SRK speaks about his forthcoming film Om Shanti Om and how Bhansali's Saawariya is not a threat

Lately in news for his six packs, the Badshah of Bollywood aka Shah Rukh Khan speaks about his forthcoming film Om Shanti Om and how Bhansali’s Saawariya is not a threat.

The music of Om Shanti Om is catching really fast.

Vishal and Shekhar have given it a lot of thought before deciding upon the music for Om Shanti Om . The interesting thing about the music of OSO is that it has been made in two contrasting periods, one of the 70’s and one for 2007. So we hope that the music of both the eras is liked by audiences. Pyarelalji has composed the music for us for the first half of the film that depicts the 70’s. Farah too has a good sense of music. I do not have a great knowledge of music but I have been fortunate that over the years my films have always had good music directors. And the singers in the film Abhijeet, Sonu and Shreya have all been great in the film. There are two to three songs that are too good. I think youngsters will like Dard-E-Disco a lot apart from which we have also included dance mixes as well. Om Shanti Om , I would say, has a lot of variety to offer as far as music is concerned.

What sets Om Shanti Om apart from the conventional?

At the outset I would say that it is not possible to make every person happy. And also I am not in a position to explain how different Om Shanti Om is. Although the film is about reincarnation and has lots of drama, it has its humourous moments too. As a producer, to recreate the sets of the 70’s was very exciting for me and no filmmaker has tried to relive that period in Hindi cinema before. Hence it was a very enriching experience for me. Also I have a personal thinking that the term Bollywood has been derived from the 70’s cinema. Nor has it has been taken from the 50’s or 60’s or the 90’s. Bollywood has been identified by the global audience as having side locks, wearing bell-bottoms and having long hair and to portray that was exciting. I wanted Farah to do the same for her first film Main Hoon Na when we rewind to my youthful days. Om Shanti Om is a film from the 70’s and yet modern.

Do you personally have a belief in reincarnation?

No, I do not believe in it. I don’t think I can be born again.

How difficult was it for you to build your body that too at such short notice?

See nothing is difficult to achieve if you desire to work for it. Even our film has a main line that says everything turns out to be OK in the end and if it is still not ok then there is hope. I had hope even at my age that I can have abs and my children like it as well. Earlier I had a back surgery and I was told to have regular workouts to improve the flexibility. Four months back I was on diet control. I also took some supplements like amino acids and fat burners and I did 500 to 700 crunches. That has made a difference. And I feel good now having done it. I would advise all youngsters to do the same and stay fit because a healthy body leads to a healthy mind.

Whose idea was it to shoot a song with you wearing nothing but a shirt?

Farah always had this dream that I perform a song for her without a shirt. She tried it in Kaal where she made me wear a banian (vest). When I looked at bodies of Salman, John or Hrithik I felt that even I could try to compete with them, though they all have much more fantastic physiques. But I did not want to feel ashamed of myself and so I tried my best. I think that I have sort of succeeded in my endeavour. So the idea was certainly Farah’s but I had set a condition that I would bare my chest when I have a good one. I put in the efforts for the last three to four months and feel I have done just fine.

Tell us something about the characters in Om Shanti Om..

One of the characters is Om Prakash Makhija. And Shreyas who plays a very important role in the film always reminds him that he will never become a star because of his name which is Om Prakash Makhija. He is a 70’s character who is a struggling artist and wants to be a superstar but never succeeds. The second character is Om Kapoor who is a superstar but is not talented. These two characters along with Shanti (played by Deepika Padukone) form the storyline.

We hear that Om Shanti Om has a lot of comedy so then is the film a spoof of sorts at the 70’s era?

The film is certainly not a spoof. Of course there is humour in the film because Farah has a good sense of it. There are a lot of funny scenes in the film which we haven’t shown in the promos as yet but you’ll get to see it later in the trailers in October. What I like about Om Shanti Om is that it is a gritty film that has loads of drama but also has its funny moments. All in all Om Shanti Om is 2 ½ hours of pure entertainment and hope it’s happy 2 ½ hours for all who watch the film.

Was it necessary to rope in so many stars for the film?

The film is set in two different eras. One from the 70’s and the other in 2007 and most importantly the film is set in the film industry. So we felt that if we get genuine stars in the film that will make it more real and bring in a sense of reality. I am grateful to all the stars who gave their time and efforts for Om Shanti Om . Today’s actors are good friends but I must thank all the yesteryear stars like Dharamji, Shabanaji, Jeetusaab and Mithunda. They all came down at just one call to be a part of the 70’s era in the film. And I am really touched by other seniors like Amitji and Rakesh Roshanji who also are part of the movie. The film was about real people and reality, thus I felt it was necessary to get these original stars and not duplicates.

What is the best compliment that you got for the six pack abs that you sport in the song Dard-E-Dsico?

My son tells me that I am no longer fat and that I look better than before. But he thinks that I can still improve on my fitness. So I will keep at it.

Shah Rukh, you had called Salman the Dadasaheb Phalke of Bodybuilding. Now that you yourself have managed six pack abs, what would you say?

I am just a debutant. In fact I should get the ‘Best debut for bodybuilding’ award. Salman, I think, was responsible for the wave of physical fitness that came into India which was followed by Hrithik in modern times. Both keep encouraging me. In fact I showed the first photos of my body to them and they said it looked OK. I am happy that they thought that I looked nice.

Lastly, do you consider Saawariya as a possible threat to Om Shanti Om?

Firstly, whenever one makes a film they make it hoping that it is liked by one and all. To be honest, Sanjay is a close friend of mine. He has given me one of my most memorable films with Devdas which I think is a highlight of my career. I have a lot of respect for him as a friend and as a filmmaker.
Saawariya is being presented by Columbia Tristar. The film has big names like Salman Khan and Rani Mukherjee and also has two newcomers Ranbir and Sonam who love and respect me very much. In fact given a choice I would not want to compete with such a huge film and at the same time I love my film so much that I fear for it.
Business wise it would have been wiser if both films had released separately but since it is clashing, all we can do is wish all the best to them and wish that our film does well too. Ours is a comparatively small film but having said that I will try my best to make Om Shanti Om the nicest film of the year. There is no competition but yes, Om Shanti Om is my child.

Source: IndiaTimesMovies