Reincanation, Hindi cinema, love, betrayal are some of the themes Farah Khan's delightful and crazy comedy Om Shanti Om deals with. But frankly, it never really matters. This film is simply one of the most entertaining films made in recent times. A spoof of Hindi cinema of past and recent times, the film both pokes fun at it and celebrates its unique, inimitable style. As the story progresses the movie becomes even more alluring. It is at times a drama, at times a thriller, but generally it is just a musical comedy which is not to be taken seriously.

Technically the film is very impressive. Farah Khan's direction is very good. The film is extremely colourful, with great costumes and fantastic, glossy sets. The 1970s settings are particularly authentic and visibly well-invested. One more aspect which helps to recreate the magic and the atmosphere of the 1970s is the wonderful soundtrack. "Dhoom Taana" for instance seems to have been rightly taken from a film of those times.

The film contains numerous sequences which will have you floored. The Filmfare Award ceremony is one of the funniest sequences in the film. The red carpet scene with celebrities predicting the winners was very funny. The next scene which includes the ceremony and the Best Actor nominations clip was absolutely hilarious. I could not stop laughing as every nominee was unfolded, and Abhishek Bachchan and Akshay Kumar's reactions when they lost were awesome.

The following sequence was the after-party which was another memorable scene. The famous "Deewangee Deewangee" song which has some of the best-known actors in India dancing to its tunes, from Dharmendra, Mithun Chakraborty, Rekha and Shabana Azmi to Salman, Saif, Juhi, Urmila, Tabu, Kajol, Rani and Preity, was very exciting and a pleasure to watch. It was truly a moment of unity and celebration for Hindi cinema.

As far as acting goes, Om Shanti Om is a winner. Every actor understands the film's mood and acts accordingly. Shahrukh Khan is great as the Oms. He's simple as the first Om, cool as the second Om, and overall is as witty and funny as always. Deepika Padukone makes a confident debut. She is very beautiful and likable. Kirron Kher shines in another comic role as the loud mom. Shreyas Talpade delivers a noteworthy performance as Om's best friend and holds his own despite a smaller role. Arjun Rampal plays the typical villain with style.

Well, to sum it up, Om Shanti Om is an extremely enjoyable flick which should provide a great watch for the entire family. Like Farah Khan's previous offering with Shahrukh Khan, Main Hoon Na, this film has a genuine sense of fun. It is the quintessence of Bollywood's uniqueness which makes us realise why and how much we love this film industry. Remember not to expect anything serious or life-turning, and you will not be disappointed.

"Om Shanti Om" is an excellent film. However, it's also one that your enjoyment of it may depend on how familiar you are with Bollywood movies. If you haven't seen any or perhaps only one or two, it might be far less interesting for the intermediate and advanced fans of Indian cinema. As for me, I am definitely an intermediate and would actually loved to have had a big-time Indian movie fan watch it with me, as I only recognized some of the huge Indian movie stars that appeared in the film in the star-studded middle.

The film begins in the 1970s. Om (Shah Rukh Khan) is a struggling actor--a bit player. He's smitten with a leading lady but she seems way out of his reach. Later, however, there is a fire on set and he saves her life--and definitely gets her attention. But, fires seem to come in twos in this film and a bit later, her evil secret husband murders her--and Om is killed as well!

At this point, something VERY Indian occurs. Just as Om dies in the hospital, in an adjoining room, a baby is born--and the baby turns out to be the reincarnation of Om. The baby's name...Om!! This Om grows up to become a HUGE Indian mega-star and his life is good.

Following a portion of the film at an Indian movie award ceremony (by far the best part of the film--and hilarious as well), Om starts to have memories of his previous incarnation. He slowly comes to realize what happened to Om #1 and decides to concoct a complicated plan to trap the murderer by re-staging the murder that happened 30 years ago! However, the plan ends up going askew...just how, you'll have to see for yourself.

The film is a delight but a strange one. It's like there are three different movies all spliced together. The first and third portions are very serious and the musical numbers are wonderful. As for the second, it is completely different in tone. Om #2 is a mega-star-- and a hilariously self-absorbed one. And, to make it much funnier, lots of very famous Indian mega-stars appear as themselves...sort of. You just have to see this to know what I am talking about but it is something Indian film fans will love--as if they have a back stage pass to REALLY meet the stars as they supposedly really are! Wonderful--and by far the best part of the film.

Overall, despite having a few clichés (ones you EXPECT in Bollywood films---such as an ever-present fan to make the stars' hair blow in the wind), the film is one of the most enjoyable and fun Indian pictures you can find. Well worth seeing for fans of the genre.

