Example: The star-studded song sequences and a courtroom scene where cinema’s foibles are laid bare—these moments are playful but pointed, inviting the audience into an insider’s joke. Music by Vishal–Shekhar is central: earworm songs like the title track and “Dard-e-Disco” fuel the movie’s energy. Choreography and production design are maximalist—bright, shiny, and deliberately larger than life—echoing the film’s thesis that Bollywood thrives on spectacle.
Example: The 1970s-set dream sequences and studio scenes lean into melodrama and retro kitsch, while Om’s modern reincarnated life is slick, meta, and self-aware—mirroring the film’s tonal oscillations. Shah Rukh Khan plays two versions of essentially the same charisma: the earnest, love-struck extra of the 1970s and the refined, swaggering superstar of the 2000s. What makes it work is SRK’s mastery of his own screen persona—he can convincingly be both the underdog and the reigning romantic icon. His comedic timing (especially in scenes leaning into Bollywood clichés) and his capacity for emotional sincerity anchor the film’s theatrical excesses.
Example: The scenes of Om piecing together his past—small moments of memory combined with big revelations—lend an emotional spine to the otherwise exuberant extravaganza. Om Shanti Om matters because it both celebrates and critiques Bollywood while delivering crowd-pleasing entertainment. It launched Deepika Padukone, reaffirmed Shah Rukh Khan’s rule as a romantic-action star, and remains a go-to example of mainstream Hindi cinema’s capacity for self-parody without losing heart.