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Bollywood Mythmaking in Om Shanti Om - by Paridhi Puri

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Om Shanti Om, very fittingly, begins with the eponymous song from Karz (1980) being shot by its director Subhash Ghai (erstwhile known for making cameos in his own films). We see Om Prakash Makhija — a fan with big dreams cheering for Rishi Kapoor as he dances. A junior artist with dreams of stardom, he has an epiphany — and suddenly it's Om in Rishi's shoes, dancing to ‘Om Shanti Om’ and belting out the lyrics as a youth icon. He is flanked (in a moment of meta-genius) by the film’s director Farah Khan in an uncredited appearance as they rib each other about both of them being nobodies, in the big-wig world of Bollywood. This sets the template for what's to follow — the audience is informed immediately that the line between reel and real is blurred in the world of this film. Om Shanti Om, in essence, is built on contradictions. It’s a story about Bollywood's biggest self-made superstar essaying the role of a reincarnated star kid to fulfill his dreams. It's a story of an actress in a

Bollywood Mythmaking in Om Shanti Om How Farah Khan's magnum opus explores stardom, the business of movies and parasocial relationships in a prescient gaze of meta genius Paridhi Puri Feb 15, 2023 163 31 19 Share Om Shanti Om , very fittingly, begins with the eponymous song from Karz (1980) being shot by its director Subhash Ghai (erstwhile known for making cameos in his own films). We see Om Prakash Makhija — a fan with big dreams cheering for Rishi Kapoor as he dances. A junior artist with dreams of stardom, he has an epiphany — and suddenly it's Om in Rishi's shoes, dancing to ‘Om Shanti Om

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