By Sushovan Sircar, November 29, 2007 - 00:42 IST 2 of 3 people found this review helpful
O S O OR S.O.S ?
The lines have been drawn, the curse has been cast and the battle has begun. The so called ‘battle’ between the two giants SAAWARIYA and OM SHANTI OM has so far borne better results for the latter at the box office but whether it is a better film is the topic for another battle.
After months of high flying publicity and interviews and appearances almost everywhere that had a camera OM SHANTI OM has hit the screens and when I say hit I literally mean HIT us with a tinge of disappointment. The film raises your expectations so high during the interval that post interval the director found it almost impossible to live up to the task. One may call it a tribute to the film industry or a tribute to Karz for it starts off with Omprakash Makhija the junior artiste swaying frantically to Rishi Kapoor’s Om Shanti Om song as an extra in the film Karz. The 1st half is set in the 70s film industry known for its love affair with melodrama, overacting and fashion statements.It is replete with references that transports one 30 years back. The direction is clever and script well chalked out in the 1st half but also engages the audiences in playing ‘spot the reference’. It has everything from hideous side locks to “bhagwaan ke liye mujhe chhor de”.
The story revolves around the aspirations of Omprakash Makhija a juniour artiste in the 70s who dreams of making it big one day. Shantipriya is a superstar with whom Om is hopelessly in love. Backed by a cheeky friend and overzealous mother Om pursues his love but is killed by the wicked producer who has secretly married Shantipriya. LIGHTS COME ON AND ITS INTERVAL. Honestly speaking you wouldn’t miss much or regret it if you got up n left the hall.
It is as if Farah Khan has a rheostat attached to her creativity that automatically switches off after the interval. One gets the impression that she sat up and proclaimed that so much for her creativity,now its time to pour in the formula and make some cash. The logic defying scenes, and clumsy scripting are extremely disappointing after the film raises your expectations to the ceiling. You fall with a crash. Even if one was to accept the fact that Om Kapoor looks identical to Om Makhija because their death and birth co-incided but how does one explain the striking resemblance of the post interval Deepika Padukone to Shantipriya? The list goes on. The child sitting behind me in the theatre kept asking his mother every two minutes to explain the goof ups unaware of the fact that nobody can provide him with any answers.
Shah Rukh is his usual larger than life self, Kirron Kher and Shreyas Talpade are impressive, Padukone has promise to be the next big thing. But Arjun Rampal is surprisingly convincing as the evil producer. He finally seems to be getting a foothold after good performances in Don and OSO.
Just like low waist jeans which neither stay up nor fall down, OSO hangs in there.Its neither inspiring nor pathetic.Look up the definition of Timepass and you might find three words OM SHANTI OM.
Would you recommend this movie to your friend: Yes
