'Might wanna include some fresh drinks with that. That's what 'Om Shanti Om' provides in a huge dose. No not the fresh drinks, but the entertainment. I had seen Farah Khan's last flick 'Main Hoon Na' and didn't like it but 'Om Shanti Om' for me was very enjoyable. I liked it's colourfulness and its not taking itself seriously. In short, it's a spoof of Bollywood.
The main plot itself is cleverly inspired by 'Madhumati' and 'Karz' and further you'll see situations that mock Hindi films of the 70s and Hindi films of today. There are numerous famous actors who make fun of themselves. The Filmfare sequence with Shahrukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, The Bachchans, Shabana Azmi were all lol hilarious. There are several such moments which make you feel as if you're under the influence of Novocain (I mean that in a good way).
The songs are of the hummable and foot-tapping kind, most of them spectacularly picturized. I liked how the 'Deewangee' song was filmed as it included most of my favorite actresses like Shabana Azmi, Juhi Chawla, Urmila Matondkar, Tabu, Kajol, Shilpa Shetty, Rani Mukherji etc. Tabu certainly looked the best of the lot. She was drop-dead hot. Of course there was also the funny sequence where Shahrukh danced with Mithun Chokroborty. However, the song may have been a little too long and perhaps Farah could have cropped it out a little by not including some bad actors. Oh well, she probably didn't want to be rude.
Shahrukh Khan is very good as the Oms. One might argue that he overacted in the second half but, in my opinion, he was merely spoofing himself and other Bollywood actors. Kirron Kher too is a treat to watch and she provides some of the LOL moments e.g. when she's spoofing the 70s Bollywood mom or as the 'crazy witch' who saw a ghost. Shreyas Talpade, though cast in a supporting role, holds his own and does nothing short of a great job. Arjun Rampal impresses as the evil villain. I was wondering what happened to this actor after delivering an amazing performance in 'Moksha' and now it's good to see that he's back in form. 'Hope he doesn't get typecast as he plays the bad guy very well. Deepika Padukone is a decent débutante. I liked her as Shantipriya (she looks great in the traditional Indian outfits than the Western stuff) but as Sandy she didn't impress me much (she didn't have much to do anyway).
Farah Khan and Shahrukh Khan probably had a lot of fun in the making and they've certainly made something for all of us to enjoy. This is one of the better 'masala' films to emerge from Hindi Cinema in recent times. As long as you're not expecting any serious film that will alter your life and go see it with the intention to have fun, you won't be disappointed.
