Om Shanti Om

Reincanation, Hindi cinema, love, betrayal are some of the themes Farah Khan's delightful and crazy comedy Om Shanti Om deals with. But frankly, it never really matters. This film is simply one of the most entertaining films made in recent times. A spoof of Hindi cinema of past and recent times, the film both pokes fun at it and celebrates its unique, inimitable style. As the story progresses the movie becomes even more alluring. It is at times a drama, at times a thriller, but generally it is just a musical comedy which is not to be taken seriously.

Technically the film is very impressive. Farah Khan's direction is very good. The film is extremely colourful, with great costumes and fantastic, glossy sets. The 1970s settings are particularly authentic and visibly well-invested. One more aspect which helps to recreate the magic and the atmosphere of the 1970s is the wonderful soundtrack. "Dhoom Taana" for instance seems to have been rightly taken from a film of those times.

The film contains numerous sequences which will have you floored. The Filmfare Award ceremony is one of the funniest sequences in the film. The red carpet scene with celebrities predicting the winners was very funny. The next scene which includes the ceremony and the Best Actor nominations clip was absolutely hilarious. I could not stop laughing as every nominee was unfolded, and Abhishek Bachchan and Akshay Kumar's reactions when they lost were awesome.

The following sequence was the after-party which was another memorable scene. The famous "Deewangee Deewangee" song which has some of the best-known actors in India dancing to its tunes, from Dharmendra, Mithun Chakraborty, Rekha and Shabana Azmi to Salman, Saif, Juhi, Urmila, Tabu, Kajol, Rani and Preity, was very exciting and a pleasure to watch. It was truly a moment of unity and celebration for Hindi cinema.

As far as acting goes, Om Shanti Om is a winner. Every actor understands the film's mood and acts accordingly. Shahrukh Khan is great as the Oms. He's simple as the first Om, cool as the second Om, and overall is as witty and funny as always. Deepika Padukone makes a confident debut. She is very beautiful and likable. Kirron Kher shines in another comic role as the loud mom. Shreyas Talpade delivers a noteworthy performance as Om's best friend and holds his own despite a smaller role. Arjun Rampal plays the typical villain with style.

Well, to sum it up, Om Shanti Om is an extremely enjoyable flick which should provide a great watch for the entire family. Like Farah Khan's previous offering with Shahrukh Khan, Main Hoon Na, this film has a genuine sense of fun. It is the quintessence of Bollywood's uniqueness which makes us realise why and how much we love this film industry. Remember not to expect anything serious or life-turning, and you will not be disappointed.

If you sit to watch a typical Bollywood Commercial masala movie, Leave your brains behind. Om Shanti Om is one such film that entertains you in every aspect.

Om Shanti Om is the story of the Indian Film World. It is the story of a Junior Artist (Extra) Om Prakash Makhija (Shah Rukh Khan) who dreams to become a superstar one day. He is madly in love with Shanti Priya (Deepika Podukone) who is a super star and she is in love with a film producer Mukesh Ahuja (Arjun Rampal). Mukesh after learning this fact that Shanti is pregnant with his child and his most ambitious project will come to hold if he marries her, He kills her. This whole event is witnessed by Shanti's good friend and her secret lover Om. Even Om dies in that tragic accident while trying to save Shanti. Mukesh runs to Hollywood and get's married there a multi-millionaire's daughter.

But destiny has a total different story to tell… Om is reborn again after 30 years as a Super Star Om Kapoor (Shah Rukh Khan) and the destiny makes om meets Sandy (Deepika Podukone) who is a look alike of Shanti Priya. Om and Sandy make a plan to trap Mukesh who comes back to India after 30 years to make a film with Om. The evil get's punished and the truth wins forms the rest of the film.

Technically the film is just brilliant. It shows on the screen the amount of money that has been spent into the making. The sets are glossy and breath taking. The camera work is just superb. The editing is fantastic and crispy. Musically a very decent and a good effort. Especially the song where all the 31 stars perform is a treat to watch for. The story and direction by Farah Khan is very good.

Performance wise the film belongs to King Khan Shah Rukh Khan all the way. New girl Deepika Podukone is the next superstar. It did not seem at all that she is a new actress and this is her First Film. Arjun Rampal was awesome in the negative role. Kirron Kher was really good once again. Shreyas Talpade was again very good. He gets an equal footage with Shah Rukh to perform.

