Om Shanthi Om is one of the best movies of The King Khan (SRK). It
has a storyline that is based on the concept of Re-incarnation. The reason I
say this first is that not many people will agree to it being a real concept.
But wait a minute what is Real.
Reality exists but in words....within the collective but finite human intelligence present in this planet. There is always something outside this boundary of finite intelligence which has no boundaries and where anything is possible....It is a totally different realm of intelligence in which reality itself can be sculpted.
Many people (across all religious faiths) believe that this form of intelligence is the domain of the Almighty. We as mere mortals can only hope to operate in this realm by wielding a camera or a megaphone...in other words in reel life.
So a movie should by all means be allowed to operate in that realm and weave concepts that are a mixture of real and unreal as long as the overall experience is cogent and offers wholesome entertainment.
OSO is a completely cogent film and offers wholesome entertainment as it is a beautiful mix of comedy, satire, sentiment,bollywood-group celebrations, revenge, thrills and even a haunting experience.
OSO is a celebration of bollywood itself. It is a movie that has been made with so much bonhomie and good humour that it has several current bollywood stars making a parody of their own future positions in the industry.
It is a fact that some inconvenient aspects of the stars of yesteryears have been projected but purely on the platform of satirical comedy with no offense meant. After all in a democratic country it is the right of everyone to voice their opinions especially on public figures and their performances and that does not exclude the next generation of stars taking a potshot at some of their own pastmasters.
SRK is brilliant throughout but he is at his best in scenes where as a junior artiste he performs like an ambitious hero only to be pulled away from the camera. And the one scene where his dream heroine comes to meet him in person and thank him for saving her from the perils of a set on fire, his expressions for his voice over which never comes out of his mouth however much he tries is not only hilarious but also showcases his complete talent as a consummate actor.
Deepika Padukone is a gift to this industry as she is not only very beautiful but also very expressive and knows the art of moderating her expressiveness as well. She shows a very good difference between her first character and that of the next generation.
Arjun Rampal as the sophisticated villain of the past as well as the hollywood return producer is magnificent in both his looks as well as his assertiveness.
All characters have done their best in making the film complete. For example Satish Shah just takes a couple of scenes as a megaphone wielding director of yesteryears to leave a lasting impression with his unique brand of comedy.
Farah Khan deserves so much credit for this film as she has created a lot of first instances in this movie
- Stars shedding their ego and
making light of themselves and their future projections in a filmfare
event of the future (with the next generation SRK bagging it ....but of
course who else)
- Mixing of yesteryear heroes on
screen with Deepika's first generation film character in such a complete
way that even shows Deepika touching them and the yesteryear characters
reacting to it with appropriate facial expressions. The graphics in this
scene is near perfect.
- Om Shanthi Om is not only the
movie's title but is also the title of the movie being made within the
film. While this is not a first time concept the novel way in which event
of that film's premiere is being used to introduce all the characters and
technicians of the main film is simply appreciable. She has gone a step
forward and introduced right upto the light boys who contributed towards
the making of the film
- Actually when Farah herself
arrives with the caption of Director the premiere event is actually over
and the red carpets are being rolled up. This not only shows her inate sense
for humour but also the fact that she is capable of setting the pace for
taking a joke made on oneself.
Off course there are some aspects of attention to detail which
Farah Khan should scale up on. The authenticity of yesteryear scenes are hugely
impacted by the following things
- Deepika's stylish english accent
that represents more of a modern generation
- State of the art ketchup squeeze
bottles at the cafeteria shop on the yesteryear sets
- A few young kids roaming around in
the background with ultra modern dress (like cargos) when SRK and his
friend are discussing in that same cafeteria.
Maybe it will be a good idea for the Bollywood industry to involve
some random samples of the general movie watching public in some contest (which
also is a revenue source for the film) and where the top 10 winners are shown a
sneak preview show to catch such mistakes as sometimes only the public is
capable of spotting such glaring misses.
Only a person who does not passionately own a work product can find mistakes in that dispassionately. Such good practices from IT industry can be exploited by the movie industry as well and I am sure the general public would only be too keen to participate in such contests and improve a film before it hits the box office.
These glitches however do not take anything away from the completeness of the film. In fact a lot of times attention to too much detail can sometimes take the focus from the overall theme and I would not fault Farah's lack of attention to these details considering her overall vision in making this script very cogent.
Infact in this fast paced highly transactional world, there are not many films that leave you with a lasting impression that continues even the next day.
OSO is one such film that makes you repeatedly relive the movie watching experience and makes you want to plan the next visit to the movie halls at the corner of your mind.
This film is a must-see for all.
