Om Shanti Om – Filmi References

Here are some of the references that I and other people have been able to identify. If you find anymore please write them down in the comments below and i’ll add them in. They will be continually updated when new references are discovered – probably when the dvd comes out more will be found.

BEWARE OF SPOILERS! IF YOU HAVE NOT SEEN OM SHANTI OM DO NOT READ THE FOLLOWING!

• Rescuing the Heroine from a Burning Field – In OSO Om rescues Shanti from a burning field. This is a reference to the famous scene in Mother India (1957) with Nargis and Sunil Dutt. Rumour is that during the shooting of Mother India a fire on the set went out of control which put Nargis’ life in danger. Sunil Dutt then is said to have saved her from the fire. Sunil Dutt and Nargis were married after the release of the film and it is said she was convinced to marry him after he saved her. Their son Sanjay Dutt also makes an special appearance in the movie.

• Paapu and Om make fun of the name Govinda Ahuja and suggest to shorten it to Govinda – This is a reference to the real Bollywood Actor ‘Govinda’ who also makes a special appearance in the film. Govinda is an actor from many comedic films during the 90s and of recent Partner. He also is in the 2007 film Salaam E Ishq.

• “He Looks Shorter in Real Life” – This is said by a bystander during the movie when referencing Om or ‘OK’ the actor. This is in reference to Shahrukh himself.

• “One Day I will Own a Bungalow” – Om in the 1970s promises himself this, but this is also a reference to the fact that shortly after Shahrukh moved from Delhi to Mumbai he is rumoured to have promised himself that he would one day purchase Mannat, the bungalow where he currently resides.

• Woman on Crutches who cries out ‘Brother!’ – In the first half of OSO, Om is seen riding the back of a convertable dressed as a groom and followed by a woman on crutches who cries out ‘Brother!’. This is a reference to the 1970 movie ‘Sachaa Jhutha’ starring Rajesh Khanna, Mumtaz, Vinod Khanna and was directed by Manmohan Desai.

• Dreamy Girl – Shanti is attending the premiere of her movie ‘Dreamy Girl’ and soon starts singing ‘Dhoom Taana’. Dreamy Girl and the billboard of it that Shahrukh talks to is in reference to the 1977 film ‘Dream Girl’ which stars Hema Malini and Dharmendra (who is later seen in a special appearance).

• ‘Dhoom Taana’ Old Movie Inserts – Dhoom Taana uses technology to have Shahrukh (Om) and Deepika (Shanti) doing a dance next to several 1970s mega stars. They took several old movie inserts for this song. The insert of Sunil Dutt was from the movie ‘Amrapali’ (1966) with Sunil Dutt & Vyjayanthimala, Rajesh Khanna insert is from ‘Sacha Jhuta’ (1970) and the Badmington sequence was inserted from the movie ‘Humjoli’ (1970).

• Manoj Kumar and the Hand – When Om and Paapu try to get into the Dreamy Girl premiere they pretend to be the actor Manoj Kumar. He played several patriotic roles which is why they play a patriotic song in the background. He also had a reputation of always having his hand over his face, hence the joke where even his licence photo has his hand over his face.

• “In Friendship, There Aren’t Any Sorrys or Thank Yous” – Om after rescuing Shanti from the fire says ‘in frienship, there aren’t any sorrys or thank yous’. Shanti asks if its a line from a movie to which Paapu says ‘No, Om makes up all his own lines’. Outside the tent is a young Sooraj Barjatya writing down the line in his notepad. This line is from the 1989 Sooraj Barjatya film ‘Maine Pyar Kiya’. The movie also stars Salman Khan who later turns up in a special appearance.

• Your not bored are you + More Maine Pyar Kiya References – Om keeps on saying to the Shantipriya billboard ‘Ey Tum Bore Tho Nahin Ho rahe Ho’ or (You’re Not getting bored are you?). This is a reference again to Maine Pyaar Kiya (1989) in which Salman Khan’s character asays this to Bhagyashree when he repeatedly talks about what his mother thinks of him.

• The Overacting of Om’s Mother – The over acting and filmi lines are a overall reference to all the filmi mothers from the 1970s whose only mission in life was to see their sons become successful and make sure they are full. The ‘nahiiiiiiin’ or ‘No’ line is a common dialogue of the mother and the over the top acting was from the way the mothers said their dialog during that era.