For those who go for Artistic Cinema, This film is strictly not for them. But those who need Full Time Pass, Om Shanti Om is the real good choice. Here the Film Maker is trying to fool you, But in return they are offering you a Glossy Dream of 2 hours. So if you are looking for a Roller Coaster ride of Entertainment, Go for Om Shanti Om!

I'm an American, and have not seen very many Bollywood films -- Three Idiots, Saariwaya, and one or two others in passing -- but I know a spoof when I see it. This movie was a romp -- overdone theatrics, over-the-top musical numbers, and lots of wink-wink-nudge-nudge allusions. Actually, I probably missed most of those -- but I got enough of them to keep smiling all the way through. Nicely plotted, plenty of really good catch-lines, and warm-hearted at the core. I especially like the end credits, where crew members and the usually faceless support people did a kind of 'red carpet' appearance, to the applause and cheers of the mob. Great bit at the very end, where the director/writer got out of the tuk-tuk for her moment, and everybody was .... well, no spoilers here. Just watch the film. Well worth your time.

"Om Shanti Om" is an excellent film. However, it's also one that your enjoyment of it may depend on how familiar you are with Bollywood movies. If you haven't seen any or perhaps only one or two, it might be far less interesting for the intermediate and advanced fans of Indian cinema. As for me, I am definitely an intermediate and would actually loved to have had a big-time Indian movie fan watch it with me, as I only recognized some of the huge Indian movie stars that appeared in the film in the star-studded middle.

The film begins in the 1970s. Om (Shah Rukh Khan) is a struggling actor--a bit player. He's smitten with a leading lady but she seems way out of his reach. Later, however, there is a fire on set and he saves her life--and definitely gets her attention. But, fires seem to come in twos in this film and a bit later, her evil secret husband murders her--and Om is killed as well!

At this point, something VERY Indian occurs. Just as Om dies in the hospital, in an adjoining room, a baby is born--and the baby turns out to be the reincarnation of Om. The baby's name...Om!! This Om grows up to become a HUGE Indian mega-star and his life is good.

Following a portion of the film at an Indian movie award ceremony (by far the best part of the film--and hilarious as well), Om starts to have memories of his previous incarnation. He slowly comes to realize what happened to Om #1 and decides to concoct a complicated plan to trap the murderer by re-staging the murder that happened 30 years ago! However, the plan ends up going askew...just how, you'll have to see for yourself.

The film is a delight but a strange one. It's like there are three different movies all spliced together. The first and third portions are very serious and the musical numbers are wonderful. As for the second, it is completely different in tone. Om #2 is a mega-star-- and a hilariously self-absorbed one. And, to make it much funnier, lots of very famous Indian mega-stars appear as themselves...sort of. You just have to see this to know what I am talking about but it is something Indian film fans will love--as if they have a back stage pass to REALLY meet the stars as they supposedly really are! Wonderful--and by far the best part of the film.

Overall, despite having a few clichés (ones you EXPECT in Bollywood films---such as an ever-present fan to make the stars' hair blow in the wind), the film is one of the most enjoyable and fun Indian pictures you can find. Well worth seeing for fans of the genre.

By the way, after the picture ends, do NOT turn off the movie. In a really neat twist, not only the stars walk past the camera but just about EVERYONE involved with the film gets their moment on the runway--even the grips and choreographers!

probably one of the most hilarious movies and I guess the best spoof ever made in Bollywood....Farah is not scared of showing Manoj Kumar, Dev Anand and Sooraj Bharjatya in bad light....this is what the new age bollywood movies should be...bollywood is slowly adapting Hollywood style of spoofing characters and movies (check scary movie series or epic movie)...but this movie is far better than the western counterpart....

coming to performances SRK has delivered another master performance... though not in the likes of Swades, Kabhi Haan Kabhi Naa and Chak de, it still would rank amongst his better performances...Deepika is camera friendly and looks sexy...she has also acted well considering that this is her first Hindi film..she is pretty confident in front of the camera..Kiron kher is excellent as over the top filmy mother...Shreyas is a revelation and is improving a lot...Arjun too has come up with a good performance...the movie could have been better in terms of direction/editing (second half) but the performances and spoofs make up for it...