justice.
So, there is nothing new about the
story. So what if the movie borrows
doses of Subhash Ghai’s (he himself
appears in about 4 shots in the movie)
Karz? Right from the start, the
attention to detail impresses you.
What really tickles you is the
constant, harmless jabs at the
superstars, and the would-be stars.
They have spoofs on Manoj Kumar, Dev
Anand, Govinda, Sooraj Barjatya,
Rajesh Khanna, and many others,
without being insulting or cheap.
There are so many Asterix comics
moments in the film, and so
intelligently done, that I lost count
of the chuckles I made.
Shah Rukh Khan puts in a very funny,
and very believable performance as the
protagonist. His comic timing is
perfect, and he hams only because he
is supposed to ham. The over-hyped
Dard-e-Disco is actually very
hummable, and funny (it grows on you),
and his six-packs do not look out of
place at all. And when he plays the
superstar and romances and flirts with
girls twenty years his junior, you
don’t squirm in your seat. He
reinvented himself with Chak De,
but with OSO, he has outdone
himself, really.
Deepika Padukone does not look like a
newcomer. Call her a newcomer only if
you are on the selection committee for
the Filmfare awards. She is a treat
for the eyes, and does all her scenes
very very convincingly. Hopefully, she
will choose her roles carefully, and
be seen for a long, long time.
Arjun
Rampal can act. He has the voice, the
looks, and the screen presence. I hope
he does more negative roles.
Shreyas Talpade is as usual very good
and very charming. Though I didn’t
think of him much in his grey-haired
avatar, he plays the sidekick with
élan.
Kirron Kher is superb. Her role as the now-hammy-now-doting mother is
well scripted, and superbly acted. A
real treat.
But
of course, the credit goes to Farah
Khan. She impressed me with Main Hoon
Na, with sprinklings of the 70’s
cinema. In OSO, she goes all guns
blazing, recreating that era, leaving
no detail out. Yes, there were some
minor mistakes (like an extra with a
side-sling bag in the background, and
a few others), but they are
negligible. The choreography is
brilliant, as it always is, since
Farah Khan herself does it, the
editing is marvelous (Shrish Kunder,
consistently good), and the special
effects (handled by Red Chillies –
Shah Rukh Khan’s own company) are
state-of-the-art.
Also, the one song with 31 stars
(past and present) just goes on to
prove the abundance of goodwill the
Khans (SRK and Farah Khan) have in the
industry.
And if all that was not enough, the
end credits keep you in your seats. On
the same lines of Main Hoon Na,
the ENTIRE crew appears in the
credits. Cameramen riding their
trolleys, the stars coming out of
various vehicles, the spot boys and
light men coming out of a stretch
limousine, and Farah Khan herself
appearing out of an auto- rickshaw, is
heartwarming. I have never seen people
still in their seats, till the last
frame.
I am very, very happy that good
cinema is back in business, rather
consistently this year. Cinema, which
if not exactly groundbreaking, is well
made, is hugely entertaining, AND
which actually works. And I do hope it
keeps this way. Om Shanti Om is
good cinema; full paisa vasool,
and wholesomely entertaining. And yes,
it is the biggest hit this year,
guaranteed. Because it deserves to be.
‘nuff said.