• Abhishek Bachchan, Dhoom 5 & The Filmfare Award – Abhishek Bachchan has been in Dhoom (2004), Dhoom 2 (2006) and set to star in Dhoom 3. This scene makes fun of the never ending Dhoom series. Also the fact that Abhishek’s cop character never gets the bad guy in the end (Both Bad Guys Hrithik & John Abraham get let go) and when they say ‘Abhishek Bachchan isn’t even in Dhoom 5’ is another reference to the fact that Hrithik Roshan was the main star & greater focus of Dhoom 2.

• Akshay Kumar & The Filmfare Award – The filmfare awards also make fun of the Khiladi movies where Akshay Kumar starred in the big action movies. The rediculousness of the action scene spoofs the action scenes where it can be many guys with guns against only Akshay Kumar’s character and he can always beat them by doing outrageous stunts and tricks and still win.

• Shahrukh Khan & The Filmfare Award – The two identical shots of Shahrukh or ‘Om’ starring in ‘Phir Bhi Dil Hai NRI’ is a spoof on the title of Shahrukh’s movie ‘Phir Bhi Hai Hindustani’ (2000) which also stars Juhi Chawla who turns up in a later special appearance. The ‘NRI’ in Phir Bhi Dil Hai NRI references to the films that Shahrukh has become famous for (the Karan Johar films like Kuch Kuch Hota Hai 1998 and Kabhie Khushi Kabhi Gham 2001) which cater largely to N.R.I audiences (or non-resident indians). These movies also started the N.R.I movie making trend. The girls in pastel coloured Saris, with switzerland in the background and the same pose were all taken from these movies.’ He also states that ‘Rahul – that sounds familiar’ this is referring to the fact a lot of his characters were called Rahul – same way a lot of Salman’s characters are called Prem.

• ‘Main Agar Kahoon’ & Om’s Outfit – The outfit Om wears during the Main Agar Kahoon song was modelled on the outfit Rajesh Khanna wore in ‘Mehbooba’ movie (1976). Mehbooba also stars Hema Malini who starred in the referenced movie ‘Dreamy Girl’.

• Beginning Scene Song & Rishi Kapoor – The very beginning scene with a man dancing round in Disco on a giant record player singing ‘Om Shanti Om’ is taken from the Rishi Kapoor movie ‘Karz’ (1980). Also during this scene there is a joke between Om and a woman in the audience that she should just direct the movie – this woman is of course Farah Khan the director of Om Shanti Om (2007).

• Deewangi Deewangi Homage – Deewangi Deewangi song is a homage to the multi-star cameoed ‘John Jani Janardhan’ song in the Manmohan Desai directed film Naseeb (1981) which stars Amitabh Bachchan who is also special guests in the movie.

• Mohobbat Man – Om during the present says that he needs to do a Superhero film as this is all the trend. This is a reference to trend of Superhero films with Krrish (2006), Drona (2008) and others in Hollywood too. The underwear on the outside is a reference of course to Superman.

• Deewangi Deewangi Star Moves – During Deewangi Deewangi when the big stars will come out and do some dancing over they would perform their signature moves from certain movies. Govinda from the song Makhna, Rani from the song Kali Nagin, Karisma from the Song Le Gayi (Dil Toh Pagal Hai), Priyanka from Bluffmaster, Zayed from Main Hoon Na, Saif Ali Khan from Salaam Namaste.

• “Frankly My Dear, I Don’t Give a Damn” – Not a bollywood reference but still, the line is taken from the 1939 Hollywood movie ‘Gone with the Wind’ where Clark Gable says the line.

• 1970s Action Sequence – The over the top and fakely produced action sequence that Om is shooting with a tiger and everything in the 1970s is a big reference to the over the top and fake action sequences of the 1970s (and over) Bollywood fight scenes. Could also be a reference to the style of South Indian fight scenes.

• The deaf, mute, blind, legless & armless character – this is again a reference to the over the top plot lines Bollywood produces. It is common to find many characters in bollywood – deaf, mute, blind, legless, armless or a combination!

