Ticket to Bollywood

***CONTAINS SPOILERS!***
And it’s absurdly long. Sorry. I just couldn’t stop typing.

Farah Khan’s hilarious. There’s no denying that. Main Hoon Na was one of the best movies I had seen in a long time when it came out. The dramatic scenes left a bit to be desired, but she really excelled in the comedy portions. Going into Om Shanti Om, I expected the same kind of hilarity. But what I didn’t expect was how well the dramatic scenes were handled. I was really expecting a full out comedy, so when the dramatic scenes hit, I was a bit surprised, but I was completely engaged.

Om Shanti Om is not one of those movies where you leave your brain at home. Sure, it’s a Bollywood spoof, and a great one at that, even if you don’t pick up all the references, but there’s also a coherent storyline. And it all comes together at the end, and you sometimes forget you’re watching a Farah Khan movie.

The first half the movie is just brilliant. Spoof after spoof, and you’re laughing throughout. The opening scene just makes the movie. Rishi dancing to Om Shanti Om, and all of a sudden, you see SRK spinning around on the record, crazy hair and all. Perfect beginning to the movie.

Be it the Manoj Kumar reference, the Tamil movie spoofing, a young Sooraj Barjatya standing outside the tent swiping a line, Om talking to the billboard of Shanti, or Om jumping into the frame yelling “Bhaago!” at every opprotunity, the first half keeping you laughing. One of the best scenes in the first half is when Om is trying to tell Shanti how he feels, you hear his thoughts, yet he can’t for the life of him get them out into words.

One of the highlights of the first half is the great friendship between Om and Pappu. SRK and Shreyas share a good chemistry, and they worked very well together. Another highlight is Kirron Kher as Om’s mother. Especially the scene in their home, talking about how she had to give up her dream of being in Mughal-E-Azam because she was pregnant with Om. The overacting in that scene was hilarious.

Deepika also shines in the first half. She’s got a real charm about her, and her smile just lights up the screen. She holds her own among two great actors. She’s a great find, and Farah should take full credit. Casting a new face in a movie this big takes guts.

Admist all the comedy, an actual story does creep in. The drama builds up, and then all of a sudden, it hits you. You feel Om’s pain when he’s standing there, hearing that his love is already taken. You see that Mukesh doesn’t care for Shanti as he should, it’s all about the money and fame. And you see the hurt in Shanti’s face, being rejected by her own husband.

And then the real story takes over. You can’t imagine a man being so cruel, especially to his own wife. You see the events unfold on screen, and simply can’t believe them. You hope and pray that Om will get to Shanti in time, that they’ll both live, that they’ll be happy together. But as intermission comes, you know this won’t be the case.

And the second half starts, not as well as the first, but still with comedy. Now you see Om the superstar, being pampered just as Om the junior artist had dreamed of. The second half does have it’s comedic moments, like the whole Filmfare sequence. It’s nice to see that Subhash Ghai, Abhishek Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, and Shabana Azmi were good enough sports to make fun of themselves. I really appreciated that.

But the second half is where all the drama happens. Om finds out that he’s been reincarnated, he reunites with his mother and his best friend, he sees the man who killed his love, and he vows for revenge. Yes, his plan was flawed, but it was the only way he could think of to get “Mike” to confess. I loved his reaction when seeing Sandy for the first time. I was actually hoping that Shanti would be reincarnated as well, so this disappointed me a bit, but I’ll explain that a bit later (which needs to be soon. Wow, this is getting long.).

Sandy disappeared a lot in the second half, which I didn’t like. A bit more character development for her would have been ideal. We don’t know where she came from, how she feels, anything. We see her at the beginning of the second half, then at the end, where Deepika just shines, once again. You would never imagine that this is a newcomer, not a seasoned vet. Her last scene as the ghost was just brilliant.

Quite a few people have said the second half disappoints, compared to the first. I agree, the first half is much better, but I still enjoyed the second half. We’re still treated to the comedy, we get Dard-E-Disco and Deewangi, and for me, the movie doesn’t drag just because it’s dramatic. I’m glued to the screen the whole time.

The songs are weaved in really well. The soundtrack by Vishal and Shekhar is top notch, and the visuals are just as good. I didn’t like the fact that Ajab Si was chopped up, but I don’t know if there would have been an ideal place for a picturisation. Dhoom Taana is hilarious, with Deepika first dancing with a 70s actor, then Shah Rukh jumping in to take over. I especially enjoyed the badminton scene.

Main Agar Kahoon was sweet, but I had already seen too much in the promos for anything to be new. Same with Dard-E-Disco. I’m glad I didn’t watch the promos for Deewangi, because I really enjoyed that one, though it could have been trimmed a bit. The same music over and over got a bit annoying. Daastan was the one song I didn’t really listen to, but it’s picturisation is wonderful. Very dramatic. Jag Soona Soona Laga was nicely done as well.

Performance-wise, SRK takes the cake again. He’s brilliant in the first half as Om Makhija, and just as great in the second, as the spoiled superstar Om Kapoor. This movie really shows his versatility, especially with Chak De India coming only a few months ago. And he looks absolutely gorgeous in the movie, especially in the second half, with his floppy hair. Shreyas is great in his limited role, I really hope this movie gets him recognized by mainstream fans, because he does have a lot to offer. Arjun is competent in his role, though he could have been better. Kirron Kher was great as well as the over the top mother.

And what can I say about Deepika? I love this girl. She did such a wonderful job even though she was up against the biggest superstar in the world. She’s quite a find, and I know she’ll go far in this industry.

Some of my favorite scenes include the one where Om can’t get his feelings out, the “Bhaago” scene, Abhishek and Akshay’s best actor nominations, Om Kapoor saying he’s interested in older women, Om Kapoor playing the cripple, and asking for another take, Sandy sticking up her middle finger when Om’s back was turned. Even some of the dramatic scenes were great, especially when Om Kapoor is talking to Mike, about making the movie. How he would take a shot now and then. SRK was amazingly good in that scene. Also loved the Gone With The Wind reference. “Frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.”

There were a few things I didn’t like. The first one is my fault, I went in expecting Om and Shanti to be reincarnated. I’m still very sad that Om lost his love, but I am glad he got justice for her. The Deewangi song lasted too long, with the same music being played over and over. Got a bit annoying after a while, though I loved seeing all the stars. Also, the end credits, I liked it much more in Main Hoon Na than here. Things got monotnous after a while. But Farah’s part was brilliant. Also, in DED, SRK had his shirt buttoned in one scene, and a tank top on in another. I paid 10 dollars for 5 minutes of shirtless SRK.

My crowd in Dallas is always non-existent, so nothing to comment about there. It was half full for the first showing at 6 pm, but as we walked out at 9, the theater was packed and the line long for the 10 pm showing.

Overall, as you can probably tell by how long this is, I absolutely loved this movie. It’s so nice to see SRK in a complete masala entertainer again. And did I mention how HOT he looked? *swoooon*

Rating: - best movie of the year, with CDI a smidge behind it.