Om Shanti Om (2007) Review: Bollywood in Love With Itself

Is Om Shanti Om worth watching?

Yes, with reservations. Om Shanti Om is an exuberant, wildly entertaining valentine to Hindi cinema, and its first half, set in the studios of the 1970s, is among the most purely fun stretches of mainstream Bollywood from its decade. Shah Rukh Khan is in his element, Deepika Padukone makes a luminous debut, and Farah Khan packs the film with in-jokes, songs and affectionate parody. The reservation is that the second half trades wit for melodrama and logic for spectacle, and at nearly three hours the excess starts to tell.

What is Om Shanti Om about?

In 1970s Bombay, Om Prakash Makhija (Shah Rukh Khan) is a junior artist, one of the anonymous extras of the film industry, who dreams of stardom and worships the reigning screen goddess Shantipriya (Deepika Padukone). With his friend Pappu (Shreyas Talpade) and his theatrical mother (Kirron Kher) cheering him on, he edges closer to the star’s world, where a smooth, ambitious producer (Arjun Rampal) holds sway. When Om is killed in a suspicious fire on a film set, he is reborn thirty years later into the very industry he adored, and his new life brings him back towards the person responsible.

Om Shanti Om was directed by Farah Khan, the choreographer-turned-filmmaker. It is an Indian film in Hindi and runs 169 minutes.

A first half steeped in film-buff affection

The film’s best material is its recreation of 1970s Hindi cinema. Farah Khan clearly knows the era’s conventions intimately, and she parodies them with love: the saturated colours, the melodramatic dialogue, the dream sequences and the swooning heroine shots are all reproduced with a wink that never becomes contempt. Om’s life as a background extra gives the jokes a sweet underdog angle, and there is real charm in watching someone so close to the screen and so far from its glamour.

Shah Rukh Khan leans into the persona he had perfected by then, playing Om as a lovable, self-mocking dreamer. His gift for combining broad comedy with sincere romance keeps the film’s lighter scenes buoyant.

Deepika Padukone’s star is born

This was Padukone’s first Hindi film, and it launched one of the major careers of the next two decades. Her Shantipriya is shot like a classic movie queen, all poise and radiance, and she carries the heightened style with remarkable confidence for a newcomer. The film understands that the audience should fall for her exactly as Om does, and it works.

The songs are equally central. Vishal–Shekhar’s soundtrack moves from swooning romance to glittering disco pastiche, and the star-packed number “Deewangi Deewangi”, crowded with cameos from across the industry, plays like a celebration of Hindi cinema’s whole extended family.

Where the second life stumbles

Once the story moves to the present day, the film loses much of its focus. The industry satire gives way to a revenge plot that is both more contrived and less interesting, the villain turns into straightforward camp, and the comedy grows broader and cruder. Some of the in-jokes aimed at 2000s Bollywood have also dated faster than the 1970s pastiche. The finale has flourish, but by then the film has been running for a long time, and its cleverness has been replaced by volume.

Who should watch Om Shanti Om?

It is a treat for Shah Rukh Khan fans, anyone curious about Deepika Padukone’s beginnings, and viewers who enjoy films about film. Knowledge of Hindi cinema history will make many gags richer, but the romance and songs work without it. It is broadly family-friendly, with some violence and a frightening fire sequence, but its nearly three-hour running time is best approached as an event. For more mainstream Hindi comedy, try:

• 3 Idiots, another hugely popular Hindi crowd-pleaser from the same era that mixes laughs, songs and emotion.
• Andhadhun, for a sharper, more modern blend of dark comedy and a murder plot.

The verdict

Om Shanti Om is a loud, generous and often delightful tribute to the fantasy factory of Hindi cinema, lifted by Shah Rukh Khan’s charm and Deepika Padukone’s radiant debut. Its second half is weaker, sillier and too long, but the affection behind it is contagious, and as a slice of 2000s Bollywood pop it remains a pleasure.

Rating: 3.5/5