It’s the swinging seventies. He’s the typical struggler with stardust in his eyes dreaming of stardom, a mansion, linen sheets and minions to slip slippers onto his feet when he wakes up. That’s when he’s not fantasizing about the top female star, a South Indian. He acts in real life too spewing filmi rhetoric and flailing his limbs melodramatically. She’s the prima Donna, desired by millions but in a messy affair with a ruthless producer. Struggler mistakes care and concern for love and is devastated when he realizes the truth. Ruthless producer is shooting a magnum opus with lady love as heroine but is shocked when she reveals she’s pregnant. He seethes with rage and decides to burn down an opulent set along with the heroine. Struggler tries to help but is beaten up by goons and run over by a superstar’s car. Struggler succumbs just as superstar’s wife delivers a baby boy.
Cut to the present. Superstar’s son who looks exactly like struggler is the current rage in Bollywood with unkempt hair and six pack abs. He keeps clutching his crotch when he’s not being kissed by skimpily clad gals. Superstar keeps getting vague visions from his past life and when he realizes his past decides to take revenge.
The greatest tragedy of Bollywood is the reluctance to deviate from the oft trodden path. Thankfully Farah Khan has the talent and the chutzpah to do so. There’s a fine line between paying tribute and mockery. Farah walks it with the ease of a trapeze artiste. OSO is a tribute to the seventies and also Subhash Ghai’s ‘Karz’ and Manmohan Desai’s mindless entertainers. She has a whacky sense of humour(now you know where Sajid gets it from) but if you are not familiar with the films and personalities of the seventies you are bound to miss some first rate gags. The structure of the screenplay is complicated but doesn’t deter an easy flow. It’s an unpretentious film but definitely not silly.
The film is technically brilliant. Manikandan’s cinematography is easy on the eye be it a low, wide angle shot or a brilliantly lit close-up. The sets by Sabu Cyril are opulent but never gaudy. Shirish Kunder’s editing is sharp. The one liners are brilliant too. Farah also makes sure to show all those who’ve worked behind the scenes when the title card rolls in the end which is touching.
Sharukh is his usual effortless self in the light scenes but still grapples for expressions in the emotional ones. Deepika Padukone is a revelation especially after a disastrous debut in Indrajit Lankesh’s idiotic film ‘Aishwarya’. Statuesque with large expressive eyes she doesn’t falter in a single scene. Unlike Aishwarya Rai whom she’s being touted to replace there’s nothing synthetic in her expressions. She proves that there’s more to models than being mannequins. Shreyas Talpade is his usual natural self. Bindu makes a nice cameo.
Om Shanti Om is the Khan’s humble hallelujah to the Kapoors and the Khannas.
S.Shiva Kumar
