Note: The views expressed in this article belong solely to the writer and are not endorsed by BollySpice.
Diwali of 2007 will be listed in the pages of the history as the biggest catfight in Bollywood industry. When Om Shanti Om and Saawariya took the stage on November 9, the expectations were high. The hype created around the movies surpassed the stratosphere. After three mere days of release, one movie claimed the pedestal, while the other was left in its dust. However the question is, was Saawariya even competing with Om Shanti Om?
We have all been deluded by the critics and been told that OSO is a much better movie than Saawariya. OSO will appeal to the masses, however Saawariya will not. I want to appeal to you that, use your brains, and actually think rather than just swallowing what the critics are saying. After watching both movies, I couldn’t have been more dumbfounded and outraged at the idea of comparing these two movies. Here’s why:
Story: Storywise, Saawariya is a fairy-tale land where characters like Ranbir, Sonam and Rani live. If you all have forgotten what is a fairy-tale, I suggest you brush up on “Cinderella”, “Snow White” etc. before you watch this movie. Saawariya is composed of its own world which is blue and green (deal with it), there is nothing wrong with blue and green colors! Although, the story of this movie is simple, there were many loopholes in the story such as, “What was Salman’s role in the movie?”, “Why is Ranbir alone?” “What happened to Ranbir later on?”, “Is that really the end?”. All the characters are not fully developed which leads the audience to confusion and the ultimate reaction, “What in the world was that?!”. Many people walked out of the theatres saying “It’s a Bhansali movie, it’s not supposed to make sense”. Well, maybe, but I believe it would have helped boost the ratings if for one time there was a happy ending. But, then again, happy endings never take place in reality, so hats off to Bhansali for producing a effect of reality in his fairy-tale movie.
On the other hand, Om Shanti Om starts off in the seventies, and progresses into today’s world. The story of this movie is on the other end of the spectrum compared to Bhansali’s Saawariya. It’s a happy go lucky movie, consisting of an enormous dose of laughter, reincarnation, and belief in spirituality. Aside from these main points, there is also a simple story of boy meeting girl and falling in love. Farah Khan tried to mask the lack of a story with comedy and dance numbers which worked. Comedy and Shahrukh sells in the cinema, and it was sold!
Actors: Focusing only on the main characters of Saawariya (even though Rani was magnificent), Ranbir gets a standing ovation. Ranbir brings life into the character with his emotions and humor. While Ranbir is gathering accolades, Sonam is being pushed down by people. Her character is different, it has many facets, and Sonam has tried to perform them. Sonam is not a horrible actress, but as we never seen a character like this before, it throws us off. But, now as Bhansali explains her character to us, we all understand Sakina. Only if we knew this before, we could have connected with Sakina. It all comes back to loose-ended characters, Bhansali should have taught his audiences to understand his characters.
Alternativey, Shahrukh Khan’s performance in Om Shanti Om was strictly mediocre. He is a better actor than “Om” and he has proved that before. Deepika, model turned actress, sadly didn’t have enough lines. I do not even think I should rate her since she was just there to add the “masala” to the movie. She was a model in the movie, with a few dialogues. I apologize but I do not call that acting.
Hype: Saawariya and hype do not go together. Sanjay Leela Bhansali has a lot of hype connected to his name, and that was the only hype connected to this movie. One trailer, four promos and one dialogue promo were shown to the audience. The first trailer itself, created so much hype because of the sets and music that it was shocking. Everyone was drawn towards the movie and its actors. Many fan sites, forums were opened on Ranbir and Sonam Kapoor. Bhansali did not give us any strong hold on Saawariya, nobody knew the story (excluding people who had watched White Nights), all the hype was created by the audience and media. The actors started appearing in shows, events and news channels, and we all hailed together “Go Sonabir!”.
Conversely, Shahrukh Khan is the biggest name in Bollywood Industry. His name follows with a “six-pack” hype around the world. The first trailer of Om Shanti Om was not received well by the audience, due to the speed and the number of scenes shown in those few seconds. And, then OSO team awoke when Saawariya came on board which they thought was a challenge from Saawariya. They dished promos after promos, majorly hyped Srk’s “six-packs”, events, shows, cricket matches etc etc. And, the last desperate move by OSO crew, the “Deewanagi” promo, and let me just say bravo, their tactic had finally worked. What Shahrukh Khan could not bring to the cinema, that promo did. Deepika, a beautiful model, brought in the boys as SRK did the work for the girls, also had a number of sites dedicated to her during this period.
The only reason that these movies have been compared is because of the crew of OSO who have been insecure in their product of their movie from the start, thought Saawariya was a danger. We all have seen and heard the comments thrown by Farah Khan and Shahrukh Khan to the newcomers of Saawariya and the director. Farah Khan and Shahrukh Khan are experienced people in this industry and I would have expected better from them. I am disappointed and disgusted by so-called “King Khan”. I only have two words to say to you Mr. Khan, “Grow up“.
Ranbir and Sonam are politely taking in all the criticisms, and I want to applaud them because they have achieved what King Khan has yet to achieve, and that is humility. I have a few words for Sonam because I know she is being bombed by critics and audience alike, “You were different, you shocked us. Do not let harsh criticism get you down, because you only get criticized when you have done something worth applauding for.”
In the end, I just want to say, that as you all can figure out by now, that these movies are completely different from each other. The only common theme between them is that they both released on the same day. So, stop comparing them, and give both the movies a chance, give all the actors a chance to prove themselves, and give yourself a chance to like both of them.
