Revolution Evolution

USP of OSO

1. Deepika Padukone

2. The soundtrack - both background and score. Each interlude has theory behind it. While listening to "Daastaan-E-Om Shaanti Om" (OSO's answer to "Ek Haseena Thi, Ek Deewana Tha") at the end of the film, as it leads up to a Karz-esque climax, what blew me away was the usage of the "Veeraani si veeraani hai" line from 'Jag Soona Soona Laage', in an operatic crescendo. Intricate instrumentalization of choruses and verses throughout this song, truly create a "theme".

3. Deepika Padukone

4. The inside jokes - subtle and well-timed. The Best Actor Award nominees and the Sooraj Barjatya sequence was epic! Even the quick ones like "Govinda" changing his name.

5. Being spoof-ish in nature, Shah Rukh actually gets to ham for good reason :-) Jokes apart, the man's legendary. Reinventing oneself, building killer abs while pushing 40 and carrying off this kind of a performance requires the kind of undying talent and hardcore dedication that only SRK is capable of.

6. Deepika Padukone

7. The opening sequence of Subhash Ghai/Rishi Kapoor and the ending credits in typical Farah Khan style.

8. The picturization of "Dhoom Tana" and "Deewangi"

9. Deepika Padukone

10. My favorite: The Rajnikant sequence. Rascala, mind it!

11. A solid support cast - in order, Shreyas Talpade, Kiran Kher and Arjun Rampal.

12. Did I mention Deepika Padukone? God, she has got to be the most refreshing face ever. At the risk of sounding mystic-philosophical like Gulzar, she's like a visualization of the taste of chilled water after years of desert heat. Wow! The girl can act, can dance and can emote!

For those who haven't yet seen OSO, don't go expecting a movie to move mountains. Its a tongue-in-cheek, parody of Bollywood's trademarks, and at the same time, a tribute to the golden age of the industry - the roaring seventies - what one could clearly identify as Bollywood's Renaissance movement. Therefore, it has a smidgen of several films.

Does it seem a little mish-mashed? Yes. Did it seem like Farah had too much to convey in 2.5 hours? Hell yes!

Quite like Main Hoon Na, it does seem that Farah wants to take no chances to miss out any of the standard hit elements that film-making has defined over the years. She's like that careful and meticulous witchdoctor who adds a bit of everything to the dose, hoping that one of them will work as a remedy. She isn't a quack. She doesn't have a formula, she has twenty. And she doesn't know which one will work. Will it be the mad comedy, the buffet of stars, the reincarnation story, the Austin-Powers-type-parody-angle, the love story, the Bollywood cliches, the SRK, the SRK abs? Therefore, she plugs them all in, and edits them crisply with finesse, and color, costumes and a crew to die for. The result? Om Shaanti Om.

When she saw the rushes, I bet Farah had no doubt that she had a money-spinning blockbuster here. But, instead of playing safe like she did with MHN and OSO, it would be nice to see Farah take a specific genre and create excellence within it.

Verdict? OSO's a fun ride. Get in line.