Monday, November 12, 2007
Om Shanti Om
Ok, here is my reading of the film... since everyone's givnig their views here are mine...
Om Shanti Om is a heart rending love story that never was.
The last scene, in which a wind and air Shanti looks tearfully at a flesh and blood Om, could have been the defining moment of the film – only it isn’t.
Because the scene has not been given any feet to stand on. And that is because the film works on a farcical level and in a movie you can either have farce or depth.
OSO chooses farce.
However the forgiving Indian audiences (one still has to hear from them though) will love the music – even the beautiful love ballad (ajab si) is as per the demands of an epic song, split into two and it works – to a degree though.
The movie laughs at everything; most hearteningly at itself, and there is tons of it – the hallmark of a true farce.
So right from a hamming mother to a hamming son to a fantastic Filmfare award ceremony in which SRK has two nominations – for practically the same movie posing under two different names – to a starlet and her yesteryear mummy to the song with 31 Bollywooders!
The entire industry has cooperated in this self joke – hats off.
OSO goes further to consciously make movie a metaphor for life – quite literally as SRK and Kirron Kher keep taking turns to mouth – “picture abhi khatam nahin hui” – to give you the pop pill that if it doesn’t seem right, it mustn’t be the end – just like some guru said is the case with life too.
Pop psychology, pop soda, pop sickle.
And someone please inform Paulo Coelho pronto, about his Alchemist finding a new audience – the Indian front row tapori – thanks to OSO.
“Jab hum kuch sacche dil se chaahte hain to poori kaynat hamien usse milane ki koshish mein lag jaati hai” – this is approximately on page 32 of the book, albeit in English.
Coming back to the love story that wasn’t – there is a foolishly touching feel to Deepika and SRK’s air together, only that the lady after sincerely and expectantly smiling at our man (but why did she smile) goes on to declare to the villain of the piece that she has been married to him for two years and is lovingly pregnant with his kid.
What the hell was she doing with such graceful innocence making a fool of SRK and us in the process? The farce changes from till now being a transactional one, to an emotional one at this point.
And that is where all the love in the film is gone – never to be rediscovered.
Not even with the entry of Sandy in Om’s life – a Shanti look alike. We Indians know love is a subject matter between hearts and since there is no cardiac connection between the reborn SRK and the newfound Shanti look-alike, we feel no love between them.
A full time Bollywood masala movie failing on love – something is crazily wrong here.
So let’s rewind to the first life of Om and Shanti.
Not for a moment in the scenes where SRK and Deepika are together is the poor Indian front row viewer given a reason to believe she is only “Goods Friend” with him.
She smiles and is coy and gives her hand into SRK’s and lets snowflake laden exhaust fan wind blow her hair – unfair.
All of that is Indian film-ese for “they are falling in love”
Witness any love ballad in the last century in this country; all of the above is a movie goer’s shorthand to comprehend a long story in brief.
Dry leaves, wind, hair, smiles, coy looks = love is simmering under surface.
A bit like the popular nursery poem – who has seen the love, neither me nor you, but when maple leaves fly by heroine’s hair, love is passing through!
So when after giving us a glimpse of the fledgling love between Om and Shanti, Shanti in all sincerity now confesses marriage and pregnancy to Mukesh (Arjun Rampal), not only Om, but we experience a loss of balance.
What is this angelic looking woman about, we ask?
At this point, the film has lost its emotional feet.
Which inevitably it won’t be able to regain in the last shot – we will steadfastly not empathize with the heroine in the last scene when she wistfully looks at Om once more and drips an unrequited love tear.
Dammit, there was nothing between them to begin with.
And this emotional farce is a huge compromise on the power of the story.
Bar that there are other obvious gaffes too, but in the spirit of a great farce let’s allow the movie those ones.
And lets hum once more “Aankhon mein teri…ajab si, ajab si adaiyen hain”.
Hope floats.
Thought: Well, had sincere Shanti’s soul physically touched her foolishly lovable Om with Sandhya’s body as a medium, finally biding adieu in an emotional moment, we might have still cried – there would have been some love.
It has other implications on the story – primarily on how to give the villain enough reason to kill the heroine, and on how to transfer the ghost’s love to the woman who now lives – but those were tackle-able.
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.
Om Shanti Om is a heart rending love story that never was.
The last scene, in which a wind and air Shanti looks tearfully at a flesh and blood Om, could have been the defining moment of the film – only it isn’t.
Because the scene has not been given any feet to stand on. And that is because the film works on a farcical level and in a movie you can either have farce or depth.
OSO chooses farce.
