10-years of Om Shanti Om: Tracing its contribution to cinema
Om Shanti Om, the glossy Farah Khan film that tried to recreate Bollywood's most iconic period, completes 10 years today. Yes, it has been a decade since we first saw Deepika Padukone on the silver screen and let her charm our socks off. Here, we look at what makes the film stand out in the shimmery, starry galaxy that is the Indian cinema.
Om Shanti Om is a memorable film for several reasons but its most important contribution is to give the world Deepika Padukone. No matter how you remember her as Piku, Leela, Veronica, Mastani or Padmavati, Deepika has been lighting up the 70mm screen since her Dreamy Girl days, when she first waved at Shah Rukh Khan amid a swooning crowd in 2007.
The film, in essence, was a homage to the movies of the 1960s and 1970s, often fondly recalled as the golden days of Indian cinema. Farah Khan recreated the old-world nostalgia by generously using iconic scenes, elaborate sets, colorful costumes, overdramatic mannerisms, and soulful music. She presented to millennials a dazzling world, they had often heard about but had never seen.
Farah Khan gave the audience a visual feast by featuring 31 megastars of the film industry in the party song, "Deewangi Deewangi," with all of them dancing to their most iconic moves. The song was Farah Khan's way to pay tribute to "John Jani Janardhan," a popular song from the 1981 film Naseeb, that was the first to feature several celebrities.
When Bollywood's heartthrob drops his shirt, the nation notices. Though it was 2007 but Shah Rukh Khan hadn't done a Salman Khan yet in his career spanning decades. Until Dard-e-disco! Om Shanti Om had SRK showing off his chiseled abs for the first time and mouthing dialogues like "Picture toh abhi baaki hai mere dost" that have become iconic ever since.
It took Shah Rukh three months to get the body he flaunts in Dard-e-disco. Farah Khan had also approached Dev Anand and Aamir Khan to feature in the song "Deewangi Deewangi". But they both refused. Mukesh Mehra's role was initially offered to Vivek Oberoi. Arjun Rampal finally played it. The vintage cars shown in the film were those of Rajesh Khanna and Hema Malini.