By the way, after the picture ends, do NOT turn off the movie. In a really neat twist, not only the stars walk past the camera but just about EVERYONE involved with the film gets their moment on the runway--even the grips and choreographers!

Om Shanti Om and Saawariya premiered the same time as the offerings for the Deepavali holiday, and to see how Hollywood money had influenced a Hindi production, I opted for the latter first. In its opening weekend in the UK, Om Shanti Om had trounced Tom Cruise's Lions for Lambs, so OSO went straight to my must-watch list this week. Moreover, while I have watched movies starring Bollywood King Shah Rukh Khan, I have yet to see him in action on the big screen, so this provided the best opportunity to do so.

And he's not called The King for nothing. Here, his roles of Om Prakash Makhija the junior actor in the studio system, and Om Kapoor the superstar, allowed for plenty of room to put his acting chops to good use. For his stature, watching him play a lowly rated actor with big dreams was a hoot, especially when teaming with good friend Pappu (Shreyas Talpade) in sharing those dreams of stardom, and hamming it up for the camera. In a tale of two halves, the first is set in the 70s in a major movie studio where Om Makhija works, and Fate has it that he will become romantically tangled with the hottest starlet of the era, actress Shantipriya (Deepika Padukone in her debut, going head to head with Sonam Kapoor's debut too in Saawariya). But of course the star crossed lovers (aren't they always) are dished a cruel hand, and the movie lunges into the second half, which I should avoid specifics, suffice to say that Shah Rukh's new character Om Kapoor (nicknamed OK), is now a bastard of a superstar, full of arrogance and standing for everything that Om Makhija isn't.

Naturally there is a running theme connecting both portions together, along the lines of the circle of life, karma, retribution and reincarnation. Having two characters essentially allowed the audience a fun time in comparing and contrasting which Om one would prefer, offering a glimpse of what Om Makhija could possibly become if success went to his head. What I always liked about Bollywood, is its run time allowed for plenty of songs, dance (which of course are the enjoyable bits with the colourful sets and costumes all put to good use), and while certain plot development might be cliché, it does take its time to properly develop the characters, or the leads at least. Om Shanti Om is no different, though there were some overly melodramatic moments, sometimes tongue-in-cheekily offered courtesy by actress Kirron Kher as Bela Makhija, Om's junior actress mother.

The song and dance again take centerstage, and they were nicely composed for specific purposes in the narrative, one of many reasons why I admire Bollywood. Om Makhija's fantasy sequences with many beautiful costume changes during his scenes of courtship is memorable, but even audacious was Om Kapoor's superstar-like performance with entourage of scantily clad blondes (yes, you read that right) in Dard-E-Disco, where you'll get jealous watching Shah Rukh's well toned abs, and remind yourself to hit the gym more diligently.

But what made Om Shanti Om truly enjoyable and stand out, is its almost self-deprecating jokes that it cracks on the industry, the movie it makes and the studio system, but then, it's really a celebration of their cinema and how far they have come. For those well versed with Bollywood, there are tons of references and inside jokes that you can't help but to chuckle at, including very well known stars all being very sporty about their cameo roles (hats off to Abishek Bachchan, hahaha!). There were the obvious self-indulgent moments like the post- awards ceremony party, where you'll realize why the opening credits had a huge Thank You list to the Who's Who in Bollywood - having appearances by the stars in one 10 minute segment, is a real treat and a good introduction to rookies like me, who become interested in trying to figure out who they are, besides the recognizable few from movies I've watched before. Performing to Deewangi Deewangi, I thought the other scene that was equally fun, was the Filmfare Awards Ceremony, which was almost laugh-a-minute. Thinking about it while writing this still brings back the laughs!

As usual, you'd come to expect some moments of familiarity in the movie, and I don't deny that the storyline does seem deja-vu, but again what makes it a delight, is primarily Shah Rukh's magnetism. Director-writer Farah Khan managed to string together comedic moments and balance them with a tender love story that I thought was pretty sad, given its unconventional (but not unpredictable) treatment. Sometimes Bollywood movies are guilty of having set pieces which resemble Hollywood, just like Krrish had a set which looked straight out of John Woo's Paycheck, and here, adopting the special effects sequence for Confession of Pain is hard to deny. But what I thought was a full circle, was the finale song-dance sequence which had the proceedings mimicking screen life, just as how Moulin Rouge had theirs resemble the doomed love affair between Christian and Satine, which in itself had heavy Hindi influences during its own musical sequence.

Om Shanti Om has everything - romance, drama, mystery and the supernatural all rolled into one, and if I had just one word to describe it, it will be "Remarkable". Do yourself a favor, and watch it!