With the opening of one of 2009’s most hyped movies Chandni Chowk to China we turn the lights on the leading lady Deepika Padukone. After starring Om Shanti Om and Bachna Ae Haseeno, the girl with the charming personality and warming smile takes on her third and fourth role in the Akshay Kumar starrer. In honor of the big release we thought we would look back at one of her best scenes in her debut film Om Shanti Om. She played a double role in the film Shanti and Sandy, and for this scene by scene we take a look at her role as the spunky and bubble-gum blowing Sandy. Remember when she tries to imitate the graceful Shantipriya?
The Scene:
Prior to this scene Om Kapoor,(Shah Rukh Khan), the reincarnation of Om Prakash Makhija, has remembered his past as an ordinary junior artist who fell in love with the glamorous hit actress, Shantipriya. The tale of love ends when he gets killed in a car accident after witnessing the tragic murder of Shantipriya by Mukesh Mehra (Arjun Rampal). He vows to take revenge on the director in this lifetime and comes up with an elaborate plan. He finds Sandy, a bubbly girl who looks exactly like the love of his last life. She is head over heels for Om Kapoor, who is her favorite actor. Preparations start right away to transform the careless Sandy to the innocent Shantipriya. In this hilarious scene, Sandy tries to imitate Shantipriya by wearing a sari, copying her “Ek Chutki” scene and practicing her famous model wave. Unfortunately, the sari skirt splits open revealing her shorts, takes the “Ek Chutki” scene as a joke to flick people off with the middle finger, and practices the famous wave while blowing large bubbles with gum. However, when Om tells her what this means to him, she changes and begins to work hard to become his Shantipriya.
What’s So Special:
In this funny scene, we can see the sweet and mellow meaning of what it is like to accomplish something for the person you love! Sandy represents the adorable, girl-next-door, who is determined to do something for the person she is fond of. Even though the story could not at all happen in reality, the context is very close to real life situations. In this case, Sandy might have started off being absent-minded, but she decided to become serious. After knowing Om’s reasoning and his story, she did everything it took to become Shantipriya. The role of being the ghost of Shantipriya to frighten Mukesh involved many risks, but Sandy knew she would help Om in his revenge. In this scene, a range of characterization is also shown. Right at the beginning of Sandy’s arrival we see the tipsy and spunky girl who faints for the actor she is crazy for, but towards the end we see her becoming an optimistic and mature woman who is resolute on accomplishing the task she has taken on! Deepika plays the scene to perfection, and she is not only hysterical in the comedy but also wonderful in the serious part as well. Seeing her performance in this scene firmly established Deepika as an actress and not just a pretty face.
