Om Shanti Om

Audience always look forward for the diwali festive releases which enter the theatres with a boom after spending astronomic amount of money on publicity and hype through various streams, so much that the courtesy list for the media partners and the list of actors in the movie match in number. October month saw promotional efforts of Saanwariya and Om Shanti Om reverberating throughout the country. This is an attempt to make sure that no matter how long the movies stay in the theatres, distributors can recover every penny they invest within the first few days. This is possible as far as we have the curious bollywood audience who reach the theatres every year forgetting all the anticlimactic claims of the past. Being one among them, I need to pen down my views on "Om Shanti Om" – the diwali release of 2007 J

Om Shanti Om!!! Is it a movie on spirituality? When did this paradigm shift happen in Farah Khan when her previous movie had every commercial aspect you could think of! If you exclaimed this way, there is no need for it; we are not new to naming movies after the names of the protagonists, are we? As far as Farah Khan’s spiritual inclination goes, she still sticks to bollywood masala commercial movies but with a difference. Now what is the difference? She has been successful in making a commercial film which encompasses almost every possible aspect that we have seen in our bollywood movies over the last three decades while making a spoof of it.

We have witnessed the exaggerated flow of a mother’s love described using all kinds of similes and heart rendering dialogues in every alternate Hindi movie –"Ma ka dil aisa hi hota hai" . Seems like we heard it in many King Khan movies recently too – Kuch Kuch hota hai, Kal ho na ho to name just two :D We may bend down our head in boredom unable to bear tear-jerking Mommy dialogues in any other movie but here we enjoy watching it when the scene is made to convey that it is boring to continue the same. Kiron Kher – the only elder supporting actress in the movie has carried the role well by making the audience laugh with her role of overacting filmi ma of Om Prakash Makhija. Did I say Makhija? Sounds unconventional and is intended to. It has been tactfully used to convey the nepotism favoring Kumars, Khannas and kapoors in the 70s where Bachan had to struggle to make his mark. It is tough to come across a movie which can include so many different aspects spanning 30 years of film industry. Whether it is the foul play of the hungry ones for power, money and fame or the aspirations of the struggling artists dreaming of becoming superstars or loopholes in the way movies are shot and projected or the path to stardom which is a bed of roses for star sons and daughters born with a silver spoon in their mouth; they have been portrayed very well with the required subtlety and impact.

It will not be an exaggeration if I say this is an excellent movie for the shrewd ones who can catch the implications and don’t get enraged when their favorite stars are at the gun point. Hardly any star has been spared from lampoon. Manoj kumar hiding his face in style, Salman Khan wearing a cap with "friend" and saying dialogues about rules of friendship , Hrithik Roshan flying as a superhero and jumping into a valley with his Dhoom lady love, Barechested disco of !!!hmmm!!! lost the count of heroes salman being the first one to come to mind, Stylish Rajanikanth’s action defying laws of Physics, King Khan himself for repeating romantic Rahul roles and in spite of that asking– "Rahul, Naam to suna hoga" –Why not ,when we have seen him as Rahul n times. Some common behavior in the film industry is captured in a comical way very much within the domain of the script. Gorgeous ladies of silver screen making clichéd remarks about their relationship with their on screen partners, men brushing aside rumors of homosexual behavior again finding shelter in friendship, Award functions where neck and neck nominees try to cover the pricked bubble with a smile, Taking pride as action heroes imitating action scenes from the other side of the Pacific Ocean to mention a few. It is surprising how a movie made as a comedy pulling the legs of the film industry has got the support of the whole industry coming on screen in this movie.

Coming to the performances in the movie, Shahrukh has delivered a good one except for some scenes where he overacts trying to play the cool dude of 2007. His effort to build the six pack shows on his face that looks leaner and longer now. However, his effort at 42 has to be appreciated. Deepika Padukone , an entrant to bollywood looks gorgeous in the 70s costumes. The effort taken to make her look like the Dream Girl of the 70s Hema Malini has paid off. In the scenes where she shares the 70 mm screen with Shahrukh Khan , she has the ability to make the audience face dilemma as to where to focus their eye balls on. Considering that this is her first movie, she has been good in carrying off the role well. But definitely she could have been better. But audience enchanted by her beauty will hardly notice that. Shreyas Talpade and Shahrukh look like buddies, that probably has come out as a result of the comfort they shared off screen too. Shreyas has done a good job as the tapori confidence booster of Om Prakash Makhija. Arjun Rampal fits well into the role of stylish, tall, dark and handsome producer of the 70s with grey shades.

