Om Shanti Om [Blu-ray]

I loved this movie (even though most of the in-joke references to earlier Bollywood filmstars went over my head) because there was still more than enough fun to be had in this 2 hour and 42 minute film. Bollywood definitely gives you your moneys worth and more. It manages to give us a story filled with love, laughter, karmic revenge, and some really wonderful, eye-popping song and dance numbers with tunes so catchy that I'll probably be singing them for the next two weeks. This review is full of major spoliers although the film's ending isn't revealed.Shah Rukh Khan stars a love struck bit player with the unfortunate name of Om Prakash Makhija in the Bollywood of the 1970s who's desperately in love with gorgeous megastar Shanti(Deepika Padukone) and he frequently converses with a giant billboard of her, completely oblivious to the stares of passers-by. One day Om and his brother have the good fortune to be cast as extras in a film in which Shanti is starring and it seems as if fate has brought them together. For quite awhile it does seem as if Shanti will fall for the charming Om, especially after he resecues her from an on-set fire. But alas, Om over hears Shanti telling her director Muhkesh Mehra(with whom she is secretly in love) a terrible secret that will make their love impossible. When faced with leaving his wife and marrying her as he has promised, the director (played by Arjun Rampal)does what most men would do--traps her in one of the extravagant sets in which they are filming and lights it ablaze. This time there's no escape from the fire for Shanti, or for Om who dies attempting to rescue her again.We go immediately from a sheet being pulled over Om's body in the hospital to the new and improved reincarnated Om 30 years old and still played by SRK. He's the person our deceased Om had always dreamed of being, a famous actor with a great name-- Om Kapoor! His life comes complete with round bed, velvet slippers, and servents at his beck and call. When we first meet him he's waking up in the middle of the afternoon to go to work at the film studio--surrounded by screaming fans (who can't help observing "He's so much shorter in real life"), fawning studio executives, and a frantic director who's trying to film a really weird scirpt.That scene leads into the film's BEST dance number to a song called "Dard-e-Disco" which I've since learned is a parody of a number by Hrithik Roshan, one of Bollywood's number one studs. Roshan and his father also have a cameo as themselves in this flick. I doubt that he knew he would be parodied at the time. I had no idea he was a paroding anyone in particular but by the time SRK got to to the part where he was shirtless and dancing provocatively while wearing a hardhat and a toolbelt with a rope slung over one shoulder and singing "My heart is filled with the pain of disco," I was laughing in spite of the fact that SRK looked really hot. You can always count on Bollywood for a little comedy.But it's during the "Pain of Disco" number that Om Kapoor first begins to remember his past life as Om Makhija. Later at the Filmfare Awards (which feature hilarious send-ups of other stars' images) Om's memory clears even more, and when he spots the director who had killed both 30 years ago Om remembers everything and begins to plan his revenge.GUARANTEED END OF SPOILERS. OM SHANTI OM is a throwback to the films of the 1970s for its entire first half, which is to say it shows both the worst of the decade's fashion trends and the best of Bollywood's over indulgent opulence. The sets and costumes are magnificent beyond imagining and damn near knocked my eyes out. There are 7 or 8 musical numbers in this film, with the standouts for me being the "Pain of Disco", and "Deewangi Deewangi" with the lyrics "All the cool boys come and make some noise, sing Om Shanti Om". It's also a good practice for seeing how many Bollywood stars you can name since it's sung at Om's party as an entrance number for all the guests (who are playing themselves) as they arrive. I'm not very good but I was able to identify 6, maybe 7. Still it's an exuberant, catchy tune that will drive you out of your mind.If you've never seen a Bollywood film this might be a good place to start even if its most subtle parts will be lost on you as they were on me. Be sure to watch the end credits where almost everyone connected with the film gets to dance down the red carpet.

Amazing movie! All I can say is that it is emotion-packed and has dramedy and tragedy. It made cry and made me laugh. The movie is set in the 1970s and the 2000s.The story revolves around a Junior Artist at RC Studioos, Om Prakash Makhija (Shah Rukh Khan), who is madly in love with a huge superstar, Shantipriya aka Shanti (Deepika Padukone). We learn that he has a hard time getting roles for films and usually when he complains about them, his mom reacts over-dramatically. He talks to Shantipriya's poster (Dreamy Girl) and usually goes there to tell her how much he loves her. One day, they attend her premiere, and his sleeve gets stuck on one of the pieces of her pallu. After that, they are drunk on the street and Om is imagining his fantasy of him winning the Filmfare Award for Best Actor.The day after, he is shooting for one of films as a villager, which is being directed by Partho Roy and being produced by Mukesh Mehra. Shanti is also at the same set. The scene is that there is a fire in the plains. The hero refuses to go and rescue Shanti, because he thinks that the fire is too hot. Instead, Om rescues her, and they become friends. Om tries to Woo her.A few days after, he sneaks into an RC Studios backdrop. He overhears an argument with Shanti and Mukesh. They are fighting about the fact that he is getting married. She then reveals that they have been secretly married for two years and that she is pregnant with Mukesh's child. Mukesh is overjoyed, while Om leaves, heartbroken. He remains miserable for a few days.One day, He sneaks into the set that Mukesh has for an upcoming film, also named Om Shanti Om. He tells Shanti that he will demolish the set, but before that, they will have a grand wedding on the set. Om, unable tohear anymore, quietly leaves. The story takes a dark turn when Mukesh blames Shanti for the demolition of the set, saying that her baby will ruin his career and that she will. He lights the set on fire and locks Shanti inside of it.Om sees Mukesh leaving the set while Shanti is desperately crying out for help. He rushes to try and save her, but Mukesh's guards severely beat him up. After the beating, he still tries to save her again, but is thrown out of the set by an explosion. He gets thrown onto a nearby street, and the set fully explodes; he assumes that Shanti is dead. Then, Rajesh Kapoor (Javed Shaikh) car hits a disoriented Om and he is taken to the hospital. Unfortunately, he dies due to his injuries.30 YEARS LATEROm is now reincarnated as a superstar

All you cool boys, come and make some noise,and say "Oh Shanti Om!"I am so glad I listened to the reviews here. I wanted to see more Bollywood after seeing a "Bollywood"-style number in "So You Think You Can Dance," and Bollywood-fusion films like "The Guru" (NOT the Mike Myers film "The Love Guru" - I mean the GOOD one, with Jimi Mistry and Heather Graham) and "Bride and Prejudice."This film is wonderful. The dancing, the energy, and the comedy have a touch of the goofiness that make musicals like "Singing in the Rain" so much fun (and like that musical, this one is also set in the world of movie-making). And though there is a dramatic side to the story, the story never drags; for a 142-minute film, that's saying something. It is definitely a fun movie. The musical/dance numbers are dizzy fun, the hero is likable, and the actress who plays our heroine is a knockout (both in beauty and in talent. My God, these Bollywood heroines are gorgeous women). Even the credits are a hoot, as everyone from the director to the carpenters take bows at the end.Please see it, lest your heart know the Pain of disco.