Reactions to Om Shanti Om

Thank you to everyone who replied to my post. Again, I apologize for all the technical difficulties I had which made my post late. Apparently, PowerPoint 2011 doesn't let you create videos of presentations, BUT PP 2010 DOES. It took me about 2 days to figure this out, and another day to recreate the presentation using my roommates computer (luckily he was using the older version of PowerPoint).

I'm glad that people responded to my question about reincarnation in Om Shanti Om. Shelby, I thought your comment was really insightful. The fact that Shanti is pregnant when Mukesh kills her definitely makes the scene more significant. Motherhood does often signal the "death" of a female actors career, making the implications of her scene where she confronts Mukesh all the more symbolic. I enjoyed your discussion of the relationship between actors and age. It's true that female actors are much less likely to win prestigious awards after the age or 40 (unless your name is Meryl Streep), while male actors are much more likely to win awards after the age of 40. Leonardo DiCaprio case and point!
Nathan, I also appreciated your contribution. You're absolutely right that the directors were very calculated in their decision to reincarnate Om and not to reincarnate Shanti. This decision sets up the encounter at the end where Shanti's spirit is able to enact her revenge on Mukesh. I wonder if there are some metaphysical implications here. Perhaps Shanti's spirit is symbolic of India as "motherland," and in abusing the mother (Shanti), Mukesh (western decadence and betrayal) reaps his just punishment. That might be reading into it a bit too much, but still it's interesting to ponder!

Again, I really enjoyed getting the chance to watch Om Shanti Om and to discuss it with the class. I'll be finishing my critical reading of the film in the next few days.

P.S. I just watched Kahaani today with my girlfriend, and we both thought it was great! Really different from anything else we've watched this year. Ciao!

Om Shanti Om Presentation

Om Shanti Om: Intertextuality and the Figuration of the Actor

            Om Shanti Om, choreographed, co-written and directed by Farah Khan, is an multigenerational romantic drama and thriller. The story focuses on two star-crossed lovers; Om Prakash Makhija, a junior artiste in the Bollywood film industry, and Shanti Priya, a film star. Shanti’s wicked lover, the producer Mukesh Mehra, arranges her murder in order to hide their relationship from the public and to preserve his budding career. While trying to save Shanti, Om is blown up and hit by a car, and subsequently reincarnated as Om Kapoor (OK), the son of movie star Rajesh Kapoor, and a heartthrob in his own right. After a series of flashbacks and visions, OK remembers his previous life as Om, and plots his revenge against Mukesh. He decides to recreate “Om Shanti Om,” Shanti’s fateful last film, and scare Mukesh into believing that Shanti’s ghost haunts him. OK casts Sandy, a modern day Shanti look-a-like, to play Shanti, and initiates a series of stunts that push Mukesh to the brink of his sanity. Mukesh eventually uncovers OK’s plot, but right as Mukesh is about to kill OK, Shanti’s spirit comes to OK’s rescue and enacts her revenge against Mukesh. The film was the highest grossing Hindi film in history at the time of its release, and received favorable reviews from both audiences and critics.

            Om Shanti Om is a film that parodies, comments on, and alludes to Hindi and Western films, forming a meta-narrative that interacts with films and actors as texts to be interpreted in comparison with one another. According to Shastri, “Intertextuality in OSO consists of references to previous films through such tropes as names (of movies, of actors) as well as plots—of movies such as Karz (1980), for example. The first impression left on the viewer by such interaction is the thrill of recognition because no other Bollywood movie until now has borrowed so diversely or eclectically or with utter disdain of ontological borders.” (Shastri, 2011) The film contains numerous references to Hindi and Western films, actors, and cinema tropes.

