Om Shanti Om
Directed by Farah Khan
Produced by Gauri Khan
Written by Topper Alam, Abbas Tyrewala
Starring Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone, Shreyas Talpade, Arjun Rampal
Music by Vishal-Shekhar
Cinematography V. Manikandan
Editing by Shirish Kunder
Distributed by Red Chillies Entertainment, Eros Labs
I have not seen a movie recently being promoted at this level and so much being spent into publicity. Shah Rukh Khan himself has been at the forefront in this mega Diwali launch “Om Shanti Om”. Farah Khan and SRK have really done well in publicizing the movie and it has paid off very well. The movie is a hit…and its breaking the box office records.
Ok let me just summarize what the movie is…no not the story…but what the movie is…for what I feel its like a tribute to Hindi cinema, a tribute to SRK, its his film, its all about him in the movie, and yes Deepika Padukone does manage to grab attention but it still is a SRK film. But still its a great film mind you, SRK sells doesn’t he? So does this movie. Its a hit and has been breaking records all over the box offices, so it doesn’t come as a surprise. Because its a home production for SRK, Gauri Khan has produced the movie, publicity at this level was quite obvious, be it the “6-pack”, be it the debut of Deepika Padukone, be it the second movie of Farah Khan, or be it anything. It all paid off…and all the money spent has been well recovered.
So lets begin with the story, its about Om (SRK) working as a junior artist in the 70s and he is in love with the superstar Shanti (Deepika) and eventually meets her and then he dies saving her, he is then reincarnated and he gives justice to Deepika. I can’t shorten the story more than this, as its already known, the story, and if you don’t, then go and watch this, I don’t want to spoil it for you.
Its an entertaining movie, worth the money, and another great effort from Farah Khan. It does have some Farah Khan trademarks which reminded me of Main Hoon Na many times. Farah has definitely improved a lot, what I like most about her work is the level of attention she pays to small things. Her way to putting things into place is really good, the effects used in the movie during the shooting sequences with 70s scenes and the OSO scenes were blended very well, sets were great, it really takes you back to those 70s and the movie takes you back to the way movies were made in those days. Its a really good tribute to the Hindi cinema. It does have some similarity to Karz to some extent, but I don’t feel that it was anything like a copy. Its a different movie and both are good.
Acting wise SRK was great as always, this is easily among his best performances of late, very energetic and young. Deepika Padukone, gosh, she is beautiful, and she is here to stay, not just because of her looks but for her acting too. She is really impressive in the movie. She couldn’t have imagined for a better launch to her career than starring in a SRK movie directed by Farah Khan. Its a great launch and she should build on this by working on some more good films. Shreyas Talpade plays the role of SRK’s good friend, and he was pretty effective and good. Kiron Kher is becoming the Rakhi of today’s cinema. I mean she is the best woman to play the mom role these days. She was in Main Hoon Na too, and here too she is just as effective as she was in Main Hoon Na. Arjun Rampal plays the bad guy role and he did a fair enough job.
Overall its a great movie, good music, great presentation, and its entertaining. Farah…a job well done. SRK once again rules the box office and shows us why he is the King of Bollywood. Deepika’s debut is impressive. So in view of all this its definitely a must watch.
Rating 8.5/10
Read the music review of Om Shanti Om
