O SO done, but OK!
Kudos to SRK, FK, OK and whichever other Ks were there in the film 'Om Shanti Om'! They have managed to pull off a very average idea, script, story…and how!
The film doesn't really contribute anything new to Bollywood in any sense, it only derives its stuff from a score of stories, dialogues, acting styles, dresses that people have grown up with and therefore identify with. Clichés, spoofs, some chronologically incorrect settings, a standard Bollywood plot of the 70s, typical dresses – Farah Khan has used every trick in the trade to make it an out and out Bollywood Masala movie.
It is the typical 3 hour 'time-pass' movie that people go to the hall to enjoy, leaving their minds behind and disbelief suspended. As the heroine puts it beautifully 'Jab tum 50 maale ki building se koodte ho, tab main vishwas karti hoon; jab tum 100 gundon se akele ladte ho, tab main vishwas karti hoon!!!' ('I believe you when you jump off a 50 storied building, I believe you when you fight 100 goons singlehandedly')
However the plot, dialogues and a good performance by debutante Deepika notwithstanding, I don't think anyone else could have pulled off the thing besides SRK. And that is because he has practically the entire industry supporting him. The scale would be grand if nothing else. Take out the 31 stars song, the Filmfare awards scene, guest appearances by practically anyone who's someone in the industry, 'that 70s show' and the much touted 6/8 pack (whatever) of SRK, and you would be left with nothing much to write home about.
So ultimately it boils down to scale, masala, a li'l bit o'everything for everyone, SRK the entertainer, time pass and the quintessentially Bollywood HAPPY ENDING!!
(PS: By the way, possibly the last point is the reason why Saawaria failed, especially as the somber ending might not have gone with the festive Diwali mood)
posted by daviejones at 2:05 AM
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