Movie of the Week: OM SHANTI OM (Farah Khan, 2007)
Once Upon a Time in … Bollywood
Most of my closest friends have watched Om Shanti Om with me at least once. (If you’re a close friend of mine who hasn’t watched Om Shanti Om with me at least once, now you know the quickest and most permanent way into my heart.) Even though the movie is, at its core, a pastiche tailored specially for Hindi cinema’s most devoted fans, there’s just something about it that welcomes uninitiated viewers with ease. Maybe it’s the presence of the greatest living movie star at the peak of his powers, or the candy-colored maximalism of choreographer-turned-director Farah Khan’s musical numbers; or perhaps it’s something else still, namely the fact that it’s simply that good, that funny, that rewatchable. Om Prakash Makhija (Shah Rukh Khan) is a professional background actor in a 1977 Mumbai that, true to Om Shanti Om’s nature, resembles a giant film set. A fateful encounter with the woman of his dreams, starlet Shantipriya (Deepika Padukone in her screen debut), leads this struggling “junior artist” on a metaphysical journey that will transcend his own lifetime — but, crucially, not the lifetimes of those around him. (That’s all I’ll say about one of the most endearingly weird twists you’ll ever see.) If it’s not The King’s best performance — that’s a tie between Dil Se.. (1998) and Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi (2008) — it’s certainly his most performance, featuring all the trademarks that have made him a treasure to billions. In one glorious picture he combines his gifts as a comic, a tragedian, an action hero, and a romancer; although you could argue that SRK does that in most of his roles, I’d retort that he’s never chewed scenery quite like this. It doesn’t hurt that the movie itself is as multifaceted as its star. Bevy of stone-cold-classic songs? Check. A decades-spanning narrative so ludicrous it horseshoes into something like profundity? Check. A truly menacing villain in Mukesh (Arjun Rampal)? Check. Like the best masala joints, Om Shanti Om goes beyond tired notions of “seriousness” or “good taste.” It opts instead for something far more exciting: pure delight.
Streaming on Netflix; available for rent on Apple TV, Amazon Prime, and other major platforms.