First day, first show: Yes I saw my hero in matinee.. 

Romancing a golden era…
Mai agar kahun tumsa haseen
Kaynaat mein nahin hai kahin
Tareef bhi to ye sach hai kuch bhi nahin…

It’s a smile that can light a million lamps.. tick! like that.. Once in an era Bolly land wood (whatever) makes a discovery, chances upon it - that just about defines the era to come. Remember Madhuri Dixit and how she bedazzled us in that stunning backless purple choli and lehenga in HAHK and how a generation to come went crazy. Or how Aishwarya Rai in her gorgeous blue and red ghagras and then flowing sarees took our breath away in HDDCS. Step aside, Madhuri and Aishwarya, for there is an ideal replacement. And she’s gorgeous. Be it the soft dimpled smile or the way her eyes light up expressively, she is the heart of every frame that she is in. If Farah Khan can pat her back for one thing most definitely, it’s this. Deepika Padukone. And the way she looks when she steps out in that flowing pink gown waving her hand to that rightfully blown away crowd.

Of course then there are other things. Now there is one thing about FK, you don’t go into the theatres to watch a movie you critique; you go to her movies expecting to be entertained! And entertain she does – in style. So we have and entire world of 70’s recreated from scratch, where the story actually begins. Its wonderland or 70’s film land, whatever you wish to call it. And you have everyone, hero (sporting long locks and sideburns), a sidekick (pardon the usage of the word, Shreyas being who he is deserves better and its about time he realizes it and stops wasting himself), a very fimli maa(how can we forget the mother goodness, widow with young son of the 70’s. Its over to Kirron Kher to do the honors, from Reema Lagoo or Faridaa Jalal who fit these roles much better. I mean we have a woman who did Baariwali reduced to this now. That’s 2 down) and a star heroine (doe eyes, curled up buns, bell sleeved salwars) for whom our hero’s heart goes flip. The villain sports a lean mean mustache, wears expensive bell bottomed pants and drives those long sedan like cars like all villains in 70’s. The whole first half has a dreamlike feel to it where everything has been done with painstaking detail and the result shows. It’s beautiful. And for those who have seen any of those period movies, nostalgic too. FK pays tribute to the golden era of Hindi cinema through rich gamut of borrowings, half funny, others so romantic it reminiscates us of what our movies were. They were a part of our culture, because ours is a movie crazy nation that loves the memories movies bring to us. Be it classics like ‘Mere paas maa hai’, ‘Pushpa.. I hate tears’ or ‘Bees saal pehele meri maut yahi tumhare haaton yahi hui thi, par kahaani abhi khatam nahi hui..’ we love our melodrama and we love the laughter, the tears, the emotion, the drama and the plot. We love our emotions exaggerated and strong. Like a strong coffee brew. And what OSO does is pay a tribute to this melodrama. Skip the technicality, we’re not Hollywood. Or the weird westernization that has crept in that we adopt half confused, still unsure whether to keep sticking to our values and what to become. OSO is a celebration of our movies and their grandeur.

In comparison, the second half is a tad ordinary, with heavy borrowings from Karz and a host of similar look alikes which have been made many times since, plus the oft repeated line a translation from Alchemist. “Jab tum sachche dil se kisi cheez ko chahte ho to saari kaynaat tumhe us se milane ki sazish karti hai”. Sounds familiar. Paul O’Coelho fans would know.
The plot is not explained and awry at some places, like the constant reappearance of Deepika without clear entry. Still it is good fun if you keep your mind out. FK is no Mani Ratnam or Sanjay Leela Bhansali. And she sticks to her strength. Making everyone around her have a ball. And that’s what makes the movie a paisa vasool. Plus of course you catch a glimpse of nearly 50% Bolly in 3 hours. Everyone’s there! Above all, and for me(and some like me  ) there’s SRK. One reason. 3 alphabets being simple reason to watch the movie. This time too, its not just an actor, it’s a dynamite you see on screen. At 43, sporting a near perfect (ok, Roshan is PERFECT) 6 pack abs and dancing to Dard e Disco, the man still never ceases to amaze me with the energy. It’s not his best acting, though to be fair, the film did demand that he overdo! And he does a decent job with that. What makes in awesome is his energy level and enthusiasm. 3 cheers for King Khan. (Don’t snigger anyone. It’s hard to overcome first love).

The music is really catchy, especially Aankhon me teri and Mai agar kahun, sung soulfully to the lyrics penned by Akhtar. Not much of cinematography, passable at best. Editing could have been a little tighter, restricting it below 3 hours, esp the second half. To sum up, it’s a 3 hours that’ll make you smile. And that’s a good enough reason to go have a look.