Om Shanti Om, HDDCS and Tsubasa
Nov. 19th, 2007 09:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
dangermousieI bought a book on the Kapoors, yay!
Also, here is my write-up on Om Shanti Om.
First off this, it's a pic of SRK with Gauri. Why is it here, what does it have to do with OSO? Nothing, I just like it.
It's hard to write a review of it in any sort of coherent fashion because this really isn't a movie with a story, inasmuch as it is a collection of long, excellent skits, tied together by loose narrative. Sort of like a Bollywood, and much better, and longer Saturday Night Live sketch.
I think that is, much as I loved OSO, I prefer Main Hoon Na because MHN, despite the tongue-in-cheek vibe, actually felt like a genuine movie-movie, and story as well, with characters who felt real, for whom I felt sadness or joy. In OSO, I really didn't think anoyone was a person, more a combination of traits: I was not emotionally invested in them for most part.
I really hope this doesn't read like a slam, because it's not supposed to be, in the least. This was an amazing, delirious movie, and I don't remember last time I laughed so hard. I am dying to see it again. It's just it's a very different type of movie, much further than Jaanemann or Salaam-e-Ishq or Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, or even Farah's own Main Hoon Na, in going into stylized, self-referential territory. The characters exist only to serve the madcap conceits of the author. OSO makes me think of Andaz Apna Apna. In its own way, it's just as stylized-artificial as SLB's Saawariya (btw, side note: if it wasn't Bollywood, no one would even making the two into competitors: whatever you think of them quality-wise, they have almost nothing in common, and offer utterly different things to the viewer).
I loved every single one of the jokes. I adore 70s cinema, though I haven't watched as many of the classics as I want to, so the first half was just incredible (also, I love 70s Rishi, so the number for Karz was an added bonus). The second half made me cry with laughter at the Filmfare scenes. I want to watch Return of Khiladi quite badly now. In fact, the whole second half of the movie was such a riff on SRK persona and every rumor about him (e.g. crazy woman claiming to be his mother, lateness on set, even the whole subplot with Arjun's character not wanting to reveal his married status as it would ruin things for him, while SRK went in the teeth of everyone's advice in not hiding his married status in RL etc etc), as much as it was a riff on the modern state of Bollywood. How amusing that it's the only real outsider playing yet another spoiled superstar son, and doubly amusing, that OSO opened opposite a movie trumpted as a debut of yet another two Kapoors. I loved the Deewangi, Deewangi song, and didn't think it went on too long. People in our theater were shouting like mad. Re: who appeared and was absent from it. I think that at least the nature of their Filmfare skits prevented any logical inclusion, even by OSO's loose standards, of Amitabh, Abhishek, Hrithik and Akshay, into the song.
I did think the movie dragged a bit when it got 'serious' but it recovered quite well. I liked that there never really was a true love story. Unrequited love, justice, etc. Last song, with all the Napoleonic era costumes, was awesome. Almost as awesome as the red carpet walk. But none of it was as good as the whole bit about 'deaf mute blind handless armless' character (was it a rip on Black?) and the OTT Dard-e-Disco song. How can you have a song with a cripple? Simple, fantasy sequence. Heh. Such a parody of over the top, muscle bound recent stars. I was laughing so hard during that scene. But swooning between giggles, I confess. Indeed. He looked good enough to eat.
SRK really made this movie. He was almost in every frame, mocking himself, having a ball in general. Every bit of feeling I did have was because of him. Because I couldn't help but get drawn in by his shy adoration of Shanti, when he was Om 1, and over-acting, talentless ham or not, I really did feel for the sweet Om 1. I loved Om 2, but in a different way, and I agree that the scene where he got nasty with Arjun over lunch was priceless.
Basically, I loved this to bits and want to watch it again NOW. I slightly prefer first half to second but both were awesome. My friend and I went home afterwards and watched Bobby. It was somehow fitting
ETA: Re taking newbies. I don't think you need to be a Bollynut to get it. One of my fave skits was the one with the fake Tamil movie, and I didn't even know it was a Rajnikanth parody until I read Bollywhat.
And because Saawariya is making me think of the awesomeness of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, here is one of my favorite romantic songs ever, Salman and Aish making love with their eyes, in front of the family. With subs.
Oh, and
Flirting in front of grandma.
Tadap Tadap. Kills me.
In more OSO news, here is one of my fave songs from the movie, the climactic Dastaan-e-Om, where he reenacts the crime:
In other news, reading the awesome Tsubasa manga makes me want to dig out the anime again. It has one of my fave OTPs, adventure, angst and comedy. Syaoran and Sakura have been friends since childhood and have since fallen in love, even though she is a Princess and he is a commoner. However, right before declaring her feelings, Sakura accidentally activates an artifact which scatters her soul in a myriad of different feathers throughout the dimensions. She will die without her soul. Syaoran must journey with her throughout the worlds to gather them all back. Now she has no memories, no feelings, no self. In fact, with no feathers at all, she is inanimate. The more feathers they find, the more like herself she becomes. However, as a price in order to acquire the ability to travel in such a way (he ends up travelling with an interdimentional being, as well as a warrior Kurogane and a magician Fai), he has to give up the thing most important to him: Sakura's feelings for him. Now, even if she regains all of her memory and her soul, she will not know him or remember him. At all. I always want to cry when she wakes up (finally, because he recovered some of the feathers, through great hardship) and she is all 'who are you' and he manages to be so even and kind and smiling and explains. And then goes outside, as soon as he cans, and just stands, utterly still, in the pouring rain, because that way no one can see if he is crying.
A vid:
Vid with theme music:
Shippy:
I tried watching Macbeth in Shakespeare Retold series but gave up because I couldn't understand more than one word in three.