            In Om Shanti Om, the male star, Shah Rukh Khan, also called “King Khan” or the “King of Bollywood,” serves both as an object of obsession and as an obsessive fan boy. Khan’s newest film, “Fan,” just set box office records in Pakistan, and is about a man who develops a dangerous obsession with a movie star who looks just like him. Khan’s star power bleeds into the narrative of Om Shanti Om as well. Many of the shots in the film are centered shots on Shah Rukh Khan; he dominates the screen both literally and figuratively, assuming a larger than life image. When Om Prakash gains starring role in his own film, Omswami, the extras on the set flock around him and praise his over-the-top acting, chanting, “Wow what acting, wow what acting, wow what acting.” This hero worship is taken to another level after Om dies and is reincarnated as OK. OK, the spoilt movie star has his every whim catered to, and is constantly surrounded by beautiful women and screaming fans. In the song, “Pain of Disco,” Khan parodies the fetishized figuration of the male body; OK goes through an increasingly ridiculous series of poses shirtless, then wet and shirtless, then wet and shirtless and being doused with a bucket of water.

            Fantasy and idolization also plays an important role for the main female actor in Om Shanti Om. Om Prakash fantasizes over the billboard of the film star, Shanti Priya, played by Deepika Padukone, with whom he engages in one-sided conversations. Om’s idolization of Shanti parodies Hindi cinema’s obsession with female stars, and the manner in which film actresses are objectified and scrutinized in the media and by the public. According to Shastri, “The name “Shanti Priya,” for instance, is a throwback to Bollywood actress Hema Malini, whose rise to stardom in the 1970s was no less phenomenal than her occupying prima donna status in Hindi cinema for decades to come.” (Shastri, 2011) Shanti Priya, the “Dreamy Girl,” is the ultimate symbol of female stardom, and the object of the male gaze.

            In the scene where Om attends the movie premier of “Dream Girl” with Pappu, Om gets caught on Shanti’s shawl, and is figuratively pulled along by her down the red carpet. This action speaks to not only the connection between Om and Shanti, but is also a parody of classical romantic tropes in cinema. Later, during the screening “Dream Girl,” Farah Khan uses a bit of cinematic magic to impose Deepika Padukone onto the image of Hema Malini. This use of video effects allows the audience to draw connections between the character of Shanti and Malini’s Dream Girl, and also establishes a link between fantasy and film history. Om fantasizes about being the hero in the film. By inserting Om into that alternate reality, Khan draws a distinction between actors playing a part in a film and actors engaging in masquerade.

            Throughout the film, male and female stars – from Shanti to the reincarnation of Om, OK – are depicted as spoilt and demanding. Shanti Priya refuses to act until her producer and lover Mukesh shows up on set, while OK is shown to repeatedly abuse his staff and argue with directors and producers. Even Om showed flashes of his inner diva after the opening scene, when one of the production assistants on the set of Karz says to him, “Is your dad some ‘Raj Kapoor’ who will stop our shoot?” Regardless of sex the claim is made that movie actors are susceptible to the allure of stardom and the power and attention associated with media fame.

            Om Shanti Om also contains numerous references to both Hindi and Western films. The film begins with a flashback to the late 1970s, an age of disco, sex, glitter and disco. The opening shots depict a film studio during the filming a movie, Karz. According to Shastri, “The title of OSO comes from a famous song featured in the Bollywood movie Karz. The plot of OSO, based on reincarnation, also comes from the movie Karz. To leave the audience in no doubt over its link with Karz, OSO begins with a car entering RC Studios, and we see a poster for Karz on one side. This is followed by the supposed shooting of the song “Om Shanti Om” featured in Karz. Watching this from among a crowd of cheering spectators inside the studio is junior artiste Omi.” (Shastri, 2011) This early allusion establishes a pattern that audiences can easily recognize, and keys viewers into the themes of parody and intertextuality early on in the film.

            

            In one scene, Om and Shanti are shooting a film that involves a sequence where Shanti has to run through a field of burning haystacks. This scene is almost identical to a scene in Mother India, where Nargis runs through a field of burning haystacks searching for her son, Birju. Shanti runs into the field only to be trapped by the raging inferno that has been allowed to grow up around her. Om Shanti Om parodies this scene by showing the hero of the film refuse to jump in and save her, and then having Om step into the shoes of Sunil Dutt, the actor who actually saved Nargis during the scene when the fires grew out of control during the filming of Mother India. This allusion to both Mother India and to one of the most infamous moments in film history demonstrates the willingness of Om Shanti Om to engage with film narratives on a macro level.

