Nov 15, 2007 11:14 AM
1553 Views
(Updated Nov 18, 2007 11:50 AM)
There is hardly anyone better in marketing a film better than SRK himself. Come Diwali, his movies become the talk of tinsel town and those who dare to release their movies during the same period evidently lose their night’s sleep. SRK has had his biggest films released during Diwali.
There is simply no denying that statement. Right from the marketing of Om Shanti Om to its hype in the media, SRK ensured that it got more attention than the Indian Cricket team. Well, the biggies have released and SRK slams the competition face down. Albeit, this is definitely not among his best films.
After Main Hoon Na, Farah Khan teams up with the cast and crew and almost all of Bollywood to bring to us, a spoof of life in Bombay’s colourful film world. ‘OSO is a spoof of Bollywood’. This irony is perhaps the highlight of the film. The film opens with the shooting sequence of ‘Karz’ with Subhash Ghai and Rishi Kapoor and from then on, the film entertains with the simplistic and humourous acts of Om Prakash and Pappu (Shreyas Talpade), two aspiring run-of-the-mill junior artists.
This masala entertainer spoof has duplicates of the stars of yesteryears dancing with superstar Shanti (Deepika Padukone) in the Ek Chuti Sindoor song in an impressive visual effect. It is a laugh riot as we see Govinda, DevAnand, Manoj Kumar, Mithunda and Dharmendra (all duplicates) in their iconic styles spoofed over. These are the funniest portions of the film. Om playing South Star Murugan Ganeshan is also a hilarious spoof of the southern action flicks and the ridiculous rendition by SRK will split your sides with laughter. ‘Never Mind It!!’
SRK, Kirron Kher, Shreyas Talpade and Deepika leave no stone unturned in being as close as one can to being in the 1970s. From Bell-bottom pants to long sidelocks and tight fitting dresses, the costumes in the film give us a perfect glimpse of the colourful order of the day back then. The sets are also a perfect depiction of what went on in those days with moonlit backdrops on stage and the hero driving the Car against an artificial background. The innocence behind Om’s love for Shanti, the comedy acts, the bollywood scenario and Om’s belief in his dreams makes us nostalgic of those times and entertains us through the first half of the film. Then comes the point when producer Mukesh Mehra (Arjun Rampal) confidingly lures Shanti to his grand set of ‘Om Shanti Om’ as a wedding venue when his actual intention is to burn it down along with her. Notice how the cinematography while Arjun walks out from the fire is so spectacular. Om sees everything happening in front of him but is unable to save Shanti in the eventual explosion of the set. The hero and the heroine, Om & Shanti Die. But wait…….. picture abhi baaki hai mere dost!
They are re-incarnated in the second half of the movie with Om now being Om Kapoor, (a.k.a ‘O.K)’ who is the superstar of the day with his six packs and Shanti being the struggling junior artist. A series of events and encounters brings back the memories of his previous birth back to Om in an incredulous manner and as the events unfold, he decides to avenge Om and Shanti’s death by bringing Mukesh to justice in the very set that he burnt down 30 years ago.
The plot has everything that bollywood has offered in the 70-80 years of its existence. Comedy, drama, melodrama, overacting, ridiculous action, inane directors, colourful costumes and bare chests, dream sequences, sorrowful songs, item songs, romance, love, separation, death, re-incarnation, vengeance, triumph and a happy ending. It sure could’ve been one heck of a film! But alas, Farah Khan loses all that she builds up to at the interval. The first half of the film promises to be a thorough entertainer with its unique concept of spoofs but post the interval, the re-incarnated phase brings unnecessary seriousness to the film. The ‘spoof of Bollywood’ turns into a remake of KARZ. There are shades of comedy there too but not enough to save the film from sinking completely. The film changes track from being entertaining to being predictable, from being a spoof to being a serious story of reincarnation and vengeance, from being dreamily realistic to completely unrealistic and from being a well paced entertainer to a dragging medley of boredom.
What a downslide! Had Farah Khan been able to continue on her humorous spoof concept and theme through the 2nd half even if it involved the same story of re-incarnation, OSO would’ve become a memorable film and worth watching over and over. Overall the film is a complete contrast in the 2nd half from its first half and one half of the film doesn’t make it a swashbuckling entertainer.
Vishal-Shekar’s music is pretty good. Ajab Si and Main Agar kahoon are fine melodies that completely suit the style of the 70s romance. Dard-e-disco is rocking while Deewangi is such a drag! That song was never-ending with the number of stars in it.
Deepika looks sensational in most part of OSO. Especially in the first half where she plays superstar Shanti. In Main Agar Kahoon and Ajab Si, one feels the way SRK did for the beautiful Deepika Padukone. Shreyas was charming in his supportive role and Kirron Kher delivers an entertaining performance as the melodramatic mother. Arjun Rampal plays the menacing producer well but his 2nd half get up doesn’t really suit him. SRK‘s performance as the charming Om Prakash is great and his comedy is refreshing to watch especially since it has been a while since he acted funny. There are shades of overacting in the second half but it is not his doing. It is the weak script and screenplay in the 2nd half where much of the film overall falters.
OSO mainly disappoints because of what it built up with the promising first half and failed to remain consistent in the 2nd half. Definitely not the best of Diwali releases in a long time and certainly not among SRK’s best either. It has been made on a large scale in terms of the star cast, sets, promotion and SRK and it maybe worth a watch sometime to witness the spoof on bollywood but be prepared for the slowness and predictability of the 2nd half.
- 6.88 on a scale of 1-10.
