I can't think of another film that packs in as many laughs as director Farah Khan's Om Shanti Om. It's set in the seventies and features Shah Rukh Khan as Om Prakash Makhija, a Bollywood junior artiste who's got stars in his eyes and a crush on the country's biggest female star, Shantipriya, played by newcomer Deepika Padukone. Om Shanti Om takes one of Hindi cinema's most popular film themes of that period - the reincarnation drama - and turns it on its head by constructing a story set around that very theme, but in a whole new context.

Have I confused you? Well, let me make it simpler… The junior artiste gets killed trying to save the person he loves most. Thirty years later the country's biggest star is an actor who's got the same face as that junior artiste fellow. Wait, he not only looks exactly like him, he IS the same chap born again, and when he realizes it, he decides to seek revenge on the guy who was instrumental in sending him to the grave in that previous life. Think Karz with a very generous helping of humour.

Unpretentious and completely transparent in its intentions, Om Shanti Om is an entertainer in the true sense of the word, mixing up genre elements like comedy, drama, action and emotion to create a heady broth of Manmohan Desai-style exaggerated entertainment. With tongue firmly in cheek, the writers make light of everyone and everything in sight, packing the first half with so many in-jokes and movie references that it turns out to be every trivia collector's wet dream.

Using the Bombay film industry as a backdrop to the film's plot, everyone from Dev Anand and Rajesh Khanna to Govinda and Subhash Ghai become fair game. Prepare to crack up in that scene where Manoj Kumar must prove his identity to a bunch of security guards after his invitations to a movie premiere get nicked. Or that one in which a young Sooraj Barjatya is seen copying lines for a future film.

A special mention must be made for the film's excellent dialogue which so cleverly incorporates Bollywood's oldest clichés into these characters' everyday parlance. Just watch Kirron Kher and Shah Rukh Khan's mother-son exchanges - they speak like they're straight out of a seventies melodrama themselves!

Few films and few stars have the courage to laugh at themselves, and it's because Om Shanti Om is smart enough to take a handful of self-directed jibes that you're willing to embrace it so whole-heartedly. As superstar Om Kapoor in the film's second half, Shah Rukh gleefully makes jokes about his repetitive acting style, his late-comings on the set, even all the starry trappings he's so accustomed to.

Watch how he's willing to let the joke be on him in those Filmfare Awards nomination clips where his every film resembles the other, his every performance the same. But lest you forget this is the country's biggest star we're talking about, he reminds you that by doing what only he can - sprinkling the film with cameos by just about every big name you can possibly think of. So despite the long-drawn out climax and the wobbly turns the screenplay takes post-intermission, Om Shanti Om doesn't really lose its momentum, throwing in enough surprises to keep you hooked till the end credits roll.

If all you're looking for is a good time at the movies this weekend, then Om Shanti Om just might be your right choice - it's light and frothy and is two-and-a-half-hours well spent. Prepare to be very pleasantly surprised by an inspired turn from Arjun Rampal playing the hotshot producer who's got a secret to hide, also put your hands together for a dazzling debut by Deepika Padukone who's packaged like the next big thing.

If there was ever an award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Cameo then that trophy would go to Akshay Kumar who steals the show in one single scene. To say he's marvelous would be an understatement. And then you have Shah Rukh Khan, who hams away like never before, but wait, it's all in character. Infusing his characters with energy and spunk, he delivers this Diwali's big dhamaka.

Then that's three out of five for director Farah Khan's Om Shanti Om, a film that brings the fun back into the movies. A swell song-and-dance drama that's sensationally senseless, go watch it and prepare to come back beaming.

Rating: 3 / 5 (Good)

Om Shanti Om provides A LOT of entertainment, for me was very enjoyable. I liked it's colorfulness and its not taking itself seriously. In short, it's a spoof of Bollywood.

The main plot itself is cleverly inspired by 'Madhumati' and 'Karz' and further you'll see situations that mock Hindi films of the 70s and Hindi films of today. There are numerous famous actors who make fun of themselves. The Filmfare sequence with Shahrukh Khan, Akshay Kumar, The Bachchans, Shabana Azmi were all very, very hilarious. There are several such moments which make you feel as if you're under the influence of Novocain (I mean that in a good way).

The songs are of the hummable and foot-tapping kind, most of them spectacularly picturized. I liked how the 'Deewangee' song was filmed as it included most of my favorite actresses like Shabana Azmi, Juhi Chawla, Urmila Matondkar, Tabu, Kajol, Shilpa Shetty, Rani Mukherji etc. Tabu certainly looked the best of the lot. She was drop-dead hot. Of course there was also the funny sequence where Shahrukh danced with Mithun Chokroborty. However, the song may have been a little too long and perhaps Farah could have cropped it out a little by not including some bad actors. Oh well, she probably didn't want to be rude.

Shahrukh Khan is very good as the Oms. One might argue that he overacted in the second half but, in my opinion, he was merely spoofing himself and other Bollywood actors. Kirron Kher too is a treat to watch and she provides some of the LOL moments e.g. when she's spoofing the 70s Bollywood mom or as the 'crazy witch' who saw a ghost. Shreyas Talpade, though cast in a supporting role, holds his own and does nothing short of a great job. Arjun Rampal impresses as the evil villain. I was wondering what happened to this actor after delivering an amazing performance in 'Moksha' and now it's good to see that he's back in form. 'Hope he doesn't get typecast as he plays the bad guy very well. Deepika Padukone is a decent débutante. I liked her as Shantipriya (she looks great in the traditional Indian outfits than the Western stuff) but as Sandy she didn't impress me much (she didn't have much to do anyway).

Farah Khan and Shahrukh Khan probably had a lot of fun in the making and they've certainly made something for all of us to enjoy. This is one of the better 'masala' films to emerge from Hindi Cinema in recent times. As long as you're not expecting any serious film that will alter your life and go see it with the intention to have fun, you won't be disappointed.