            To thank Om for saving her life, Shanti agrees to accompany him on a date. What follows is a whirlwind of behind-the-scenes parodies and allusions to Western romance films. Om and Shanti dance through an empty studio set, pretend to drive stationary cars while sets whisk by in the background, and ice skate under a blanket of fake snow. They even become dancers in the snow globe that Shanti gives to Om at the start of their date as a thank you present. This meta-awareness of film techniques and tropes creates a cinematic duality, because their romance is the stuff of movies, and they act out their romance on a movie set. To top it all off, Om and Shanti very neatly reenact a similar dance scene to one in the film, Singing in the Rain. The allusion to this fantasy scene speaks not only to the influence of Western films on Hindi cinema, but also the universal power of the fantasy narratives.

            The most blatant example of parody and self-awareness in Om Shanti Om occurs during the Filmfare awards show and after party. To begin, OK is nominated for the best actor award, but the two films that he is nominated for are almost identical. Meanwhile, the other actors nominated for the best actor award are depicted as attractive meatheads who play perfectly into the role of vapid movie stars. During the trailer of one of the films, one of the male actors shoots a pistol using his crotch, further supporting the theme of fetishization of the male actor. After OK is crowned the winner, what happens next has to be one of the longest series of cameo appearances and displays of star power that I have ever seen in a film. Movie stars – both male and female – from different eras in Hindi film enter the awards show after party and strut their stuff on the dance floor. According to several sources there are 42 cameos from famous Indian actors throughout the course of Om Shanti Om, but it’s hard to say for certain considering how many stars appear during the awards ceremony. And of course, what over-sexed scene is complete without a shout out to the bar dancing and strip scene from Coyote Ugly, Hindi style.

            The theme of reincarnation deserves some attention, as it plays a critical role in the film. The fire that engulfs Om and Shanti not only takes Shanti’s life, but it becomes the vehicle for Om’s rebirth as OK. In the narrative of the film, fire both gives life and takes it away. Like the phoenix, OK is born from the ashes of Om, and lives with visions of Om’s life, including his death.

            Oddly enough, reincarnation is only an issue for Om, and not for Shanti. Unlike Om, who is reincarnated as OK, Shanti is not reincarnated, but remains behind to haunt the studio set where she was murdered. Sandy, who OK casts to play Shanti in his revenge saga against Mukesh, is not the reincarnation of Shanti, but merely a look-a-like. I have to pose the question of whether or not this is a critique of the Hindi film industry’s one-sided favoritism of male stars? Unlike female actors, who normally age out of movie roles – particularly starring roles – male actors enjoy much longer careers as film leads. The male actors ability to “reincarnate” over the years elevates the male star to status of relative superiority in relation to female co-stars. This preference towards male actors has been well documented in scholarly literature, and is evident in the narrative of Om Shanti Om as well.

 

            Om Shanti Om is one of my favorite movies that we’ve watched this semester, and I’ve really enjoyed having the opportunity to conduct a close reading of the film. The intertextual elements, figurations of male and female stars, and allusions to Hindi and Western films make it a multi-layered film that casts a wide net in its critique of the movie industry and film actors. 

Monsoon Wedding and the Language of Globalization

Monsoon Wedding is a film that heralds India’s arrival on the global stage. Technology, new consumer goods, and The film uses a wide array of camera angles and shots taken on a Super 16 camera that give it a “home movie” feel and roots the audience in the realistic melodrama of the narrative. Throughout the film, language plays a key role in cluing in the audience to influence of globalization on modern India. Characters throughout the film use English frequently for both business and pleasure, and switch between the two languages frequently and with ease. For example, Hemant’s father uses the word “rockyolies” to describe ice cubes when he requests a scotch on the rocks. In earlier films, English would be used only for casual expressions or by the social elite; now, English is seen to enter into everyday conversation, and English slang is shown to be much more popular and pervasive.

Also, many of Lalit’s family come from across the world to attend to wedding, from Oman to the U.S. and Australia. The array of accents, like Rahul’s Australian accent, speaks to India’s increasingly global demographics.

The film features multiple scenes where the medium of language is important to establishing the mis en scene. For example, we are first introduced to Dubeyji as he is talking on his cellphone with Lalit about the wedding. Dubeyji lies about being in traffic when speaking with Lalit, which cues in the audience to his character; he is a hustler, someone always on the lookout for an opportunity. Later, we are introduced to Varun as he is watching a Hindi cooking show. The host of the program is teaching the audience how to cook coconut curry, a traditional Indian dish. This program speaks to global reach of Hindi media and culture, and also to Varun’s passive, effeminate nature.

Language intersects the issue of censorship frequently throughout the film. The talk show anchored by Aditi’s former lover, Vikram, broadcasts an episode about India’s censorship laws and their place in a modern India. Some guest argue that the censorship laws are outdated, while others argue they preserve the nation’s “Indianness.” Nair often snubs the censorship laws through verbal and non-verbal language; for example, the kiss shared between Vikram and Aditi, and, later, Aditi and Hemant, blantantly flies in the face of India’s censorship law against showing kissing on screen. Similarly, for the first time ever we are introduced to a Hindi film that features frequent, mature language. The use of the “f” word demonstrates that India’s are much more laissez faire about “Western” culture and its influence on Indian culture.

Sometimes, the language in Monsoon Wedding that speaks the loudest is the language of the things that are unsaid; the silence between the moments. The scene where Dubey arrives at Lalit’s house to confess his love to Alice is one of the most poignant and tender moments of the film. Alice encounters him sitting in a circle of candles and holding a heart made of marigolds, and the two share a silent moment with each other that encompasses their entire relationship. Their love is simple, pure, and requires no words to explain it; in this case, the film frame says a thousand words. Unlike Aditi and Hemant’s wedding ceremony, theirs is quiet, serene, and it is this contrast of traditional and modern expression that speaks to the complicated role that language plays in a modern, global India.

Satya and Masculinity

Set in the chawls and gritty streets of Mumbai, Satya is a film-noir style gangster narrative that interrogates dominant representations of masculinity in Hindi cinema. In Satya, men are depicted as violent, cruel, and self-serving, but also devoted to conventional and nonconventional forms of family life. The manner in which the characters of Satya, Bhiku, and Uncle Kallu interact with one another negotiate conceived notions of masculinity in Hindi cinema culture. Additionally, the characters spatial relationships with the backdrop of Mumbai influence the manner in which the audience perceives the characters as representations of typical masculinity.

Satya establishes the association between masculinity, men, and violence early in the film. The opening shots of the film include explosions and gunshots set against a backdrop of police raids on gang activity in Mumbai; the audience sees the city as a war zone where territory is fought over and won at the end of a barrel of a gun. When we are introduced to Satya he appears as an every man. Satya is an orphan, and therefore can easily be interpreted as a representation of the lower, disenfranchised classes of Indian male youth. Satya quickly resorts to violence when he feels insulted or mistreated, going so far as to slash the face of gang member underneath Jagga, a local crime boss in the employ of gang don Guru Narayan. Jagga’s men beat up Satya in revenge for the attack, which begins a cycle of violence that spirals ever downward throughout the film. This cyclical pattern of violence leads the audience to believe that masculinity and violence are intrinsically hardwired into the male psyche, and the bond of the gang member and violence is even stronger considering the dangers of their profession and their proximity to criminal activity. Yet Satya also resist the pattern of violence. The theme of escape recurs in the film as Satya’s relationship with the playback singer, Vidya, grows stronger and more romantic. At one point, Satya awakens from a nightmare in which is relives all of the violent encounters he has been engaged in since coming to Mumbai. Satya’s sudden release from sleep can be interpreted as his desire to escape the system of violence and crime in which he has become embroiled. However, the masculine tropes of status prove too strong, and Satya only ends up becoming more deeply involved in the criminal activities of the Mhatre gang throughout the film.

Cinema has long been fascinated with documenting gang members amidst the trappings of their ill gotten wealth. Indeed, gangsters in Hollywood are often depicted as driving nice cars, throwing about large sums of cash, and establishing their dominance through grandiose public displays of power and status. In many regards, Satya depicts gang life in Mumbai in similar ways, thereby positioning the gang members as typical masculine examples of violent thugs. For example, when the gang member Chander first meets Satya he shows off his gun and pager in an obvious display of his status with Mhatre gang. This display of status connotes masculinity with objective wealth and power, and serves to reinforce the notion that masculinity is tied to demonstrating territoriality and strength. When Bhiku later gives Satya his own gun, the connotation is that Satya is now a fully-fledged member of the gang, and is therefore an equal in the eyes of his peers and of Bhiku. The gun becomes an equalizing symbol of power in the film, implying that those with power (guns) are in control of their own destiny, a traditionally masculine theme.

In Satya, the chawls of Mumbai provide the backdrop for the criminal dealings of Satya and the rest of the Mhatre gang. “The street is usually the primary site of narrative action in gangster films because it symbolizes freedom from home and it enables constant movement and liberation from the claustrophobia of restricted and controlled urban space. The street evokes a sense of power when gangs control it. The control of space is also an expression of masculinity, as gangsters fluidly traverse treacherous parts of the city — often, gambling and leisure joints — both at night and during the day.” (Mazumdar, 2007) Yet, the film also interrogates the traditionally male space by blurring the lines between the streets and the home, a traditionally family space. For example, Vidya and Satya are often pictured walking the streets of Mumbai together as a romantic couple. In these scenes, we see Satya not as a gangster, but as a normal citizen, a promising family man who seeks to distance himself from his criminal lifestyle. Similarly, the family space often becomes embroiled with masculine spaces throughout the film. Bhiku is often depicted taking phone calls where he discusses illegal activities in his family home, blurring the line between masculine and family space.

Brotherhood and brotherly love are tropes of masculine culture that play key roles in Satya. Bhiku and Satya’s relationship begins at the start of film as one of mutual respect, but by the end of the film blossoms into brotherly love; in the end, Satya dies for Bhiku by putting his life on the line to avenge Bhiku’s death at the hands of Bhau Thakurdas Jwahle. The gangster den run by the Mhatre gang is depicted as a place where the gang members drink, smoke, and dance raucously throughout the night, as well a place where they conduct their criminal enterprises.  Yet the film complicates this masculine, testosterone filled space through the presence of Uncle Kallu, a key member of the key. “As the wise and humane father figure in the gang, Kallu Mama (played by Saurabh Shukla), evokes the bonds of family life. In a spectacular rendering of this community, the song “Kallu Mama” projects the idea of a different kind of family through an overwhelmingly male space.” (Mazumdar, 2007) This conflation of family space with masculinity interrogates traditional notions of masculinity by transposing Uncle Kallu into the role of the gang’s matriarch. Indeed, Kallu even serves the role of the avenging mother figure when he kills the treacherous lawyer, Chandrakant Mule, for betraying the gang’s patriarch, Bhiku.

One of the most interesting aspects of the film for me was the way in which fathers played such a marginal role in the film. Satya is an orphan, and therefore his father is completely absent from the film. Vidya’s father is a mute and an invalid, leaving her to be the primary breadwinner of the family. In a sense, after her father’s death, Satya steps into the role of patriarch in her life, filling the void that her father left, fulfilling the idiom quoted by the music manager earlier in the film; “to gain something, you must give something back.” Even Bhiku, the only father figure in the film of any real note, fails to live up to the role of an honorable father due to his status as leader of the Mhatre gang. I couldn’t help but be fascinated by the way in which he lived a dual existence of doting family man and cold-blooded. This contradiction of roles created a dichotomy of identities that both Bhiku and Satya ultimately negotiate to their respective demise; men trapped between two worlds, that of family man and of criminal, of respected male figures and hated social pariahs.