The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh News : Karz 2007 ishtyle! Film Reviews

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Saturday, Nov 10, 2007
ePaper

Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh

Karz 2007 ishtyle! Film Reviews

No great shakes: A poster of the film

Film: Om Shanti Om

Cast: Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone

Director: Farah Khan

Farah Khan continues with her irreverent ways. She cloaks nostalgia with a dash of humour and manages to take little digs at the cinema many of us grew up with, the 1970s’ films that conveyed much joy, shared little angst. “Om Shanti Om” is a retro with a modern look, a film that throbs with vitality, pulsating at the edges. Inspired from Subhash Ghai’s “Karz”, from whose song it even derives its title, Farah this time goes a bridge too far. There is a fine line between being irreverent and disrespectful. The way the movie shapes up, it leaves one wondering if she is taking the viewers for a ride. In trying to be light and jovial – the film has a feather touch treatment all through – she at times veers too close to being trivial, even mocking at the sensibilities of the viewers.

Yet for a large part, the film works. It works tremendously well in patches. That is when the director relies on the sheer charisma, the untamed energy of Shah Rukh Khan to carry it through. He is the life, blood and soul of the film. He towers above all the frames. And gets good support from newcomer Deepika Padukone. The girl has grace and poise to go with those tantalising looks that tell you in the years to come people would still be flocking to see her films. But hey, the lead pair alone does not make a film. It is the director who must lead the way. And that is where “Om Shanti Om” falls short. Based on the reincarnation theme – we have Shah Rukh as a junior artist in love with a top heroine, played by Deepika. But fate snatches them away from this life, only for both to come back! This time the guy is a top star! Too much for the modern educated public to buy? Well, maybe. But where Farah errs is in spending too much time on nostalgia. The first half with all the reference points to yesterday provides occasional laughter. That’s all. The story does not move. The second half suffers similarly: Shirish Kunder as off form as the editor. And barring a nice song sequence with anybody who is somebody in Bollywood showing up, there is little to keep the viewers hooked on.

No, not even the music. And by the time, the mystery of who killed the girl in the first birth is solved, too many reels are wasted. The film could have been easily trimmed without affecting its either nostalgia quotient or the retro look.

Yet for all its faults, if you are a die-hard Shah Rukh fan – and they are there in thousands – “Om Shanti Om” can be visited once. Just to see Shah Rukh do his bare chest act, his role reversal from being a top star to a junior artist. And his ability to momentarily forget that he is Shah Rukh. Of course, Deepika does not hurt the eyes, and pleases where it matters.

Want a film with a breezy momentum? With a thread of credibility? Stay away. It is only for those living off yesterday, longing for the times that were.

ZIYA US SALAM

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail