Om Shanti Om

Story:

Om Shanti Om is a 2007 Indian romantic fantasy film written and directed by Farah Khan, co-written by Mayur Puri and Mushtaq Shiekh, and produced by Gauri Khan under Red Chillies Entertainment. The film stars Shah Rukh Khan, Deepika Padukone (in her Hindi-film debut), Shreyas Talpade, Kirron Kher, and Arjun Rampal. The story follows Om Prakash Makhija (Khan), an obscure 1970s actor, who dies in a suspicious on-set fire involving his crush, well-known yesteryears superstar Shanti Priya (Padukone), and is reincarnated in the present day as superstar Om Kapoor, seeking to exact revenge on the perpretrator, Shanti’s husband and powerful producer Mukesh Mehra (Rampal).

PLOT

In 1977, Om Prakash Makhija is a junior artist who dreams of becoming an actor. He lives with his widowed mother Bela and close friend Pappu Master in a small chawl in Mumbai. Om is in love with the renowned and glamorous actress, Shantipriya, often expressing his feelings in front of her film poster. One night, he sneaks into the premiere of one of Shanti’s films, Dreamy Girl, along with Pappu in disguise and makes an impression on her. Later that night, a drunk Om gives an emotional speech to Pappu and a group of kids while pretending to accept an award.

Om and Pappu take minor roles in films at R.C. Studios, a production studio owned by Mukesh Mehra, a successful yet egotistical producer who launched Shanti. During a shoot, Shanti gets trapped in a fire that grows out of control but is rescued by Om. The two subsequently become friends. Om initially lies to Shanti that he is a popular Tamil film actor to impress her, but ultimately tells her the truth upon seeing her genuine fondness for him. With Pappu’s help, Shanti and Om spend an evening together.
Things take a turn when Om overhears a heated argument between Shanti and Mukesh; they have been married for two years but kept it secret from the public for the sake of their careers. Shanti is livid when she learns that Mukesh plans to marry the daughter of the main distributor for his upcoming film, Om Shanti Om. She reveals to Mukesh that she is pregnant with his child, much to his seeming joy. Om is heartbroken and avoids Shanti.

A few days later, Mukesh takes Shanti to the future set of Om Shanti Om. He claims he will cancel its production and instead have a grand wedding ceremony there, making his and Shanti’s marriage public. Om goes to meet Shanti for the last time but is dejected upon seeing her with Mukesh. Mukesh then reveals his true plan to kill Shanti and their unborn child to protect his career from scandal. He sets fire to the set and locks her inside. As Mukesh leaves, Om spots Shanti in the flames and attempts to rescue her but is severely beaten by Mukesh’s guards. After they leave, Om manages to break into the set and finds Shanti, but is thrown out of the building by an explosion before he can reach her. The set burns down with Shanti inside. Om is devastated at the sight and is accidentally hit by the car of famous actor Rajesh Kapoor, whose pregnant wife Lovely is in labor.

Rajesh brings Om along to the hospital, but he succumbs to his injuries and dies while still reminiscing about Shanti. Rajesh’s assistant Nasser asks the surgeon to keep this a secret from Om’s family. Moments later, Rajesh and Lovely are blessed with a baby boy named Om Kapoor.
30 years later, Om Kapoor “O.K.” is a talented, yet arrogant actor like his father. He lives Om Prakash’s dream life but suffers from pyrophobia. O.K. often comes across Bela, who believes him to be her son and desperately tries to convince him to come back home, but he dismisses her as crazy. An aged Pappu tries to make Bela understand that O.K. is someone else but she pays no heed to him.

O.K. and his assistant, Anwar Sheikh, drive to the abandoned R.C. Studios for a film shoot. Anwar explains that the studio burnt down in a mysterious fire accident decades earlier. O.K. recognizes the area and experiences vivid flashbacks to Om Prakash’s memories, much to his confusion. That night, O.K. wins the Filmfare Award for Best Actor and delivers Om’s drunken speech to Pappu, who realizes that his friend was reborn upon watching it on TV. During a grand party thrown for his success, O.K. meets Mukesh and fully remembers his previous life as Om Prakash. Mukesh, now known as “Mike”, works in Hollywood and wishes to make a film with him. Later that night, Om shares an emotional reunion with Bela and Pappu. The three plan to avenge Shanti’s death by making Mukesh confess his crime.

Om convinces Mukesh to resume the filming of Om Shanti Om at the same ruined R.C. Studios. He auditions actresses to find Shanti’s look-alike and ends up coming across Sandhya aka Sandy,[b] a ditzy, but devoted fan of Om who is an exact doppelgänger of Shanti. He hires Sandy without revealing his plan but gets angry when she struggles to act properly. On Pappu’s advice, Om reveals the truth to Sandy, who promises to help him.

At the inauguration ceremony of Om Shanti Om, Om introduces Mukesh to Dolly, who will be playing the film’s heroine. Bela scares Mukesh in the disguise of an old witch, and Om and Pappu try to light Shanti’s photograph on fire to remind him of his crime. Although it doesn’t work, the photograph is supernaturally lit by fire, which disturbs Mukesh. He is later lured into a make-up room by “Dolly”, only to find Sandy dressed as Shanti. After seeing Shanti in the preview footage of Om Shanti Om, Mukesh decides to return to the US. Om persuades him to stay and finish production, though is forced to speed up the plan.

Mukesh gets suspicious when he finds film reels of Sandy in Om Shanti Om. During the music launch, in the form of a masquerade ball, Om tells the story of Shanti’s life, indirectly warning Mukesh he knows the truth. However, Sandy ends up revealing her ruse after cutting her arm in front of Mukesh, revealing she isn’t a ghost. He chases her but is knocked unconscious by a falling chandelier.

After Mukesh regains consciousness in the empty studio, Om confronts him over Shanti’s murder. Mukesh has caught on to the plan, taunting that neither Om nor his “duplicate Shanti” can convict him since there is no proof. Pappu and Anwar then try to stop Sandy from going to the scene but are trapped by a jammed door. Sandy confronts Mukesh, despite Om urging her to leave. She reveals that after the fire died down, Mukesh returned to the set and discovered that Shanti was still alive, so he buried her underneath the chandelier; Shanti’s corpse would be found there, which is proof of her murder. Mukesh is shocked at how she knows this and attempts to shoot her but Om attacks him. During their fight, a fire breaks out on the set again but Om conquers his fear to defeat Mukesh. Sandy stops Om from killing Mukesh, who is crushed to death by the chandelier.

Pappu, Anwar, and Sandy arrive. Om realizes that the woman with him is actually Shanti’s ghost, who was also responsible for the unexplained aids in his plan. With her death now avenged, Om and Shanti bid each other a tearful goodbye, and he reunites with Sandy while Shanti runs up the stairs and disappears.