Introducing Om Shanti Om
A movie review by a major Bollywood website was extremely positive. Oh well, how could I trust a reviewer who gave fantastic movies like Chak De India, Black, Rang De Basanti (and so many more) such low ratings? I believed the reviewer is quite fond of masala flicks, flicks which have major box-office appeal. (Are movie reviewers actually paid for positive reviews? I wonder..) So before I entered the movieplex, I had huge expectations from Om Shanti Om. The biggest entertainer in the country in a masala potboiler, positive reviews, great hype, 31 of the biggest stars in one item number – what more could one ask for?
Om Shanti Om Story
Om Prakash Makhija (Shahrukh Khan) is a junior artist aspiring to become a superstar one day and live life of luxury and comfort. He is a die hard fan and a secret lover of popular actress Shanti Priya (Deepika Padukone). His mother and Papu (Shreyas Talpade) are the only true believers of his talent. A fire accident on one of the shooting sets introduces Shanti to Om. As Om finds happiness and satisfaction he finds out an untold truth of Shanti being married to film producer Mukesh Mehra (Arjun Rampal) who kills her after she admits her pregnancy to him. As a witness to this crime, Om gets killed in a fight with Mehra’s men.
Om Prakash comes back to the world now as Om Kapoor, a star-kid. Om Kapoor is all set to take revenge on Mehra for killing his love Shanti. He plans a conspiracy with Shanti’s clone Sandy, his mother and friend Papu to make Mehra (who is now a big producer in Hollywood) confess about his deadly crime. Will the purpose of Om’s rebirth be fulfilled? Will Mukesh Mehra confess his crime? Whats the future of Om and Sandy?
Om Shanti Om Review
Technically Om Shanti Om is good, but as an entertainer, a major disappointment. The fact that it is such a terrible let down, is yet to sink in. What was Farah Khan (director) thinking? How could she make such a bad film, after directing a decent entertainer in Main Hoon Na? What was Shahrukh Khan thinking when he approved the script? How could almost everything go so wrong in a movie?
The movie has major flaws. Both the first half and the second have a lot of similarities, a few scenes actually are repeated! So if you miss the first half or you decide to walk out during the interval, dont worry, you haven’t missed much. The biggest flaw is you never feel for any of the characters, you laugh when the characters cry and vice versa. The transformation of Om Kapoor to Om Prakash in the second half, isnt handled well and is far from convincing. The transformation part is so very important in reincarnation movies, something which was handled brilliantly in Karan Arjun. The death scene, rebirth, flashbacks – needs expert direction, Farah unfortunately fails.
The script, screenplay and the direction is flawed. The dialogues are irritating. The only saving grace of the much hyped movie is the music. Main Agar Kahoon and Dard-e-Disco stand out.
Om Shanti Om Performances
Now the performance of the King Khan. After a career-best knockout performance in Chak De India, Shahrukh Khan hams in the first half. In the second half, as the new-age superstar, he fails to convince. A soda without fizz kinda performance by SRK. Personally for me, this is undoubtedly his most disappointing performance this decade. Deepika Padukone is promising in her debut, great screen presence. She expresses quite well through her eyes. Definitely a actress to look forward to, in the future. Shreyas Talpade’s role doesnt demand any histrionics, he is decent as the side-kick. Arjun Rampal is good in a negative role. Kirron Kher is over the top throughout, the only scene she excels is when she is supposed to scare Mukesh Mehra, in the second half.
In the special appearances, Akshay Kumar stands out in the filmfare awards scene. Even his nomination video is hilarious. He gets the house down with his typical trademark antics. Hrithik Roshan is also a part of the movie and so is Abhishek Bachchan (both are part of the Filmfare scene). Amongst the 31 stars in the item number, Kajol got the loudest of cheers.
IndiCine Om Shanti Om Verdict
Overall, another biggie that disappoints big time this year. I would be surprised if, die-hard SRK fans enjoy this. The only reason to watch it could be the technical brilliance!
So If Chak De India got 5 on 5 stars, this one deserves not a bit more than 1.
Do post your comments below, we would love to know your views on Om Shanti Om.
Rating: 
(Torture)