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Cut the crap, cut the gyan-baazi, cut the will-it-won’ t-it work naatak. Shah Rukh Khan and Farah Khan’s OM SHANTI OM is a true-blue masala entertainer. If MAIN HOON NA was a chauka, this one hits a sixer!

Wait, a word of advice to all netizens/readers across the globe. Don’t, for God’s sake don’t, raise exclamations like kab?, kyun? kahan? as OM SHANTI OM begins to unravel. This is atypical Manmohan Desai film presented in a novel avtaar by Farah Khan. It’s definitely not for pseudos or advocates of arthouse cinema.

Now let’s clear some myths surrounding OM SHANTI OM. Is it the 2007 adaptation of Subhash Ghai’s immensely likable reincarnation film KARZ? Does it have traces of KUDRAT? Or MADHUMATI? Or MILAN? Or KARAN ARJUN? Hold on, there’s a dash of KARZ, a bit of KARAN ARJUN, a sprinkling of KUDRAT, but beyond that it’s a film that makes you nostalgic about 1970s Bollywood.

To sum up, OM SHANTI OM is paisa vasool entertainment. We haven’t seen SRK in a hardcore masala film since quite some time. He had drifted to other genres, which proved his range as an actor of repute and cemented his status further. With OM SHANTI OM, he gives back to the audience what he himself grew up on — a thorough entertainer that will have the audience thirsting for more.

This Diwali, have a blast!

OM SHANTI OM tells the story of Om [Shah Rukh Khan] and Shanti [Deepika Padukone]. Om is a junior artist in the 70s. Shanti is the reigning superstar. He is her biggest fan. He is in love with her. Om dreams of being a superstar, but an incident changes his life forever.

Om dies in a mishap, but is reborn into the present day. He attempts to discover the mystery of his demise…

The general feeling is, Farah Khan has remade Ghai’s KARZ from Frame A to Z. False! There’re similarities, but it’s not a rehashed version of Ghai’s film. For, OM SHANTI OM takes you by complete surprise at several points.

The first twist in the tale [Arjun - Deepika’s heated confrontation, with SRK listening to this important conversation] comes as a bolt from the blue. The second jhatka comes slightly before the intermission, when Arjun takes Deepika to the set of his film ‘Om Shanti Om’ and the entire episode that follows, right till the intermission, is spellbinding. That’s a brilliant stroke from the writing [screenplay: Mushtaq Shaikh and Farah Khan] as also the execution point of view. When the opulent set is set to flames, it leaves you wide-eyed and awe-struck. Such is the impact!

The post-interval portions only get better and better! If the initial portions are laced with humour [the premiere of ‘Dreamy Girl’, the Manoj Kumar episode, Ghai directing Rishi on ‘Om Shanti Om’ song, et al], the second half moves into a new zone completely.

It’s punar-janam now, but thankfully, there’re no lightening, no fireworks, no zooming of the camera on the idols of Gods. The drama builds up gradually. The voices that SRK keeps hearing, the ‘fire’ soon after the ‘Dard-E-Disco’ track, the mother [Kirron Kher], an old lady now, chasing Om’s car [reminds you of Raakhee of KARAN ARJUN], the flashes of SRK’s earlier birth while receiving the Filmfare Award — the incidents that make him realize that his life was cut short in his earlier janam have been well structured.

When Deepika re-emerges as well, the viewer is confused, but the mystery is resolved towards the end, which, again, takes you by complete surprise.

Given the fact that OM SHANTI OM is a Manmohan Desai kind of a film set in the present-day, it would be foolhardy to ask questions, raise eyebrows and look for logic. But the second half could’ve been crisper [length: 18 reels/2.46 hours], although Shirish Kunder’s editing is perfect.

Farah knows what her priorities are and most importantly, knows exactly what her target audience is. The execution of a number of sequences clearly shows Farah’s growth as a storyteller. Mushtaq and Farah’s writing works because the writers pull out several surprises in those 2.46 hours.

V. Manikanandan’ s cinematography captures the gloss and grandeur to the minutest. The opulent sets [Sabu Cyril] deserve distinction marks. Dialogues [Mayur Puri] are witty and do raise a chuckle at several points. Background score [Sandeep Chowta] is effective.

Vishal-Shekhar’ s music is first-rate. The score is in sync with the content of the film and what accentuate the goings-on are the choreography and execution. Although every song is visually enticing, the 21-star track as also ‘Dard-E-Disco’ will have the masses going into a frenzy.

Now to the performances! SRK proves his supremacy yet again. If you thought that playing to the gallery came easy to certain actors only, watch SRK spin magic in OM SHANTI OM. He’s magnificent, the star attraction, the soul of this film, the true baadshah.

Deepika has all it takes to be a top star — the personality, the looks and yes, she’s supremely talented too. Standing in the same frame as SRK and getting it right is no small achievement. She comes as a whiff of fresh air!

Arjun Rampal is a complete revelation. Cast in a negative role this time, he enacts his part with panache and style. Shreyas Talpade is another surprise. A complete natural, he stands on his feet all through, not getting swayed while sharing the screen space with the topmost star.