Also, here is my write-up on Om Shanti Om.
First off this, it's a pic of SRK with Gauri. Why is it here, what does it have to do with OSO? Nothing, I just like it.
It's hard to write a review of it in any sort of coherent fashion because this really isn't a movie with a story, inasmuch as it is a collection of long, excellent skits, tied together by loose narrative. Sort of like a Bollywood, and much better, and longer Saturday Night Live sketch.
I think that is, much as I loved OSO, I prefer Main Hoon Na because MHN, despite the tongue-in-cheek vibe, actually felt like a genuine movie-movie, and story as well, with characters who felt real, for whom I felt sadness or joy. In OSO, I really didn't think anoyone was a person, more a combination of traits: I was not emotionally invested in them for most part.
I really hope this doesn't read like a slam, because it's not supposed to be, in the least. This was an amazing, delirious movie, and I don't remember last time I laughed so hard. I am dying to see it again. It's just it's a very different type of movie, much further than Jaanemann or Salaam-e-Ishq or Jhoom Barabar Jhoom, or even Farah's own Main Hoon Na, in going into stylized, self-referential territory. The characters exist only to serve the madcap conceits of the author. OSO makes me think of Andaz Apna Apna. In its own way, it's just as stylized-artificial as SLB's Saawariya (btw, side note: if it wasn't Bollywood, no one would even making the two into competitors: whatever you think of them quality-wise, they have almost nothing in common, and offer utterly different things to the viewer).
I loved every single one of the jokes. I adore 70s cinema, though I haven't watched as many of the classics as I want to, so the first half was just incredible (also, I love 70s Rishi, so the number for Karz was an added bonus). The second half made me cry with laughter at the Filmfare scenes. I want to watch Return of Khiladi quite badly now. In fact, the whole second half of the movie was such a riff on SRK persona and every rumor about him (e.g. crazy woman claiming to be his mother, lateness on set, even the whole subplot with Arjun's character not wanting to reveal his married status as it would ruin things for him, while SRK went in the teeth of everyone's advice in not hiding his married status in RL etc etc), as much as it was a riff on the modern state of Bollywood. How amusing that it's the only real outsider playing yet another spoiled superstar son, and doubly amusing, that OSO opened opposite a movie trumpted as a debut of yet another two Kapoors. I loved the Deewangi, Deewangi song, and didn't think it went on too long. People in our theater were shouting like mad. Re: who appeared and was absent from it. I think that at least the nature of their Filmfare skits prevented any logical inclusion, even by OSO's loose standards, of Amitabh, Abhishek, Hrithik and Akshay, into the song.
I did think the movie dragged a bit when it got 'serious' but it recovered quite well. I liked that there never really was a true love story. Unrequited love, justice, etc. Last song, with all the Napoleonic era costumes, was awesome. Almost as awesome as the red carpet walk. But none of it was as good as the whole bit about 'deaf mute blind handless armless' character (was it a rip on Black?) and the OTT Dard-e-Disco song. How can you have a song with a cripple? Simple, fantasy sequence. Heh. Such a parody of over the top, muscle bound recent stars. I was laughing so hard during that scene. But swooning between giggles, I confess. Indeed. He looked good enough to eat.
SRK really made this movie. He was almost in every frame, mocking himself, having a ball in general. Every bit of feeling I did have was because of him. Because I couldn't help but get drawn in by his shy adoration of Shanti, when he was Om 1, and over-acting, talentless ham or not, I really did feel for the sweet Om 1. I loved Om 2, but in a different way, and I agree that the scene where he got nasty with Arjun over lunch was priceless.
Basically, I loved this to bits and want to watch it again NOW. I slightly prefer first half to second but both were awesome. My friend and I went home afterwards and watched Bobby. It was somehow fitting
ETA: Re taking newbies. I don't think you need to be a Bollynut to get it. One of my fave skits was the one with the fake Tamil movie, and I didn't even know it was a Rajnikanth parody until I read Bollywhat.
And because Saawariya is making me think of the awesomeness of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, here is one of my favorite romantic songs ever, Salman and Aish making love with their eyes, in front of the family. With subs.
Oh, and
Flirting in front of grandma.
Tadap Tadap. Kills me.
In more OSO news, here is one of my fave songs from the movie, the climactic Dastaan-e-Om, where he reenacts the crime:
In other news, reading the awesome Tsubasa manga makes me want to dig out the anime again. It has one of my fave OTPs, adventure, angst and comedy. Syaoran and Sakura have been friends since childhood and have since fallen in love, even though she is a Princess and he is a commoner. However, right before declaring her feelings, Sakura accidentally activates an artifact which scatters her soul in a myriad of different feathers throughout the dimensions. She will die without her soul. Syaoran must journey with her throughout the worlds to gather them all back. Now she has no memories, no feelings, no self. In fact, with no feathers at all, she is inanimate. The more feathers they find, the more like herself she becomes. However, as a price in order to acquire the ability to travel in such a way (he ends up travelling with an interdimentional being, as well as a warrior Kurogane and a magician Fai), he has to give up the thing most important to him: Sakura's feelings for him. Now, even if she regains all of her memory and her soul, she will not know him or remember him. At all. I always want to cry when she wakes up (finally, because he recovered some of the feathers, through great hardship) and she is all 'who are you' and he manages to be so even and kind and smiling and explains. And then goes outside, as soon as he cans, and just stands, utterly still, in the pouring rain, because that way no one can see if he is crying.
A vid:
Vid with theme music:
Shippy:
I tried watching Macbeth in Shakespeare Retold series but gave up because I couldn't understand more than one word in three.
