Om Shanti Om: Spicy Chicken Masala

“ek kilo chicken.... chaar chammach tel.... ek bada pyaaaj.... hara mirch.... namak.... aur mast mast masale............ aur ban gayi.... Spicy Chicken Masala!!!!”

Or is this caricatured cook talking about making ‘Om Shanti Om’???

Ek kilo chicken: Half a kilo in the first half of the film and the other half in the second, SRK dons the meatiest and the spiciest role of his career. Funny, humble and lovable as Om Prakash Makhija in the first half, he deserves every tinge of credit for the entertainment quotient involved. As Om Kapoor in the second half, I can bet if anyone else in Bollywood can carry-off the unbaked, idiotic and senseless character with such grace that you are just: entertained!!!
The 1st half of the film is a spoof on different people, aspects and etc of the whole 70s Indian cinema; and the second half, is a complete spoof on just One Man: Shahrukh Khan – the complete ‘murgha’.

Chaar chammach tel: Sensuous and other-worldly, Deepika Padukone makes her presence felt despite SRK stealing the show. If her eyes carry the allure, her smile glitters the screen -- absolutely mesmerizing. She is, no doubt, the most promising heroine on the cards.

One big Onion and a few Green Chillies: Shreyas Talpade, as SRK’s friend, is good, whereas Kiron Kher, as SRK’s mother, is adequate. And Arjun Rampal somehow manages to walk-through the villainous role. Writing by Mushtaq Sheikh, Farah Khan and Mayur Puri strikes the chord at times and Music by Vishal-Sekhar is thoroughly enjoyable. But it is Manikandan camera-work and Sandeep Chowta’s background score, which steal the glory, when Om Prakash Makhija confesses his love before Shanti’s film-poster.

Assorted Masalas: Clean and neat Visual effects (Red Chillies), huge and colourful sets (Sabu Cyril) and 31 star-actors in One Song (though this song could have been better structured than it is: the order of each star-actor’s entry is very random)!!!! Hmm… Spicy enough!!! (In the theatre, there was even more excitement among the female-crowds, for the super-star’s bare torso and six-pack abs).

Spicy Chicken Masala: With all the above mentioned ingredients, does this film need further detailing and descriptions? Om Shanti Om is a perfect ‘Spicy Chicken Masala’!! So people who are Strictly Vegetarian (very artistic viewers and logic seekers) and people who prefer subtle flavors over masalas (like Aamir Khan fanatics) can whole-heartedly avoid it.

Oops!!! I forgot about putting salt!!!! Let me tell about that:
Salt or the Super-star’s voice:::: ‘zab bhi tum kisi cheez ko poore dil se chaaho, tho poori kaayanat usse tumse milaane ki koshish mein lag jaati hai’. I have heard that, this line is taken from Paulo Coelho’s novel ‘The Alchemist’: ‘when you want something, the whole universe conspires to help you get it’.

Indirectly through this film, Shahrukh Khan tells all the people who admire him and are inspired by him: He has always dreamt of becoming a Super-star and he became One with utmost hard-work, help from different people and the Destiny’s blessings. Yes! He is chosen by Destiny!!! But had Destiny decided against him, Om Shanti Om is an entertaining expectation, he has from himself.

‘humhari zindagi mein bhi, End tak sab kuch teek-taak chal jaati hai… Happies Endings!!! Aur jab teek na ho, tho woh ‘The End’ nahin, Picture abhi baaki hai, mere dost!!!! Picture abhi baaki hai!!!!’

SAAWARIYA: Ignored, yet Adored!!!!

There are a very few sensitive women who are also, sensible. Yet, those rarely wonderful women make ambiguous decisions in their love life. In fact, they mostly have two love lives. One, which they consummate and live with; and the other, which they adore, yet foolishly ignore! This ignored, yet adored beloved of a sensitive and sensible woman is …. Saawariya.

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In an ethereal world, where there never existed bright sunlight and pure Love, walks in a young man with a divine charm and a heart full of love. With his effervescent charm, he spreads happiness all over; but preserves his heart for a mysterious angel; until one night, he loses it to the beautiful damsel standing on the bridge. He is so much consumed in love with her that he decides to do anything for her happiness. But on the contrary, the lady is in love with someone else, for whom she has been waiting. And so, he ends up being her Protector (protects her from the evil eyes of the bad), her Friend (sharing her pain and anguish) and her God (she prays to him to help her unite with her lover).

The story of Saawariya is about the conflict between Dreams and Destiny; the conflict between Reality and Divinity; the conflict between Temptation and Self-Dignity. Also, it emphasizes the contrast in society: when the whole city of prostitutes yearns for love (because they are not loved by anyone), the Prince of Love gives his heart to a woman, who already has the love of another person. In any society, the Rich remain Rich and the Poor remain Poor.

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As a film, Saawariya is intensely passionate in poetry and obsessively brilliant in technique. And the man who put everything together in perfect balance is Sanjay Leela Bhansali. He dreams it, believes it and executes it with applaud-able conviction. The most note-worthy aspect of his direction is the treatment he bestows on the story. It is a complex explanation of a simple story and a complex story of a simple theme. And Bhansali carries it with sincerity all through-out. His fine rapport with art-director Omung Kumar and cinematographer Ravi K Chandran shines radiantly on the big-screen. Bhansali’s heart, mind and soul smoothly ooze out of Monty Sharma’s mellifluous compositions.

Ranbir Kapoor is perfectly cast as the Prince of Love. He is cute, lovable and charming. Sonam Kapoor is adorable enough for the character she plays. Rani Mukherjee is at her usual best and Salman creeps in for some star-value. Other actors are adequate.

If there is any glitch in the otherwise perfect film, it is Prakash Kapadia’s script. Not much is wrong as long as the main leads are considered. But he stumbles into the mistake, he has done for Devdas, for Rani’s and Salman’s characterisations. He has given irrelevant dialogues to Rani’s character and unappealing ones to Salman and consequently both characters seemed unimportant.

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This film can be appreciated only by people who can understand the fact that sensible women are sometimes insensible and that there are men who can whole-heartedly acknowledge them. So I am not sure if I can really recommend this film to everyone.