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Review of “Om Shanti Om”! November 29, 2007

Posted by johnakm in movie.
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This is one of those films where I’m certain I’ve seen better ……. but even if the director can’t save the film, its still probably worth a watch , on DVD, for Deepika Padukone and SRK.

The film starts off in the by taking us through the life of an average actor/extra Om Prakash(played by SRK) who is trying to make it in Bollywood in the 1970s. In doing so, there are many references/spoofs to/of actors/actresses/directors in the film industry at the time…… and since I was born in the eighties, I didn’t get some of them . It also makes obvious to us, of Om’s(SRK’s) dream of someday playing an important role opposite Bollywood’s leading lady Shanti (played by Deepika Padukone) …. probably both on screen and off . His heart is shattered when he finds out that she is romantically involved with one of the big directors at the time, Mukesh “Mike” Mehra (played by Arjun Rampal). A spoof of the quintessential south indian superstar(“quick gun murugan”, who showed up on MTV or was it channel V) during the first half is probably one of the high points of the film. So during the first half of the film , it appears as though this is one of those films about an average guy falling in love with the rich girl. But brace yourself for some twists and turns midway. The second half takes us to the present day and age of movie making in bollywood.

I thought the first half was entertaining , but the second half wasn’t nearly as good and lacked focus. For those who are planning to watch the film and don’t want any spoilers, you’d better stop here….if you don’t mind spoilers , you can read on !

SPOILER ALERT !

So during the first half of the film , it appears as though this is one of those films about an average guy falling in love with the rich girl…… but those thoughts got blown away when Om and Shanti get killed right before the film breaks for its intermission/interval.  Shanti gets killed when Mukesh “Mike” Mehra sets a whole film studio / set ablaze . Om Prakash gets killed by Mukesh “Mike” Mehra’s thugs while he attempts to save Shanti from her imminent death. In the second half , the film moves to the present day and age, and SRK(who was killed before the intermission) reappears as Om Kapoor, son of yesteryear’s superstar Rajesh Kapoor (and as you can imagine is incredibly rich). Deepika Padukone reappears as Sandhya , the star of Om Kapoor’s film. Om Prakash’s and Shanti’s souls seem to use Om Kapoor to help Shanti avenge her murder and this is what the second half of the film is about .

SPOILER ALERT !

Some obvious inspirations from other films :-

The sequence where Mukesh “Mike” Mehra kills Shanti , especially the slow motion shot of the flames spreading all over the set while he made his escape , reminded me of how Keyser Soze/ Roger “Verbal” Kint (played by Kevin Spacey …giving his performance of a lifetime) set a ship ablaze with his cigarette lighter , killing all his enemies, while he made his escape.

The manner in which Shanti seemed to use Om Kapoor to avenge her death reminded me of how Samara’s soul used Naomi Watts to avenge her murder in “The Ring”.

There is a song sequence in the film in which Shah Rukh Khan appears on a swing in a manner very similar to how Nicole Kidman (as Satine) made her opening appearance on a swing in the Moulin Rouge (in the film of the same name).

END OF SPOILERS !
Overall, the film didn’t live up to my expectations and I would probably recommend this as one of those films to watch on DVD.

“Whats the most you lost in a coin toss ?” November 21, 2007

Posted by johnakm in movie.
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You might appreciate the title once you’ve watched the film “No Country for Old Men”, for which I’d like to share my review.  I joined my grad school friends, this past weekend, to watch the movie called “No Country for Old Men” by the Academy Award winning Coen brothers (“Fargo”, “Oh brother where art thou”).

 The story is set in Texas (near the US- Mexico border) , during 1980 (be warned …..strong southern accent throughout the film ….not that there’s anything wrong with it). A hunter , Llewyn Moss (played by Josh Brolin), in Texas chances upon a drug deal which went wrong and everyone at the scene is dead except for one badly injured Mexican , whose dying wish, it appears, was for a drink of water. At the scene is a stash of drugs and a large sum of cash. After returning home to his lady, Carla Jean (played by Kelly Macdonald), he could not seem to get a wink of sleep and so  he made the decision to return to the scene with the water which the dying Mexican had requested. This, it appears , was a life changing decision .

Javier Bardem plays the ultimate bada$$ in this film. The way the character of Anton(Javier Bardem) was introduced gives you a very clear idea about how crazy this guy is and exactly what he is capable of. Once the audience knows this , its easy for the Coen brothers to build oodles of fear and suspense throughout the film (especially at times not knowing what this lunatic is going to do when he’s mad). I was blown away between a scene between him and a shopkeeper, which is probably one of the best scenes in this film.

Tommy Lee Jones, who plays the Sheriff, and his newbie deputy provide some comic relief to this violent , gruesome, blood filled , roller coaster of a ride.

This film , though not for the faint hearted, is definitely worth a watch, especially for Javier Bardem. I’d give it 8 out of 10. 

Here is the trailer, if you’d like to sneak a peak :-