Om Shanti is the second offering from “Three Angels Studio” which had produced the critically acclaimed “Banam” a couple of months back. Om Shanti has been promoted as being a “different” film with five stories rolled into one film and this did generate enough curiosity amongst viewers. It lives up to expectations as a timepass movie which might benefit quite a bit if holiday crowd doesn’t get tickets for the other big flicks like Adhurs, Namo Venkatesa, etc !!!

What is it about : The film stars off with a jihadi outfit in Bangalore planning to target Hyderabad with a series of bomb blasts and so the action moves to Hyderabad where we are introduced to the five plots in the script. Plot one has Navdeep as an IT guy who meets his perfect match in Aditi Sharma and everything is rosy until he gets laid off. Plot two has the over-energetic Kajal who starts talking to RJ Maddy who channels her energy into positive avenues. Plot three has Nikhil as the struggling actor aspiring to be the next Ravi Teja until he gets cheated off his savings. Plot four has Muralimohan whose son sells off his ancestral fields to lead a wayward life in the city. Plot Five has Bindhu Madhavi whose brother makes bombs for the Jihadi outfit while she is busy planning her marriage. In the middle of all this, we have inspector Aslam( Kishore) trailing the terrorist group led by Basheer (Prakash). The movie is about how all these five plots come together in the last 15 mins leading to very tame climax. Needless to say, all ends on a positive note.

What is Good: Each plot stands out on its own due to some very good characterization which gets you involved in their lives. The best one is about Navdeep and Aditi which is quite realistic given their interactions and the frustrations in their relationship when he loses his job. There are some very good performances from others like Nikhil, Kajal, Vishal and Prakash. Prakash who we last saw in “Morning Raga” is surprise as the villain here since he actually looks mean despite his lean frame. The cinematography and the editing departments lend adequate support. Most of the laughs are in Nikhil’s story given his obsession with Ravi Teja while Sunil makes you laugh in his own inimitable style elsewhere. Credit would also to the debutante director Prakash for holding the plots together.

What is bad: While wanting to have multiple plots in a movie might be a good idea, what doesn’t gel is that there is no thread connecting them of all. All the characters come together at a bus-stop for no real strong reason except for a sheer coincidence. You end up feeling that the director could have done away with the terrorism angle without making any difference to the story. The music department by maestro Ilaiyaraja also disappoints since no tune stays with you when you walk out of the hall. The action scenes in the climax are very amateurish and seem very simple. Bindhu Madhavi had the weakest characterization with just 4-5 scenes while the terrorist characterization was quite stereotypical with its references to jihad.

Me Thinks: Overall despite the weak climax, Om Shanti works because it keeps you occupied for the rest of the time. It entertains without being too serious or trying to put in too many masala elements in it.

Tailpiece: It definitely was a pleasant surprise to see a very talented and a popular actor play RJ Maddy in a cameo. The film-makers definitely did a good of hiding this surprise and so watch the movie to know who this is.