• Nonsensical item numbers or ‘dream sequences’ – Whenever a character can’t really break into song realistically (because of a deformity like being deaf/blind or because they just had a significant tradgedy) the way in which to justify an item number (a sure fire commercial box office asset) they will often introduce random item numbers and dream sequences into the movie.

• Kamini – The character of the mother Kamini (played by Bindu) is a reference to the ‘star mothers’. A common trait for stars is that their mothers can tend to lead their life through their daughter. Kamini’s over the top interference and obsessiveness with the movie is a play on this.

• “Main Hoon Na” – Om says in the movie ‘Main Hoon Na’ which is a reference to the movie Shahrukh stared in called ‘Main Hoon Na’ (I am here). This was the first directorial debut of Director Farah Khan who also directed Om Shanti Om. Also the other star of Main Hoon Na, Zayed Khan, makes a special appearance in Deewangi Deewangi and uses his signature move from that movie.

• Reincarnation – A typical plot line for Bollywood was also utilized in this movie – examples included Hamesha (1997), Karan Arjun (1995), Mehbooba (1976) and many more.

• The Look and Burnt Out set – The Look of the set after its been burnt from the 1970s, very similar in look to the Guru Dutt film ‘Kaagaz Ke Phool’ (1959) movie, especially the horse statue & gates.

• The Star Child System – The fact that Om in the 1970s stays a junior artist cause his parents are Junior Artists, but once he is reborn into a famous family with the last name ‘Kapoor’ he becomes automatically famous. This is a reference to the Bollywood system where generally most stars are related to famous people with small exceptions of Shahrukh Khan and Models turned Actors. The fact he also becomes famous once he has the name ‘Kapoor’ is a reference to the famous Kapoor Khandan. Dating back to Prithiviraj Kapoor then Raj Kapoor (all his brothers and most of his sons and their sons and daughters) becoming actors (famous ones at that). Karisma Kapoor (granddaughter of Raj Kapoor and daughter of Randhir Kapoor) makes a special appearance and makes supportive comments of Om at Filmfare Awards.

• “We Are Just Good Friends!”– A reference to that fact that whenever an actress is asked about her relationship with a male co-star they say they are ‘just good friends’ which is the stock standard line. But many times these actresses are more then ‘just good friends’ with a recent example of Aishwarya Rai & Abhishek Bachchan.

• “Picture abhi baaki hai mere dost” – A line paraphrasing from the Raj Kapoor film ‘Mera Naam Joker’ (thanks Madhavi)

Deewangi Deewangi Star Appearance:

You don’t realise sometimes which star came up in the song – here is a cheat list in order of appearance (thanks SRKfanatic!)

1. SRK
2. Rani Mukherji in a blue sari
3. Zayed Khan in a white shirt and jacket
4. Vidya Balan in a black dress
5/6. Jeetendra and Tusshar Kapoor in a suit and red shirt, respectively
7. Priyanka Chopra in a white dress
8. Shilpa Shetty in a pink sari
9. Dharmendra in a suit
10. Shabana Azmi in a black/gold sari
11. Urmila Matondkar in a light green dress
12. Karishma Kapoor in a white sari
13. Arbaaz Khan in a black shirt/jacket and jeans
14. Malika Arora Khan (Arbaaz’s wife) in a black dress
15. Dino Morea in a white shirt, black jacket, jeans
16. Amrita Arora (Malika’s sister) in a silver dress
17. Juhi Chawla in a peach sari
18. Aftab Shivdasani in a white shirt, beige jacket
19. Tabu in a red sari
20. Govinda in a suit
21. Mithun Chakraborty in a blue shirt, black jacket
22. Kajol in an orange sari
23/24. Preity Zinta and Bobby Deol in a red dress and black shirt, respectively
25. Rekha in a beige sari
26. Riteish Deshmukh in a white shirt, black jacket
27. Salman Khan in a yellow/white shirt, black jacket
28. Saif Ali Khan in a black shirt, leather jacket
29. Sanjay Dutt in a white shirt, leather jacket
30. Lara Dutta in a yellow dress
31. Suniel Shetty in a white shirt, blue jacket

MANY MORE REFERENCES TO COME!!