The music of the film is good and has caught on with young people especially due to endless plug that has not spared even the advertisements for Shoppers stop. Dard e disco would not have made sense if you had watched Shahrukh dancing to the beats with sad lyrics without the previous scene in the movie. It is again pointed at item songs in the movies now a days that don’t fit anywhere in the story but are made just to act as a crowd-puller. Concept of Panchabhoot - Earth,Sky,Air,Water and fire has been incorporated in this song again which we last saw in Nayak-The hero. Main agar kahoon is melodious romantic song that will probably stay in the list of songs you will listen to while driving after the craze for Dard e disco comes down. This movie will go into record for bringing together 35+stars in the same movie. Guest appearances have become the element of surprise and fashion now days through which the film industry tries to prove existent or non-existent cordial relationships. And in case someone refuses to appear in a guest role, it makes news as a fight between the crew of the movie and the invitee for the guest appearance. It happened even with OSO when Amir Khan refused to be a part of OSO’s title song where 31 stars come together. This song of course is one of the most awaited songs in the movie. It is very much in the story and is not out of place where the stars are brought in just for the sake of it. Graphic technology used in the song Dhoom Tana must be really appreciated where Deepika gets to Dance with stars of the golden era.

70s settings and costumes are really good and for sometime you will forget that the movie is a 2007 diwali release. The film goes in a recursive fashion where Farah Khan is making "Om Shanti Om" in which Mukhesh Mehra (Arjun rampal) is making "Om Shanti Om" in which the character Ramesh is making "Om Shanti Om" and so on. J The movie catches your interest because of the humour almost till the end. It would have been better if some specific scenes were not shown many times in the movie just to convey that somebody is thinking about it. The scenes are well connected for which the editor must be praised. The climax of the movie was not so believable for the 2007 moviegoers. But the message was well transmitted through one of the dialogues that Deepika says in the movie -" When you can believe hero jumping from a tall building and landing on his feet, when you can believe a hero sole-handedly fighting 20 villians, you can very well believe the concept of reincarnation or the climax of the movie. The climax also changes the traditional theory laid by our own hindi movies that reincarnated souls get into bodies having same physical appearance. It might have been a cost saving strategy to avoid paying another actor or actress. Here Sandy is not Shanti and where is Shanti is left for you to explore!

It is a good thing about Farah Khan to introduce the whole crew of the movie at the end which she did in her previous film too. Otherwise probably some people who work hard for the success of the movie never get to show their face to the audience.

To conclude, it is a good entertainer and you will get the worth for your money. It is relaxing to laugh for 2 hours 45 minutes in a 3 hour movie. The more number of times you watch the movie, the more will be the number of subtle implications that you will catch. The movie is different and creative. Kudos to the crew of Om Shanti Om.

Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna

I still remember that day in my ninth class when there was hype for the release of Kuch kuch hota hai which had generated huge hopes in the audience of being a blockbuster. The fact that it turned out to be one is history now and of course any Karan johar movie now is expected to do the same. One thing you can be sure of finding in a Karan Johar movie is grandeur, lovely locations abroad, amazing costumes, some smiles and tears. This movie also falls into the same category and can be identified to be a Karan johar movie even by a person who does not know that it is one. The differences that you can find in this movie compared to the rest are the absence of a "sagaai " or a "karva chaut" song, a bold subject which is alien to the families that were seen in his earlier movies. It seems like Karan was experimenting to test the acceptance by audience in "kal ho na ho" by touching on issues of homosexuality subtly behind the facade of light comedy.

Gone are the days when the woman in the house was shown as sati savitri. The sense of independence that many women feel and want to feel now is nicely captured in this movie through the character of Rhea ( Preity Zinta ). It is a fresh change to see the heroine of the movie ( Rani Mukherji) listening to her heart and desires rather than having blind devotion to husband like she used to do spending years shedding tears or staying as a widow in the movies of 70s and 80s. The presence of three superstars of course adds more charm to the movie though the Bacchans who are portrayed as the cool dudes in the movie steal the show when pitted against a fussy and irritable character that is played by Shahrukh khan. Kiron kher who is present in almost every superhit movie now a days is given enough footage in the movie as the whole movie revolves only around these six people except for a few friendly appearances by other actors. Talking of such friendly appearances in a Karan Johar’s movie everyone in the audience knows that right from KKHH to KANK the trio of shahrukh, Rani and kajol has to be a part of the movie. Whoever among these does not play a lead role definitely appears in a song. And so did Kajol in a song that rocked the theatre with the Bacchans dancing for Rock n Roll. John Abraham and Arjun rampal have also made guest appearances in the movie which act as respite from the lead roles who are there throughout the movie.

