One of the most recognizable films from the last few decades, Om Shanti Om was released sixteen years ago and is still in theaters today. The film was the first of its kind, giving the idea of reincarnation a cinematic twist and uniting the entire glitzy world for a grand spectacle.
Even though the movie had a lot of funny moments, the award ceremony scene is the one that always makes us smile and giggle. Did you know, though, that the scene from the movie that takes place at an awards ceremony was filmed at a real ceremony!
In an interview, the film’s director, Farah Khan, disclosed that the entire sequence was an improvised improvisation. The entire production team, along with their camera equipment, attended the actual Filmfare Awards in 2007 to capture the real-time events.
She discussed how she instructed Shabana Azmi to deliver the lines word-for-word and also mentioned how she forced Rani Mukerji, Bipasha Basu, and even Sanjay Kapoor to deliver the famous line, “Om and me, we’re just friends.”
The playful altercation between Subhash Ghai and Rishi Kapoor about announcing the award on stage was also mentioned by the speaker. It was unplanned, she said.
Bappi Da also made an impromptu poetic shot!
The interview is available here:
As previously stated, the film was one-of-a-kind!
Om Shanti Om was made on a 40 crore budget. Farah came up with the idea for the film while directing the musical Bombay Dreams (2002), which was inspired by the Indian film industry. After rejecting the first version of her next film, Happy New Year, Shah Rukh was reminded of Om Shanti Om; the film’s title is derived from a similar titled popular song from Subhash Ghai’s popular film Karz (1980), in which Rishi Kapoor played the main protagonist. Vishal-Shekhar composed the soundtrack album, and Javed Akhtar wrote the lyrics. Sandeep Chowta composed the background music. The album was a critical and commercial success, selling the most albums in India that year.
