Diwali Dhamaka – Om Shanti Om

Suno suno bhaiyon aur unke behno, hamare shehar main aa raha hain Shah Rukh Khan ka Diwali Dhamaka – Om Shanti Om. Isme ladkiyon ke aur kuch ladkon ke chahte atomic bamb Shah Rukh Khan hain. Unke saath patli kamar waali nayee phuljhari Deepika bhi hain. Aur villain ke bhoomika main hain rocket ke tarah lambe Arjun Rampal. Yehi nahin isme 31 seetaron ke ek ladee bhi hain, jo aapke suni zindgai ko chaka chanundh kardege. Toh aaye iss Diwali hamare saath seetaron ke patakhe jaalayee…

If this was 70s then this would be the best publicity in the villages and small towns of India. Actually, it reminded me of the movie scene from Swades and whatever one may say about Indian film industry, the fact is that it is one source of entertainment that has entertained Indians from all strata of life. Whether it was K L Sehgal or Dilip Kumar or Madhubala or Rajesh Khanna or Rekha or Amitabh Bachchan or from today Shah Rukh Khan or Rani Mukherjee, movie stars have always provided an escape for people from all walks of life. A child labor in Dharavi maybe working 14 hours a day to make a shirt for retail giant GAP but when he sees Shah Rukh Khan on the big screen after saving his every penny, he feels like the King himself.

This Diwali we decided to celebrate the festival with the patakhas of Bollywood. The choice was between Om Shanti Om and Savariya but the reviews made it obvious that it will be Shah Rukh who will prevail over the grandson of India’s first film family, Ranbeer Kapoor. All the publicity of the movie Om Shanti Om had made us all the more excited. We booked our tickets online and decided to goto theatre one hour in advance. We first stopped at Ricky’s (I thought they would at least serve me for free) for our dinner. We reached theatre on time, grabbed our tickets and stood in the line of all desis, which is an experience in itself. I think people in India are 10 times more civilized now then desis living here. The moment the door opened people started crossing the line to go ahead. It took me back to the days of single screen theatres in India where as soon as the ticket window would open people would start running as if Shah Rukh himself is the person issuing the ticket. Inside the theatre it was worse with people grabbing chairs worse than our politicians. Finally we were able to find some decent chairs and were able to see idiocracy of desis from the vantage point. After 45 mins of mindless Ads the movie started…

I won’t give away anything about the movie but it was indeed a Diwali Dhamaka. From the first shot till the last, it was a celebration of Bollywood. The movie had everything that every desi crave to watch. The best part of the movie was the colors, it was like watching a rangoli on screen with so lively colors of clothes and the stars themselves. The storyline though borrowed in parts from Karz (and those who don’t believe it needs to watch Karz again) was very well executed. From the bell bottoms of flabby 70s to the torn jeans of abs-induced 2007, the movie was rocking in ever sense of the way. Even though the story was unbelievable it was executed to perfection by Farah Khan. The comedy parts, the senti parts, the music, over-the-top acting, the dances, were all very integral to the storyline.

Farah Khan has indeed hit the bulls eye this time. If I thought Main Hoon Na was the worst superhit then Om Shanti Om is gonna be her best superhit movie. She has grown in leaps and bounds as a director. The camera angles, the lighting, the colors, the visuals were all stunning to say the least. She has shown that she can make a male-dominated movie with as much conviction as any other director in the country. Hats off to her!!

The music of the movie was the most rocking and yet melodious of this year. The picturization had to be good as it was Farah Khan’s movie and every song was picturized as beautifully as it could have been. My favorites were Main Agar Kahoon, which has been picturized in the style of 60s and 70s, Ajab Si, which is the most romantic number and will make girls drool over SRK’s dreamy eyes and Deewangi Deewangi, which was the most exciting number with 31 stars adoring the screen (with my favorite being Mithun Da).

This is a Shah Rukh Khan movie all the way. I think every theatre should keep the medical kit handy as many girls will faint after seeing his dreamy eyes with shirt-less abs. There were few girls sitting beside us who would almost jump on their seats whenever SRK was on screen (and believe me he is there in almost every shot). So, if you are a SRK fan then this movie will make you his a/c and if you are not then this movie has the potential to make you one. This movie required over-the-top acting and there is no better actor than SRK for that. Watch out for his over-the-top South Indian acting sequence, it will make all kind of knots in your stomach from laughing so hard. SRK may not be the best actor but his movie has proven that he is the best entertainer.

I don’t think there have been a beautiful debutant as Deepika Padukone. She is the daughter of India’s best badminton player till date, Prakash Padukone and believe me if this is how it works, every guy in India should take badminton. She is oh-la-la **whisting** **howling oooooooooooo** **drooling** *sighing** **huffing puffing** . Ok ok, I am getting over the top too but this is only in the spirit of the movie. Deepika doesn’t only looks great but she can act beautifully too. I think her eyes speak the language that only we guys can understand. Watch out Bollywood!!

Arjun Rampal as a villain is great. The role suited him to the T. I don’t think anyone could have done better than him. Shreyas Talpade was a revelation in this commercial affair and will go long way. Kirron Kher was perfect for an over-the-top-melodramatic Mom. Infact, casting of every character was just about perfect. But for me among all the special appearances the one that took the cake was none other than Akshay Kumar. He is indeed the comedy king of Bollywood and no wonder why.

I think this was the best way to celebrate Diwali by watching patakhas on the screen rather than polluting the environment by blowing them on streets.

Haan toh bhaiyon aur unke behno, agar aapko yeh review padhne main mazza aaya toh phir movie dekhne zaroor aayeega kyunki “Picture abhi baaki hain mere dost”.