Finally, the day has arrived, 9th November 2007 (Diwali). The day two of the year’s biggest films release. Or so it seems.
After a lot of planning, persuasion and perspiration, I was holding tickets in my hand for the first day first show of Om Shanti Om. Was it worth it? I’m afraid not.
The film begins on a high note. Going back to the ‘70s, the lifestyle, the costumes, the dialogues, the sets, everything. SRK a.k.a Om Makhija appears to have mastered the art of mimicking the actors of the yesteryears. He stands in front of painted posters, on bridges, talking to Deepika Padukone a.k.a Shanti(priya). As the promo of the film, rightly says, for some dreams, one lifetime is not enough. Om remains a junior artist, in love with a superstar, Shanti. After saving her life, from a fire on set, the two become good friends. On a friendly date, he inspires her to ask for her happiness, as she truly deserves it. However, he always seems to be in the right places at the wrong times. In the sequence before the interval, although Shanti is caught in a fire once again on set, Om cannot save her. He dies, whereas, in the meanwhile a baby boy takes birth.
Cut to sequence after interval, Om Kapoor a.k.a OK, is the reincarnation of Om Makhija of the ‘70s. Incidents, one after the other, lead him to believe that the purpose of his life is to bring justice to the spirit of Shantipriya. With a lot of twists and tales in the story, one reaches the climax scene. The villain of the story, Arjun Rampal a.k.a Mukesh Mehra a.k.a Mike is caught in a whirlpool he cannot escape. What ensues is the end of the story.
“Par picture abhi baaki hai, mere dost.” In the fun-filled credits of the movie, Farah Khan gives a face to everyone who worked on the film. After all the hype she creates around junior artists, she lives up to it. Perhaps, the only hype she lives up to anyway.
In another effort to create a formulaic masala film, Farah does moderately. Her obsession with turning everything into a song-and-dance (a musical, as she likes to call it) materializes itself on screen. At some moments, the plot seems to be a disguise to lead us from one song to another. With Dard-e-disco, the much talked about six-pack of SRK comes alive and with Om Shanti Om, the 31 stars of the song come alive. Does this in anyway contribute the quality of the film? No. It is entertaining, of course, but it only speaks of Farah Khan’s credibility to rope in megastars for a single song.
As a director, she brings nothing new to cinema. She does bring in elements of a musical, with masks and costumes, integral to a masquerade. Nevertheless, she has already done so in her husband’s directorial debut, Jaaneman. (That she claims, as India’s first ever musical, btw)
What she does well in the film is expose the secrets of the Indian film industry. By bringing on celluloid the inner secrets of stars, their lives, their inside jokes, she provides an extension of the ever-growing paparazzi culture. By commenting on the changing styles of working of the industry, she provides a useful insight of the artificiality of filmmaking and everything related to it.
The film does not fail in recreation of the ‘70s look. Unfortunately, and I don’t think she saw this, the modern day appears lacking in comparison to the previous age. On the fashion front, the designers have done a good job of recreation and reinvention in the actors’ looks.
The much talked about Deepika Padukone, whose debut film this is, has ten scenes and twenty dialogues in the film. The model-turned-actor does a good job of contributing to the glam quotient of the film. She looks super as far as appearances go. But her role does not demand much acting and we’ll only have to wait for other releases to see the acting spark in her.
The film is a stellar example of the new age marketing techniques that are taking over our lives. The makers of the film have left no stone unturned, tying up with clotheslines, jewellers, mobile phone companies, etc. The actors have made various appearances, on television reality shows, press conferences, launches, inaugurations, etc. In doing so, they’ve raised our expectations so high that we are disappointed with the actual product. So much time and energy is spent on packaging that the product seems hollow.
If the same amount of hard work had gone into the making of the script, perhaps, it would have been a better film. It remains an average entertainer, time-pass for the audience who are in a festive mood, and who will move on to the next film that hits theatres.