However the forgiving Indian audiences (one still has to hear from them though) will love the music – even the beautiful love ballad (ajab si) is as per the demands of an epic song, split into two and it works – to a degree though.
The movie laughs at everything; most hearteningly at itself, and there is tons of it – the hallmark of a true farce.
So right from a hamming mother to a hamming son to a fantastic Filmfare award ceremony in which SRK has two nominations – for practically the same movie posing under two different names – to a starlet and her yesteryear mummy to the song with 31 Bollywooders!
The entire industry has cooperated in this self joke – hats off.
OSO goes further to consciously make movie a metaphor for life – quite literally as SRK and Kirron Kher keep taking turns to mouth – “picture abhi khatam nahin hui” – to give you the pop pill that if it doesn’t seem right, it mustn’t be the end – just like some guru said is the case with life too.
Pop psychology, pop soda, pop sickle.
And someone please inform Paulo Coelho pronto, about his Alchemist finding a new audience – the Indian front row tapori – thanks to OSO.
“Jab hum kuch sacche dil se chaahte hain to poori kaynat hamien usse milane ki koshish mein lag jaati hai” – this is approximately on page 32 of the book, albeit in English.
Coming back to the love story that wasn’t – there is a foolishly touching feel to Deepika and SRK’s air together, only that the lady after sincerely and expectantly smiling at our man (but why did she smile) goes on to declare to the villain of the piece that she has been married to him for two years and is lovingly pregnant with his kid.
What the hell was she doing with such graceful innocence making a fool of SRK and us in the process? The farce changes from till now being a transactional one, to an emotional one at this point.
And that is where all the love in the film is gone – never to be rediscovered.
Not even with the entry of Sandy in Om’s life – a Shanti look alike. We Indians know love is a subject matter between hearts and since there is no cardiac connection between the reborn SRK and the newfound Shanti look-alike, we feel no love between them.
A full time Bollywood masala movie failing on love – something is crazily wrong here.
So let’s rewind to the first life of Om and Shanti.
Not for a moment in the scenes where SRK and Deepika are together is the poor Indian front row viewer given a reason to believe she is only “Goods Friend” with him.
She smiles and is coy and gives her hand into SRK’s and lets snowflake laden exhaust fan wind blow her hair – unfair.
All of that is Indian film-ese for “they are falling in love”
Witness any love ballad in the last century in this country; all of the above is a movie goer’s shorthand to comprehend a long story in brief.
Dry leaves, wind, hair, smiles, coy looks = love is simmering under surface.
A bit like the popular nursery poem – who has seen the love, neither me nor you, but when maple leaves fly by heroine’s hair, love is passing through!
So when after giving us a glimpse of the fledgling love between Om and Shanti, Shanti in all sincerity now confesses marriage and pregnancy to Mukesh (Arjun Rampal), not only Om, but we experience a loss of balance.
What is this angelic looking woman about, we ask?
At this point, the film has lost its emotional feet.
Which inevitably it won’t be able to regain in the last shot – we will steadfastly not empathize with the heroine in the last scene when she wistfully looks at Om once more and drips an unrequited love tear.
Dammit, there was nothing between them to begin with.
And this emotional farce is a huge compromise on the power of the story.
Bar that there are other obvious gaffes too, but in the spirit of a great farce let’s allow the movie those ones.
And lets hum once more “Aankhon mein teri…ajab si, ajab si adaiyen hain”.
Hope floats.
Thought: Well, had sincere Shanti’s soul physically touched her foolishly lovable Om with Sandhya’s body as a medium, finally biding adieu in an emotional moment, we might have still cried – there would have been some love.
It has other implications on the story – primarily on how to give the villain enough reason to kill the heroine, and on how to transfer the ghost’s love to the woman who now lives – but those were tackle-able.
Om Shanti Shanti Shanti.
Comments:
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Such a hilarious and shrewd account of a farce, I never have witnessed.
(i.e. after reading much of what heart-crushed, teary-eyed movie expectants had to say)
you rule, in the fresh breath you take in re-interpreting the farce.
well done!
*you have earned some smiles*
*wicked ones ;)*
(i.e. after reading much of what heart-crushed, teary-eyed movie expectants had to say)
you rule, in the fresh breath you take in re-interpreting the farce.
well done!
*you have earned some smiles*
*wicked ones ;)*
Niiice :) Loved the analysis of a movie that is one big spoof of not one but many bollywood cliches.
Once Shanti is removed from the story only thing one waited for were SRK's brand new abs :P
But on the whole, a great roller coaster ride.
Nice post, nice blog :)
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Once Shanti is removed from the story only thing one waited for were SRK's brand new abs :P
But on the whole, a great roller coaster ride.
Nice post, nice blog :)
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