Kirron Kher is superb as the over the top mom. Javed Sheikh is alright. Bindu adds to the funny moments.

On the whole, OM SHANTI OM is Bollywood masala in its truest form and also, at its best. At the box-office, the film will set new records in days to come and has the power to emerge one of the biggest hits of SRK’s career. Blockbuster hit!

Irrespective of how his films fare at the box-office, you cannot shut your eyes to the fact that Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s films have so much to offer in terms of style and substance.

Alas, SAAWARIYA is all style, no substance. When a director of the calibre of SLB attempts a love story, you expect to experience the various emotions that you generally associate with romance. Sadly, the emotions you experience while watching SAAWARIYA is sorrow and after the screening, anguish.

With splendid backers like Hollywood giant Columbia/Sony and a dream cast, Bhansali falters big time in SAAWARIYA. It doesn’t give you the feeling that you’re watching an SLB film or a film of epic proportions. Instead, you constantly feel that you’re watching a 2-hour play.

Dostoevsky’s short story WHITE NIGHTS may sound interesting on paper, but SLB’s adaptation suffers because there’s not much meat in the plot. In fact, it wouldn’t be erroneous to state that SAAWARIYA ranks amongst SLB’s weakest films, as far as scripting is concerned.

To cut a long story short, SAAWARIYA disappoints big time. You expect the moon from this genius film-maker, but you’re disheartened as you watch his new creation.

This time, hum dil nahin de chuke sanam!

SAAWARIYA is about two young star-crossed lovers. A musician, Raj [Ranbir Kapoor], is certain that he has found his ultimate dream when he arrives at a picturesque town. However, destiny paints a different picture for Raj. One silent night, he spots a mysterious girl draped in black, standing alone at a bridge.

This chance encounter introduces him to Sakina [Sonam Kapoor], a shy and quiet girl, who continues to intrigue him. Thus follows the beginning of a new friendship, where Raj, with his most charming ways and an undying spirit, tries to win Sakina’s heart.

Raj is unable to accept her haunting past and their friendship pulls him into a whirlwind of desire, madness and romance.

SAAWARIYA suffers because of its writing mainly. Let’s unravel the points that bother the viewer no end…

Which part of the country is this straight-out- of-a-fairytale town located? And what era are we talking of?

Even if you subscribe to the theory that it was love at first sight for Salman and Sonam, what is it that keeps their romance going?

Why does Salman disappear suddenly? Besides his name, the girl knows nothing about him. Not his home/native place, work/profession/ work place, relatives, nothing absolutely. It’s like falling in love with a shadow, isn’t it?

Why does Rani Mukerji abandon Ranbir, when he comes knocking on her doors and admits that he wants to spend time with her? Why does she lose her temper, although she secretly loves him?

And Salman returns. The sequence that follows and the culmination to the story leave you completely disgruntled and perplexed!

Besides, the conversation between the lead pair fails to involve you. Sure, a few sequences are filmed brilliantly, but the impact the film ought to create in totality is missing. It gets verbose and boring after a point.

What makes matters worse is the setting/ambience. The film gets monotonous after a point, visually speaking, since it has been shot in its entirety on dark sets. You long for some visual relief, some bright spots, some sunshine…

Monty’s music is another sore point. Sure, a few songs are well tuned, but the everlasting melody, associated with SLB’s films, is missing. You hear them, savour them that moment, but forget all about them once the movie concludes.

Ravi K. Chandran’s cinematography is of international standards. The sets look imaginative, but as mentioned earlier, you yearn for a visual break, a different colour.

As a storyteller, SLB is letdown by his own writing. Things start slipping as the reels unfold. In the post-interval portions, you fervently pray that things might stabilize, for SLB as also Ranbir and Sonam’s sake, but alas! The love, passion and anguish, the hallmark of SLB films, is clearly missing this time.

Now to the dream launches! Ranbir Kapoor is supremely talented, no two opinions on that. Yes, he looks handsome, but what you carry home is the sincerity in his performance. If that’s the [high] level of performance in his debut film, this lad will only make the Kapoor clan proud in years to come. It’s a 10 on 10 for this debutante!

Sonam Kapoor is an average actor. However, her role doesn’t give her the opportunity to display histrionics. She looks gorgeous at places, but plain ordinary at times.

Age has started showing on Salman Khan’s face. He looks like an old, mature man in this film. The boyish looks have gone! As for his role, he is completely wasted in this hardly-10-minute appearance. Rani Mukerji is first-rate. Zohra Segal is superb, while Begum Para is hardly there.

On the whole, SAAWARIYA lacks soul. It’s SLB’s weakest film to date, in terms of writing. At the box-office, the film will collect big numbers in its opening weekend due to the Diwali vacations as also the hype surrounding the film. But the cracks will start showing at relatively smaller stations/single screens first [where the practice of advance booking doesn’t exist] and at big centres as days progress. For the distributors, they’ll have to rely on its business from multiplexes mainly. While the business from multiplexes at Mumbai, Pune, Delhi, NCR, Kolkata, Jaipur and South will be impressive initially, there would be a big gap between multiplex and non-multiplex centres. Overall, disappointing — in terms of content and in terms of business as well!