Rebirth and after - 'Om Shanti Om' is tribute to 70s cinema

New Delhi, Nov 6 (IANS) Farah Khan is ready to treat movie buffs this Diwali with her second directorial venture "Om Shanti Om" that releases Friday. She once again teams up with Shah Rukh Khan in the film that captures the Bollywood of the 70s and is being promoted as a potpourri of romance, music and intrigue.

The 70s was one of the most prolific and vibrant eras of the Hindi film industry. It was the time of angry young man Amitabh Bachchan, debonair Dev Anand, suave Feroz Khan, macho Vinod Khanna as well as sensitive lovers like Shashi Kapoor and teen icon Rishi Kapoor.

Apparently inspired by the Hollywood movie "Chances Are", "Om Shanti Om" deals with that old favourite theme - reincarnation.

Farah's film revolves around Om (Shah Rukh Khan), a struggling actor in 1977. He is a big fan of Shanti (Deepika Padukone), a superstar. Om gets to meet Shanti while doing titbit roles and he falls head over heels in love with her.

Om is so much in love with her that he is ready to give up all his dreams. And Shanti, who has been waiting for true love and wants to be a girl next door, is ready to give up everything she had.

But before the two can embark on a new journey, Om meets an unfortunate accident and dies.

For some love stories one life is not enough - Om is immediately reincarnated and the story fast forwards to present day.

Haunted by memories of his past life and his true love, Om attempts to solve the mystery of his death, and also reunite with Shanti, the love of his past life.

The supporting cast of the film includes Arjun Rampal and Shreyas Talpade.

The highlight of the film is of course Shah Rukh and his six-pack abs. Other salient features are newcomer Deepika and the music, especially the title song, which features 31 stars like Mithun Chakraborty, Dharmendra, Jeetendra and Rekha.

Also, Amitabh and Abhishek Bachchan are making guest appearances in the film, which has been made at a budget of about Rs.400 million.

While Farah's directorial debut "Main Hoon Na" -- which was again inspired by 70s films especially Manmohan Desai's blockbusters -- was a huge hit, Shah Rukh has given this year's biggest hit "Chak De! India".

Hopefully, both will live up to the pre-release hype.

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Om Shanti Om