Spicy Chicken Masala. Review on Om Shanti Om

“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 ‘murghi’.

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 is 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 a Strictly Vegetarian (very artistic viewers and logic seekers) and people who prefer subtle flavors over masalas (like Aamir Khan fanatics) can whole-hardheartedly 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 dreamed 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!!!!’ *