Happy birthday, Farah Khan: Revisiting her iconic 'Om Shanti Om'
Choreographer-filmmaker Farah Khan Kunder is celebrating her 58th birthday on Monday! A jack of all trades, she has cemented a strong foothold in a male-dominated industry and has proved her mettle in two taxing fields: direction and dancing, both being two consequential pillars a movie stands on. It's only fitting that we revisit her iconic directorial Om Shanti Om (2007) on this special day.
'OSO' was embellished with all markings of blockbuster
It won't be a hyperbole to say that Khan Kunder has gifted Indian cinephiles a treasure to cherish forever in the form of Om Shanti Om. From dissecting parasocial relationships to class hierarchies to paying an ode to the sprawling richness of Indian cinema and weaving a tried and tested story of revenge and retribution, OSO's script is the stuff blockbusters are made of.
Dream launch for Deepika, delicious gray avatar for Arjun
OSO gave Deepika Padukone a dream launch, one that made her synonymous with the name Shantipriya. Her large, kohl-rimmed eyes and her crackling chemistry with Shah Rukh Khan took the film several notches higher, and it's particularly poignant since both of them had dual roles to do justice to. Shreyas Talpade, Kirron Kher, and Arjun Rampal's performances, too, made OSO what it is today.
'OSO' didn't go overboard with one specific genre
It might be difficult to straitjacket OSO to one broad genre. In some places, it has splashes of rib-tickling humor, in others, it elicits tears and summons profound emotions, while some sequences keep us hooked due to the meta references and the "reality" of showbiz. It's a revenge drama, a romantic musical, a love story, a coming-of-age tale—it's everything you want it to be.
What is your favorite song from the album?
Another aspect that sets all movies by Khan Kunder apart is their phenomenal music. Vishal-Sheykhar churned out high-recall value songs, such as the love-laced Ajab Si or the story-within-a-song Dastaan-E-Om Shanti Om. The party number Deewangee Deewangee, too, will be on several playlists for ages. It is said that a filmmaker with good musical taste contributes to the album and OSO testifies to that.
We can't get enough of those MANY cameos!
To think of Bollywood cameos and not mention OSO is a cardinal sin. It's a result of Khan Kunder and SRK's rapport with the industry that the who's who of Bollywood congregated together for this film, and their presence brings a smile each time one revisits the drama. Dharmendra, Akshay Kumar, Kajol, Juhi Chawla, Tabu, Shabana Azmi, among numerous others, furnished OSO phenomenally.