The movie starts off with an introduction of the lead roles in a hyped manner which provides enough opportunity for the audience in the theatres to whistle clap and shout for their favorite actors and actresses. Especially the introduction of Shahrukh Khan goes on for about five minutes before he reveals his face fully. The FIFA Fever has not vanished yet and hence based on the time of release Karan Johar has made use of it to create waves of enthusiasm by introducing Shahrukh khan as the heroic football player. The first half of the movie moves at a good pace with both content and comedy. Abhishek Bacchan and Amitabh Bacchan fill the theatres with giggles through their crispy dialogues and cool attitude in the movie. We have come across Baby B doing that in many movies. But it is interesting to see Big B flirting with the fairer sex over a broad range of age from 20-60. Kiron Kher as usual comes across as a modern mummy with touches of her characteristic comedy. Preity Zinta who represents the independent, successful and career oriented gal has carried her role well though she has not got much of an opportunity to showcase her talents. Rani Mukherji has performed well as usual and Shahrukh khan’s performance also gives a clear picture of Dev Saran. While watching the movie you can’t crib about the performance of the actors and the actresses in the movie. Afterall all of them are well experienced and popular. Yet the feeling that the movie lacks something lingers on.

Though the movie has a storyline that is different from the ones that Johar and Chopras deal with, the screenplay does not live up to that. At certain points in the last few minutes, the pace of the movie lags behind. The background score typical of these movies that play the tune of one of the songs of the movie often makes it slow when the actors walk away from each other or look at each other for the first time. This is because they are shown doing these things in slow motion till the tune of at least two lines of the song plays in the background. The comedy scenes are not spread over the movie like they were in Kuch kuch hota hai or Kal ho na ho to keep the audience entertained. The last part of the movie seems slow and insipid due to lack of energy and enthusiasm. But whatever comedy scenes are present in the movie concentrated in the first half are very good. Especially, scenes of some confusion leading to dialogues with double entendre and attempts of Rani and Shahrukh to rekindle the romance in their lives which end up as fiasco. The character representation in the movie is one of the main points that make the movie less effective. The roles of Rani and Shahrukh seem repetitive and often remind you of roles that they played in Hum tum and Chalte Chalte respectively. Hence the freshness of the characters remains absent. The songs are a good mixture of both melody and energy. "Rock and Roll" as well as "Where’s the part tonight" are two songs that sweep you off your feet in a good DTS theatre. But the positioning of some songs like " Party song " and the title song are untimely with the former not going with the flow of the movie and the latter reducing the speed of the movie almost while nearing climax. The cinematography is commendable which has made every scene fit to be made as a poster. The scenes that show snowfall and dry leaves being carried by the wind remind you of some scenes from kal ho na ho.

The theme of the movie is pretty realistic as the same feelings that are experienced by Maya ( Rani Mukherji) in the movie can be experienced by many women of the married community. It is quite possible that the person to whom you get married may not be the one whom you can call your "soulmate". And what if you actually meet that kind of a person after marriage? That is a very possible thing to happen. How the relationships get strained and life changes is something that needs to be addressed to. But the strength in the topic is not found in the script. First of all there are not an instant in the movie that can make you actually feel that Dev is indeed the soulmate of Maya except for some common likes and dislikes. In fact, there are more instances of Maya being upset with Dev too which may diminish the difference between Rishi and Dev as far as Maya is concerned. Moreover the role description of Dev is not at all attractive which will probably make you question at some instant while watching the movie – "What is her problem in loving such a charming guy like Rishi ( Abhishek Bacchan ) ?" . This is because neither is Rishi portrayed strongly as someone whom Rani cannot be happy with or Dev as someone whom a married woman can get attracted to. It is understandable that Dev had to be shown as a failure which could create problems between him and Rhea. But looking at him limping throughout the movie with a long hair do that does not suit him often makes you crib about his appearance in the movie. To cut short the whole story and say in a few words, the presentation of the love between Maya and Dev is not convincing that makes us overlook the fact that it is extra-marital and wish that they should be together.

Some things that can be appreciated as different in the movie are twists like Rhea and Rishi deserting their respective partners when they learn of their affair; while you will be actually expecting them to forgive them and lead a happy life thereafter like ‘usual’ Hindi movies, Abhishek Bacchan announcing his marriage when you expect him to say "I cant live without you. Come back to me." Sudden death of Amitabh Bacchan and his advice to Maya to leave Rishi also seem unexpected.

Overall this movie can be rated as reasonably good for audience without much expectations of the hyped " Karan Johar Blockbuster" movies. It is a mixture of + and – points and what overtakes what depends on how much you believe in the theme as well as on how much you can relate to the characters in the movie.