For Some Dreams...One Lifetime is Not Enough...

The tagline for Farah Khan’s Om Shanti Om reads: ‘One lifetime isn’t enough to fulfil a dream’. After many years, the rebirth story has resurfaced in Indian Films.

Shah Rukh Khan, who starred in Karan Arjun, another reincarnation film, is back in a similar role. It’s a new avatar for the actor himself, what with the talked-about six pack and all. And that’s not all, Satish Kaushik has bought the rights to remake Karz, the 1980 Rishi Kapoor blockbuster.

Says filmmaker Apoorva Lakhia, “Two of my all-time favourite Hindi films, Karz and Karan Arjun , are based on the reincarnation theme. And I am looking forward to OSO to see what Farah Khan does with the script.” Everyone is, no doubt, but will an abstract theme like reincarnation work in the age of the Internet and palm tops? “Every religion preaches Karma and past life influences. I think it’s a cool subject to explore,” says Apoorva.

Actor Vijay Raghavendra says, “You never know. A lot of subjects that are from another era have worked in recent times. Plus, there are many examples that force us to believe in miracles.” Actress Sharmila Mandre points to Madhumati, Nagin, Hamesha, Karan Arjun and Karz, saying, “It’s been a long time since someone thought of that subject, so if the film is convincing, it’ll be a success.”

But not every movie-goer agrees. And Priya Sudeep is one of those few who isn’t too thrilled about OSO’s storyline. “I was looking forward to OSO but was slightly put off when I heard it’s a reincarnation story. I think the theme has been overused in Bollywood. I personally don’t believe in rebirth, so even when I saw Karan Arjun I couldn’t relate to it,” she says. “Then again, there’s the SRK factor. People will love it as it is.”

Apoorva explains, “There is no set formula in Bollywood. People just want to be entertained. When we started making Shootout at Lokhandwala, people had all kinds of apprehensions, but it was a hit.”
“I would love to do a reincarnation role,” says Sharmila. “It’s like playing two characters (a double role of sorts), which is very good for an actor,” she says. “And if the story is told well, people will believe in it too. I don’t know about the Karz remake, considering what happened to RGV Ki Aag, but the promos of OSO look fresh and good. With SRK, Deepika and a whole list of actors, I think the theme will just be that — an anchor,” says Vijay.


Resarch on rebirth

“There is a reference to past lives and reincarnation in every religion. While 60 per cent people don’t believe in God, all of them believe in the existence of past lives. Modern lifestyles lead people to live like there’s no
tomorrow, leave alone
another lifetime. But when they encounter serious
problems like trauma and chronic diseases, and all else fails, they think about past life influence. “Extensive research has been done on past life and it’s connection with our present. We practise past life regression therapies in which we hypnotise the patients and take them back to their previous lives to find the root of their problems. If there is enough evidence to show if the past life problem is solved, the present life will also get back on track.
“It’s just that people are not aware that
parapsychology was termed as a science in 1969. They fall for quacks and their tricks. But hopefully that will change soon.”
Sujendra Prakash, Psychologist and
qualified Indologist

Tejaswini Tirta, TimesOfIndia