Om Shanti Om Bollywood Movie Review

I finally got around to watching the much anticipated (ok, maybe only for SRK fans) bollywood movie, “Om Shanti Om”, starring Shah Rukh Khan and newcomer, Deepika Padukone. Leave it to producer, Farah Khan, for coming up with movies with a slightly different feel to them. The movie has an impressive cast including Shreyas Talpade, Arjun Rampal, Kirron Kher, Yuvika Chaudary, Bindu, Jawed Sheikh, Satish Shah, Asawari Joshi, Nitish Pandey and Shawar Ali…not to mention about 31 other BIG bollywood names that show up in the title song.

I was a little late in seeing this movie and heard a host of different “reviews” from friends and family, ranging anywhere from “funny”, to “entertaining, but definitely a home-theatre watch”, to “fantastic!”, to “a copy of Karz”. Well, not having seen Karz, I was all set to enjoy the film. Did I mention I am a BIG SRK fan?

Well, first things first — SRK. Wow! I mean, a double Wow! This has got to be the first movie (after Dil Se) that Shah Rukh throws his shirt to the wind. And believe it or not, he can rival even Salman Khan. As great as his effort was to get chiseled 6-pack abs, I have to admit that SRK was looking a wee bit older. Maybe it was the long hair. Is that the trend these days? Well, sorry to say, it isn’t working for him.

Deepika Padukone made a good effort for her debut, especially with a seasoned cast. Her simple, classical looks and beauty was a refreshing change from the norm. Shreyas Talpade also made a likable sidekick and of course Arjun Rampal, without much a role, was believable.

The story line of Om Shanti Om revolves around Om Makhija (SRK), a junior artist (read…sidey), hoping to someday become a movie hero even with an obvious lack of talent and lack of a famous last name. Even then, his mother (Kirron Kher) and best buddy (Shreyas Talpade) have great faith in him not only in his talents but in his ability to snag an A1 movie herione, Shanti (Deepika Padukone). Om manages to get somewhat noticed by Shanti in a few whacky ways before he saves her in an on the set accident, after which they become friends. Everything seems to be going great until we find out there are more things going on in Shanti’s life than the audience (both in the movie and in real life) knows. Enter Arjun Rampal (I forgot what his on-screen persona was named). Things take a turn for the worse, leaving Om and Shanti out of luck.

The story is of reincarnation (I’m guessing similar to Karz), but for those like me who have not seen Karz, it was somewhat of a new storyline. As I mentioned earlier, Farah Khan has a knack of making movies which have a light hearted feel to them even though they have the usual melodrama. There was a compilation of spoofs of many old and new bollywood films. Of course, it goes without saying… many of the songs are very catchy and choreographed superbly.

I’m giving Om Shanti Om a “thumbs up” purely for keeping me entertained for 3 hours (read…Shah Rukh, abs, wow! wow!) and for an ending which did not drag. I loved the dance sequences and it did have some funny moments, many of which poked fun at the actors themselves. SRK fans, definitely try to catch it in the theatre (read…bigger abs, wow! wow!). Enjoy!

Watch the theatrical trailer…